Timely in its appearance, so soon after Morrison claimed this year's Nobel Prize for literature, this publication is one of six volumes launching the "Amistad Literary" series, which focuses on criticism of writings by African Americans. The other volumes cover well-known writers Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Gloria Naylor, Alice Walker, and Richard Wright. Representative of the series, this volume on Morrison contains 13 reviews of her novels, taken from the popular press, as well as 15 critical essays written by such noted literary scholars as Houston A. Baker Jr. and Barbara Christian. Most of these essays were previously published; they inevitably conclude with a sense of respect for and awe of the author. Also included are an author chronology, a representative bibliography, and a section of personal interviews.
