The all new essays in this book discuss black cultural retellings of traditional, European fairy tales. The representation of black protagonists in such tales helps to shape children's ideas about themselves and the world beyond--which can ignite a will to read books representing diverse characters. The need for a multicultural text set which includes the multiplicity of cultures within the black diaspora is discussed. The tales referenced in the text are rich in perspective: they are Aesop's fables, Cinderella, Rapunzel and Ananse. Readers will see that stories from black perspectives adhere to the dictates of traditional literary conventions while still steeped in literary traditions traceable to Africa or the diaspora.

This collection of Newfoundland folk narratives, first published in 1996, grew out of extensive fieldwork in folk culture in the province. The intention was to collect as broad a spectrum of traditional material as possible, and Folktales of Newfoundland is notable not only for the number and quality of its narratives, but also for the format in which they are presented. A special transcription system conveys to the reader the accents and rhythms of each performance, and the endnote to each tale features an analysis of the narrator’s language. In addition, Newfoundland has preserved many aspects of English and Irish folk tradition, some of which are no longer active in the countries of their origin. Working from the premise that traditions virtually unknown in England might still survive in active form in Newfoundland, the researchers set out to discover if this was in fact the case.

This collection of Newfoundland folk narratives, first published in 1996, grew out of extensive fieldwork in folk culture in the province. The intention was to collect as broad a spectrum of traditional material as possible, and Folktales of Newfoundland is notable not only for the number and quality of its narratives, but also for the format in which they are presented. A special transcription system conveys to the reader the accents and rhythms of each performance, and the endnote to each tale features an analysis of the narrator’s language. In addition, Newfoundland has preserved many aspects of English and Irish folk tradition, some of which are no longer active in the countries of their origin. Working from the premise that traditions virtually unknown in England might still survive in active form in Newfoundland, the researchers set out to discover if this was in fact the case.

“A rich and compelling collection that will make a significant contribution to the study of Jamaican/West Indian/black folklore and culture” –Daryl Cumber Dance, Virginia Commonwealth University “A fantastic collection from the rich storehouse of Jamaican traditional oral literature” –Rex Nettleford, University of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica “A Wealth of Information…. The author carries the presentation of the proverbs/sayings to the level of socio-anthropological significance” –E. Valerie Smith, Florida A&M University In 1992, Jamaicans throughout the world celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of Jamaica’s formal independence from Britain this collection of Creole sayings contributes to the lively interest in cultural preservation which exists this year in anticipation of the event. The sayings, an archive of the wit and wisdom of many generations, aim to trigger reflection and thought. They are never fully explained, and, says the author, “in the most extreme situation one might well need an entire week to ponder and think seriously” about their meaning. They exert pressure to conform to community standards, and they influence conduct in much the same way as religion does. Strong in imagery and often poetic, the maxims draw upon a variety of well-known flora, fauna, and real or imaginary creatures the anansi, for example, famous for “playin’ de fool fe ketch wise” (playing foolish in order to catch the wise), is regarded as a favorite hero in folklore. Creole, initially constructed as a coded language, employs a number of West African linguistic traditions. These Creole sayings, a valuable addition to the literature and ethnography of the Caribbean region, link Jamaican culture to its African past. They offer delightful reading to Latin American scholars, to students of comparative sociology and anthropology, and to the general public. G. Llewellyn Watson is professor of sociology at the University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetowwn, Canada.

For the first time the Dutch-speaking regions of the Caribbean and Suriname are brought into fruitful dialogue with another major American literature, that of the anglophone Caribbean. The results are as stimulating as they are unexpected. The editors have coordinated the work of a distinguished international team of specialists. Read separately or as a set of three volumes, the History of Literature in the Caribbean is designed to serve as the primary reference book in this area. The reader can follow the comparative evolution of a literary genre or plot the development of a set of historical problems under the appropriate heading for the English- or Dutch-speaking region. An extensive index to names and dates of authors and significant historical figures completes the volume. The subeditors bring to their respective specialty areas a wealth of Caribbeanist experience. Vera M. Kutzinski is Professor of English, American, and Afro-American Literature at Yale University. Her book Sugar's Secrets: Race and The Erotics of Cuban Nationalism, 1993, treated a crucial subject in the romance of the Caribbean nation. Ineke Phaf-Rheinberger has been very active in Latin American and Caribbean literary criticism for two decades, first at the Free University in Berlin and later at the University of Maryland. The editor of A History of Literature in the Caribbean, A. James Arnold, is Professor of French at the University of Virginia, where he founded the New World Studies graduate program. Over the past twenty years he has been a pioneer in the historical study of the Négritude movement and its successors in the francophone Caribbean.

The Encyclopedia of Women in World History captures the experiences of women throughout world history in a comprehensive, 4-volume work. Although there has been extensive research on women in history by region, no text or reference work has comprehensively covered the role women have played throughout world history. The past thirty years have seen an explosion of research and effort to present the experiences and contributions of women not only in the Western world but across the globe. Historians have investigated womens daily lives in virtually every region and have researched the leadership roles women have filled across time and region. They have found and demonstrated that there is virtually no historical, social, or demographic change in which women have not been involved and by which their lives have not been affected. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History benefits greatly from these efforts and experiences, and illuminates how women worldwide have influenced and been influenced by these historical, social, and demographic changes. The Encyclopedia contains over 1,250 signed articles arranged in an A-Z format for ease of use. The entries cover six main areas: biographies; geography and history; comparative culture and society, including adoption, abortion, performing arts; organizations and movements, such as the Egyptian Uprising, and the Paris Commune; womens and gender studies; and topics in world history that include slave trade, globalization, and disease. With its rich and insightful entries by leading scholars and experts, this reference work is sure to be a valued, go-to resource for scholars, college and high school students, and general readers alike.