First Published in 1999. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

“Black women writers and critics are acting on the old adage that one must speak for oneself if one wishes to be heard.” —Claudia Tate, from the introduct

This collection of critical essays on plays by African American female playwrights from the post-reconstruction period to the present provides thematic analyses

This is the first book-length study of black American women playwrights. It will be useful to scholars in the fields of black and women's literature and an exce

This reference volume addresses an often overlooked area in the history of the American theatre, the contributions of early black playwrights and dramatic write