Poetry Project: Biography

This task involves locating whatever biographical information is available on your poet and shaping it into a short biographical profile, taking care to acknowledge your sources appropriately. You'll have to make your own judgments about the most salient details of your poet's life and how best to frame them.

The most convenient source in some cases may be the Gale Literary Databases website, which lets you simultaneously search up-to-date, online versions of Contemporary Authors and the Dictionary of Literary Biography. No matter how thorough the Gale entries appear, however, you should seek out other sources, as well, since relying on only one source when others are available is just bad scholarly practice, tantamount to plagiarism (even if you paraphrase). You may find other suitable material by reading book jacket blurbs, biographical notes, headnotes and/or introductory essays in single-author volumes or anthologies in which your poet has been included. You may also find reliable biographical information on the Web (but be wary). In the latter two instances, you'll want to consult other members of your team.

When all else fails, hoof it down to the library and pore over some reference books. You'll find print editions of the old standbys Contemporary Authors (New Revision Series—HSU Main Reference PN451 .C67) and the Dictionary of Literary Biography (HSU Main Reference PN451 .D53—check the most recent Comprehensive Index for the series), though the online editions (which are comprised in the Gale Literary Databases, above) will probably be more current. You should also try one or more of the following more specialized reference books, all of which are also in the Reference section on the main floor, not in the stacks. (This is not an exhaustive list; you may find other useful works on your own.

Benson, Eugene and L. W. Conolly. The Encyclopedia of Post-Colonial Literatures in English. 2 vols. New York: Routledge, 1994. HSU Main Reference PR9080.A52 E53 1994 (vol.1) and PR9080.A52 E53 1994 (vol. 2)
Berrian, Brenda F. and Aart Broek. Bibliography of Women Writers From the Caribbean. Washington, D.C.: Three Continents, 1989. HSU Main Reference PN849.C3 B47 1989
Dance, Darryl Cumber. Fifty Caribbean Writers: A Bio-Bibliographical Critical Sourcebook. Greenwood, CT: Greenwood, 1986. HSU Main Reference PR9205.A52 F54 1986
Fister, Barbara. Third World Women's Literatures: A Dictionary and Guide to Materials in English. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1995. HSU Main Reference PN 849 .U43 F58 1995
Herdeck, Donald E., ed. Caribbean Writers. A Bio-Bibliographical-Critical Encyclopedia. Washington, D.C.: Three Continents, 1979. HSU Main Reference PN849 .C3
Lindfors, Bernth and Reinhard Sander. Twentieth-Century Caribbean and Black African Writers. Dictionary of Literary Biography vol. 117. Detroit: Gale Research, 1992. HSU Main Reference PN451 .D53 vol.117
Paravisini-Gebert, Lizabeth and Olga Torres, Caribbean Women Novelists: An Annotated Critical Bibliography. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1993. HSU Main Reference PN849.C32 P37 1993
Serafin, Stephen R., ed. Encyclopedia of World Literature in the 20th Century. 4 vols. Detroit: St. James, 1999. HSU Main Reference PN771 .E5 1999

Stick to the facts of your poet's life and career, as much as possible; leave the critical evaluations of her life and career to the "Critical Introduction" member of your team. Compile, collate, synthesize and edit all the biographical information you've assembled into a two- to three-paragraph narrative.

Cite your sources appropriately, whether you've summarized, paraphrased, or quoted directly. (If you summarize or reiterate purely factual information, or a piece of knowledge or opinion that's widely shared, an acknowledgement isn't necessary.) Be careful, though: if your paraphrase of any one source is too close to the language and structure of the original, that's essentially plagiarism. Be judicious, too, about direct quotation: these days, quoting more than 10% of a single work is often considered a copyright violation, though exceptions may be still granted for educational use. Use the parenthetical method of citation within the body of your text, and provide a list of Works Cited in MLA format. (Capital Community College in Hartford, CT has an excellent web-based introduction to MLA Style.)

> > Biography
	This task involves locating whatever biographical information is available on your poet and shaping it into a short biographical profile, taking care to acknowledge your sources appropriately. You'll have to make your own judgments about the most salient details of your poet's life and how best to frame them. The most convenient source in some cases may be the Gale Literary Databases website, which lets you simultaneously search up-to-date, online versions of Contemporary Authors and the Dictionary of Literary Biography. No matter how thorough the Gale entries appear, however, you should seek out other sources, as well, since relying on only one source when others are available is just bad scholarly practice, tantamount to plagiarism (even if you paraphrase). You may find other suitable material by reading book jacket blurbs, biographical notes, headnotes and/or introductory essays in single-author volumes or anthologies in which your poet has been included. You may also find reliable biographical information on the Web (but be wary). In the latter two instances, you'll want to consult other members of your team. When all else fails, hoof it down to the library and pore over some reference books. You'll find print editions of the old standbys Contemporary Authors (New Revision Series—HSU Main Reference PN451 .C67) and the Dictionary of Literary Biography (HSU Main Reference PN451 .D53—check the most recent Comprehensive Index for the series), though the online editions (which are comprised in the Gale Literary Databases, above) will probably be more current. You should also try one or more of the following more specialized reference books, all of which are also in the Reference section on the main floor, not in the stacks. (This is not an exhaustive list; you may find other useful works on your own. Benson, Eugene and L. W. Conolly. The Encyclopedia of Post-Colonial Literatures in English. 2 vols. New York: Routledge, 1994. HSU Main Reference PR9080.A52 E53 1994 (vol.1) and PR9080.A52 E53 1994 (vol. 2) Berrian, Brenda F. and Aart Broek. Bibliography of Women Writers From the Caribbean. Washington, D.C.: Three Continents, 1989. HSU Main Reference PN849.C3 B47 1989 Dance, Darryl Cumber. Fifty Caribbean Writers: A Bio-Bibliographical Critical Sourcebook. Greenwood, CT: Greenwood, 1986. HSU Main Reference PR9205.A52 F54 1986 Fister, Barbara. Third World Women's Literatures: A Dictionary and Guide to Materials in English. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1995. HSU Main Reference PN 849 .U43 F58 1995 Herdeck, Donald E., ed. Caribbean Writers. A Bio-Bibliographical-Critical Encyclopedia. Washington, D.C.: Three Continents, 1979. HSU Main Reference PN849 .C3 Lindfors, Bernth and Reinhard Sander. Twentieth-Century Caribbean and Black African Writers. Dictionary of Literary Biography vol. 117. Detroit: Gale Research, 1992. HSU Main Reference PN451 .D53 vol.117 Paravisini-Gebert, Lizabeth and Olga Torres, Caribbean Women Novelists: An Annotated Critical Bibliography. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1993. HSU Main Reference PN849.C32 P37 1993 Serafin, Stephen R., ed. Encyclopedia of World Literature in the 20th Century. 4 vols. Detroit: St. James, 1999. HSU Main Reference PN771 .E5 1999 Stick to the facts of your poet's life and career, as much as possible; leave the critical evaluations of her life and career to the "Critical Introduction" member of your team. Compile, collate, synthesize and edit all the biographical information you've assembled into a two- to three-paragraph narrative. Cite your sources appropriately, whether you've summarized, paraphrased, or quoted directly. (If you summarize or reiterate purely factual information, or a piece of knowledge or opinion that's widely shared, an acknowledgement isn't necessary.) Be careful, though: if your paraphrase of any one source is too close to the language and structure of the original, that's essentially plagiarism. Be judicious, too, about direct quotation: these days, quoting more than 10% of a single work is often considered a copyright violation, though exceptions may be still granted for educational use. Use the parenthetical method of citation within the body of your text, and provide a list of Works Cited in MLA format. (Capital Community College in Hartford, CT has an excellent web-based introduction to MLA Style.)
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