Martin Luther College

Contains biographical sketches of authors who wrote or began publishing their major works during the American Renaissance in New England (between 1830 and 1860). Wide scope of authors includes: novelists, poets, essayists, editors, humorists, translators, compilers, journalists, reformers, abolitionists, scientists, lexicographers; special attention is given to the Transcendental authors - headed by Emerson and Thoreau.

Contains biographical sketches of authors who wrote or began writing their major works during the period 1820 to 1860. Represented are writers of short stories, juvenile literature, sermons, and popular literature, as well as novelists, poets, essayists, editors, humorists, translators, compilers, journalists, reformers, historians, abolitionists, and scientists.

Bibliographical, biographical, and evaluative commentary of contemporary American poets who published since 1945.

Represents the diversity and productivity of American drama since 1900. The careers of playwrights whose works achieved notable popularity as well as critical success are presented in some detail. Emphasis is placed on biography and a synthesis of the critical reception of authors' works.

Contains biographical sketches of American humorists who are generally considered to have had a major impact on our attitudes toward and understanding of humor and on the development of the form through the production of a significant body of work. Only literary figures were considered for inclusion, criterion was based on whether the author's work was primarily humorous or whether there was a significant body of humorous writing.

Contains biographical sketches of playwrights whose careers had reached a professional height before the 1939-1945 war, or whose lives had ended by that time.

Representative and comprehensive view of the range or writers and writer-artists who played vital roles in creating "Childhood's Golden Era." Also includes entries on writers and individuals who have significantly influenced the writing and art of others for children.