Encyclopedia of Life Writing : Autobiographical and Biographical Forms

The Encyclopedia of Life Writing is the first substantial reference work in English to study the various auto/biographical forms that constitute "life writing." As this interdisciplinary and broadly inclusive term suggests, the Encyclopedia explores not only autobiography and biography proper, but also letters, diaries, memoirs, family histories, case histories, and other ways in which individual lives have been recorded and structured.

It includes entries on genres and sub-genres, national and regional traditions from around the world, and important autobiographical writers, as well as articles on related areas such as oral history, anthropology, testimonies, and the representation of life stories in non-verbal art forms.

The Encyclopedia of Life Writing provides a practical and comprehensive survey of this rapidly expanding field of interest.

Winner "Outstanding Reference Source" award - American Library Association