Changing her name early in her career because her parents disapproved of her writing, Jamaica Kincaid crossed audiences to embrace feminist, American, postcolonial and world literature. This book offers an introduction and guided overview of her characters, plots, humor, symbols, and classic themes. Designed for students, fans, librarians, and teachers, the 84 A-to-Z entries combine commentary from interviewers, feminist historians, and book critics with numerous citations from primary and secondary sources and comparative literature. The companion features a chronology of Kincaid’s life, West Indies heritage and works, and includes a character name chart.

Mary Ellen Snodgrass is an award-winning author of English and Latin textbooks and reference works for 35 years. She taught at Hickory High School and Lenoir Rhyne University in North Carolina for 23 years. Her writing focuses on women’s and world literature and history and general research topics, including epidemics, the history of money, clothing, food, and dance. She lives in Hickory, North Carolina.

Mary Ellen Snodgrass
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 304
Bibliographic Info: chronology, glossary, appendix, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2008
pISBN: 978-0-7864-3580-7
eISBN: 978-0-7864-9205-3
Imprint: McFarland
Series: McFarland Literary Companions

Acknowledgments      v
Preface      1
Introduction      3
Chronology of Kincaid’s Life and Works      5
Kincaid’s Genealogy      29

Jamaica Kincaid: A Literary Companion      31

Glossary      259
Appendix: Writing and Research Topics      263
Bibliography      271
Index      289

“this is a very useful and very readable reference book. Recommended”—Choice; “very well researched and written. It will be of use in public and academic libraries”—ARBA; “a very well constructed literary companion on an important writer”—Reference Reviews.