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William Grant Still: A Bio-Bibliography. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1996. pp. xiv, 331.
Authors: Judith Anne Still, Michael J. Dabrishus, and Carolyn L. Quin
In general, the purpose of a bio-bibliography is to furnish not only an annotated bibliography but also a biographical sketch that illustrates its subject's character through personal and professional activities. Furthermore, claims are often centered on furnishing the reader with information regarding the legitimacy, validation, contributions, and significance and importance of its subject to a particular field as well as to, for example, the humanities. It is obvious to this reader that the authors of William Grant Still: A Bio-Bibliography are earnestly committed to authenticating Mr. Still as more than the "Dean of Negro Composers, [but] to his larger place as a Dean of American Composers. . ." (p. 14).
Judith Anne Still's A Personal Reminiscence of William Grant Still should be a paradigm for the introductory component to any autobiography, biography, biographical sketch, etc. The author provides selected ". . passages from his [William Grant Still] theme books, diaries, and sketch books" (p. ix) followed by personal reminiscences of her father. Although no explanation is furnished as to the selection of specific passages within, the entries in any case provide various aspects of his life. Collectively, these include his appreciation for God's grace and guidance, personal family matters, and his assiduous work on music during a time of great opposition against the advancement of the African American culture. Although the author's reminiscence of her father addresses the personal side of his life-span, professional activities are strategically introduced in order to show their relevance to his personal life; particularly when his music activities made him . . . "oblivious to the basic seriousness of the domestic friction in his home" (p. 9).
Inasmuch as writings...