Designed for college students with little background knowledge of African American literature, King's (African American literature, Penn State-University Park) guide discusses a number of texts commonly used in courses where no major anthology is used. Six chapters cover the material in six chronologically-ordered time periods. Each chapter includes an overview of the period and literature produced, brief discussion of representative authors and their works, contexts and texts, recurring themes and issues, study questions for each text, suggestions for paper topics, and a bibliography of works. Includes sample student essays in an appendix, and a glossary. No subject index. Annotation (c) Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)