Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, Paule Marshall, and Mary Prince represent the best of African American women writers who draw on the tortuous legacy of their people as a source for their art, revealing and defining themselves as they create compelling narratives that illuminate their roots, their heritage, and their unique culture. The themes that suffuse their writing are family, community, strong women, cultural memory, oral history, and slavery. By analyzing the works of these four remarkable writers, the study shows how today's black woman can take control of her destiny by coming to grips with an obscured and distorted past. These original essays articulate the way in which historical awareness, sensitivity to language, and an understanding of stereotypes can empower enduring artistic visions in a world that is largely indifferent to marginal voices.

Literary Quilting: History, Language, and Identity in Women's Diasporic Texts * The History of Mary Prince, AWest-Indian Slave, Related by Herself: History, Ancestry, and Identity * Toni Morrison's Beloved: Evolving Identities from Slavery to Freedom * Alice Walker's TheColor Purple: Racism, Sexism, and Kinship in the Process of Self-Actualization * Paule Marshall's Praisesong forthe Widow: Afro-Caribbean Rituals of Power, Place, and Identity