Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance, edited by Cary D. Wintz and Paul Finkelman. 2 vols. 1,341p. New York: Routledge, 2004. 1-57958-458-6; 2004-16353. $250.

The phrase "Harlem Renaissance" is used to describe the burst of cultural activity that occurred among African-American writers and artists during the course of nearly 30 years — particularly during the peak period of the late 1920s. Part and parcel of the New Negro movement that emphasized African heritage, the renaissance capitalized on a new sense of achievement and opportunity in the African-American community. Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, Sterling A. Brown, Zora Neale Hurston, Jean Toomer and Claude McKay were among the many writers who first rose to prominence in this period. Alain Locke's anthology The New Negro (1925) and the contemporaneous efforts of activist Walter White helped promote the idea of an independent black-American literary movement. However, the reality was that these writers and poets did not work in isolation. Other cultural, social and political trends played a part in their achievements.

This new guide to the Harlem Renaissance sets the literary movement in its broader contexts. Some 260 scholars examine 640 contributing factors to the movement, from the Amsterdam News and the blues to World War I and the Works Progress Administration. Overview articles on groups of authors and literary genres outline the activities of writers, playwrights and poets. Influential authors, books, plays, films and periodicals are highlighted; however less than a third of the nearly 300 individuals profiled in biographical sketches are literary figures. Actors, artists, singers, dancers, musicians and politicians are all featured. So too are publishers, filmmakers, entrepreneurs, theater owners and social critics. Topical entries explore the anti-lynching crusade, the Great Migration, Jim Crow, race films and the "Talented Tenth," as well as jazz, nightlife and the numbers racket.

From the Apollo Theater to Sugar Hill, the reader can tour the clubs, churches, theaters, bookstores and neighborhoods associated with the Harlem Renaissance. The contemporary influence of the movement outside of New York is also surveyed, from Kansas and the deep South to Europe and Africa. The relationships of white patrons, critics, writers and publishers to the Harlem Renaissance is also scrutinized. The picture that emerges in the most well-rounded portrait of the movement available on reference shelves. This outstanding guide is highly recommended for both public and academic libraries.