This interview with Chickasaw novelist and poet Linda Hogan discusses creativity and the composing process, her new novel "Mean Spirit," the complications of identity and personal history for two female mixed-blood writers (interviewer and interviewee), and how considerations of audience impact (or shouldn't impact) American Indian writers. (SV)

Discusses how the aesthetic concerns of African Americans are reflected in the writing of Black women and introduces the characteristics of African culture as they relate to African-American culture. Emphasizes the intuitive musical quality of Black language as expressed in poetry and fiction. (FMW)

Biographies of 177 American nursing leaders who were born before 1890 r deceased by 1988 were analyzed to identify commonalities in their backgrounds. Similarities in background characteristics were found when they were compared with achievers of Renaissance Italy, eighteenth-century Scotland, and nineteenth-century German Jews. (Author/MLW)

Describes a rationale and strategy for using the diaries of women authors in a course on women writers. Notes that this unit on women's diaries introduces students to women writers with whom they are unfamiliar, and also encourages students to read other works by these writers. (MM)

Relates the efforts of completing two collections of the works and papers of Mark Twain. Describes the combined efforts of the University of Iowa and the University of California to publish both a scholarly edition and a reader's edition devoted to Twain. (KO)

Explores literary universe of Caribbean women writers, discusses contributions as reflective of their self-image, and examines Caribbean literature as collective identity of region. Author explains use of writing as means of linking events that reveal experiences of Caribbean women through more detailed analysis of two novels: "Moi, Tituba…

A young college French professor has won praise for her book about the experience of learning the language. She explores her childhood, education, and socialization as a young adult to tell why and how French became important to her. (MSE)

A project involving a local grant-funded anthology of university English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) student writing is reported. Benefits to the students are described, and it is concluded that students valued the pride of authorship more than their improved writing skills. (13 references) (LB)

Examines the impact of publishing industry diversification on the college textbook publishing process. Topics discussed include characteristics and trends of the college publishing industry; corporate ownership and managerial practices; the rationalization of editorial and marketing processes; evaluative criteria; author selection; and suggestions…

Surveyed 37 Australian fictional works for young adults to determine how the main characters cope with health issues, and compared the findings with young people's real-life coping strategies. Results indicate that Australian authors present teenage readers with valuable insights into ways of dealing with abuse, illness, and sexuality. (AEF)

This article recounts a learning experience at the Kansas State School for the Deaf in which students invited an author of children's books about deaf children, Jean Andrews, to visit and participated with the author in developing her next book. Students also wrote their own books, and received feedback on them from Andrews. (DB)

Increasingly, papers in scholarly journals are listing over 100 researchers as coauthors. In 40 years, the average number of authors of scientific papers has doubled. Some say the problem reflects the growing complexity of the research process in many disciplines. Journal reviewers find these papers generally of high quality. (MSE)

Describes how, when a working writer visited a sixth-grade classroom on an ongoing basis to interact with students, the language and activities of the writing community changed in interesting and positive ways. (SR)

This article chronicles the development of Patty Smith Hill, eminent educator of the Progressive Era. Hill was largely responsible for adding kindergarten to the elementary school curriculum, was the author of the "Happy Birthday" song, and a member of the Woman's Suffrage Movement. (DB)

The percentage of books in a research library having personal authors that were cataloged and entered in a one-screen minicatalog was determined to be 36.6 percent when searched. Libraries can reduce cataloging costs and increase user access to information by simplifying cataloging. (AEF)