Snodgrass, Mary Ellen 1944-

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Snodgrass, Mary Ellen 1944-

PERSONAL:

Born February 29, 1944, in Wilmington, NC; daughter of William Russell (a building contractor and carpenter) and Lucy Ella (a seamstress) Robinson; married Hugh Edwin Snodgrass (a chemist), November 23, 1982; children: Deborah Ann Eckard Cruz (foster daughter). Ethnicity: "White." Education: University of North Carolina at Greensboro, A.B. (magna cum laude), 1966; Appalachian State University, M.A., 1968; Lenoir-Rhyne College, certification in gifted education, 1980, graduate study, 1986-88. Politics: "Anti-Republican." Religion: Unitarian-Universalist. Hobbies and other interests: Classical ballet, piano, choral music, gardening, needlepoint, film, travel.

ADDRESSES:

Home and office—Hickory, NC. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Hickory High School, Hickory, NC, teacher of English and Latin, 1966-85, English department chair, 1968-76; North Carolina State Textbook Commission, evaluator, 1972; Friends of the Hickory Library, founding member and president; foster parent, 1978—; freelance writer, 1985—; North Carolina Humanities Council, lecturer, 2006—. Community volunteer.

MEMBER:

National Council of Teachers of English, Authors Guild, Authors League of America, American Civil Liberties Union, Mensa, Phi Beta Kappa.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Citation for reference book of the year, New York Public Libraries, 1993, for Japan and the United States: Economic Competitors, and 2007, for Encyclopedia of Feminist Literature; citation for reference book of the year, Choice, 1994, for Encyclopedia of Utopian Literature, and 1998, for Encyclopedia of Fable.

WRITINGS:

55 Lessons in Latin I and II, J. Weston Walch (Portland, ME), 1986.

(Editor and contributor) The Short Story and You, National Textbook, 1986.

The Great American English Handbook, Perma-Bound (Jacksonville, IL), 1987.

Library Skills, J. Weston Walch (Portland, ME), 1988.

Poetry Skills, E.S.P., 1988.

Wise Words, Prufrock Press (Waco, TX), 1989.

Bluff Your Way in the Deep South, Centennial Press (Miami, FL), 1990.

The English Book, Perma-Bound (Jacksonville, IL), 1990.

Reading the Newspaper, Media Materials, 1990, 2nd edition, 1999.

Writing Letters, Media Materials, 1990, 2nd edition, 1999.

(Editor) Contests for Students: All You Need to Know to Enter and Win 600 Contests, Gale (Detroit, MI), 1990.

(Editor and contributor) Reading for Success, Continental Press, 1990.

(Editor and contributor) The Writer's Craft, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1991.

Characters from Young Adult Literature, Libraries Unlimited (Englewood, CO), 1991.

Environmental Awareness, Volume 1: Acid Rain, Volume 2: Air Pollution, Volume 3: Land Pollution, Volume 4: Solid Waste, Volume 5: Toxic Waste, Volume 6: Water Pollution, Bancroft-Sage (Marco, FL), 1991.

(Editor and contributor) Inventors and Inventions, Gale (Detroit, MI), 1992.

(Editor and contributor) African-American Encyclopedia, Salem Press, 1992.

Late Achievers: Famous People Who Succeeded Late in Life, Libraries Unlimited (Englewood, CO), 1992.

Crossing Barriers: People Who Overcame, Libraries Unlimited (Englewood, CO), 1993.

Auctori Latini, AMSCO School Publications, 1993.

Japan and the United States: Economic Competitors, Millbrook Press (Brookfield, CT), 1993.

Black History Month Resource Books, Gale (Detroit, MI), 1993.

(With Lotsee Patterson) Indian Terms of the Americas, Libraries Unlimited (Englewood, CO), 1994.

Voyages in Classical Mythology, American Bibliographical Center-Clio Press (Santa Barbara, CA), 1994.

Encyclopedia of Utopian Literature, American Bibliographical Center-Clio Press (Santa Barbara, CA), 1995.

An Illustrated Dictionary of Little-Known Words from Literary Classics, American Bibliographical Center-Clio Press (Santa Barbara, CA), 1995.

Literary Maps for Young Adult Literature, Libraries Unlimited (Englewood, CO), 1995.

Celebrating Women's History: A Women's History, Gale (Detroit, MI), 1996, 2nd edition, 1998.

Encyclopedia of Satirical Literature, American Bibliographical Center-Clio Press (Santa Barbara, CA), 1996.

Encyclopedia of Frontier Literature, American Bibliographical Center-Clio Press (Santa Barbara, CA), 1997.

Encyclopedia of Southern Literature, American Bibliographical Center-Clio Press (Santa Barbara, CA), 1997.

Signs of the Zodiac: A Reference Guide to Historical, Mythological, and Cultural Associations, Greenwood Press (Westport, CT), 1997.

Encyclopedia of Fable, American Bibliographical Center-Clio Press (Santa Barbara, CA), 1998.

(With Corki Miller) Storytellers: A Biographical Directory of 120 English-Speaking Performers Worldwide, McFarland and Co. (Jefferson, NC), 1998.

Historical Encyclopedia of Nursing, American Bibliographical Center-Clio Press (Santa Barbara, CA), 1999.

(With Gary Carey) A Multicultural Dictionary of Literary Terms, McFarland and Co. (Jefferson, NC), 1999.

Religious Sites in America: A Dictionary, American Bibliographical Center-Clio Press (Santa Barbara, CA), 2000.

Encyclopedia of World Scriptures, McFarland and Co. (Jefferson, NC), 2001.

Who's Who in the Middle Ages, McFarland and Co. (Jefferson, NC), 2001.

Coins and Currency: An Historical Encyclopedia, McFarland and Co. (Jefferson, NC), 2003.

Literary Treks: Characters on the Move, maps by Raymond Barrett, Jr., Libraries Unlimited (Westport, CT), 2003.

World Epidemics: A Cultural Chronology and Disease from Prehistory to the Era of SARS, McFarland and Co. (Jefferson, NC), 2003.

Amy Tan: A Literary Companion, McFarland and Co. (Jefferson, NC), 2004.

August Wilson: A Literary Companion, McFarland and Co. (Jefferson, NC), 2004.

Barbara Kingsolver: A Literary Companion, McFarland and Co. (Jefferson, NC), 2004.

Encyclopedia of Kitchen History, Fitzroy Dearborn (New York, NY), 2004.

Facts on File Encyclopedia of Gothic Literature, Facts on File (New York, NY), 2005.

World Shores and Beaches: A Descriptive and Historical Guide to 50 Coastal Treasures, McFarland and Co. (Jefferson, NC), 2005.

(Editor) William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Wiley (Hoboken, NJ), 2006.

(Editor) William Shakespeare, Macbeth, Wiley (Hoboken, NJ), 2006.

(Editor) William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, Wiley (Hoboken, NJ), 2006.

(Editor) William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, Wiley (Hoboken, NJ), 2006.

Encyclopedia of Feminist Literature, Facts on File (New York, NY), 2006.

Walter Dean Myers: A Literary Companion, McFarland and Co. (Jefferson, NC), 2006.

Kaye Gibbons: A Literary Companion, McFarland and Co. (Jefferson, NC), 2007.

The Underground Railroad: An Encyclopedia of People, Places, and Operations, M.E. Sharpe (Armonk, NY), 2007.

Also series editor for Cliffs Notes, 1985-93, and author of several Cliffs Notes pamphlets, 1988-92. Columnist, Charlotte Observer, 1990-93. Contributor to periodicals, including Ms., On the Issues, Islands, School Library Media Activities Monthly, and Canadian Medical Association Journal.

SIDELIGHTS:

Mary Ellen Snodgrass once told CA: "Serendipity has blessed my life. Although it was difficult to cope with my father's frail health and my family's limited finances, from the time I was eight years old until my dad's death in 1976, I treasured our relationship. With barely a fifth-grade education, he taught me geography and algebra, politics and the Bible. From early times, I took to the rudiments of debate and became, in his words, ‘a hard-headed young'un,’ which was a necessary preface to becoming a writer.

"In addition to the good fortune of having a loving, humanistic father, in late youth I encountered other riches. Three times in my undergraduate years, unforeseen scholarships kept me in college. When I taught my first Latin and English classes (in the high school that I graduated from), I felt that I had inherited an empire. For twenty years, I taught other people how to write. Then, when the regimentation, dehumanization, and test mania of the mid-1980s made teaching miserable, I escaped into textbook writing. I've tackled all sorts of jobs—a book on Japanese economics, genealogical research, a book about how to be southern, a regular column for the Charlotte Observer, even translating British humor into palatable American English.

"Now, writing seems as much a part of life as breathing. I sink nose-deep into research projects, such as my books on contests, pollution, Latin readings, Indian terms, and black history month celebrations. For a break, I speak to book clubs and conventions, civic and school groups. I've always been a ‘sampler’—I've sung in a couple of operas, served as a church organist, composed music, played the piano in a French restaurant, and danced in a few ballets, once as the queen in Sleeping Beauty. I keep a garden and work out twice a week with an adult ballet group. Serendipity remains a constant companion: I just happen to be at the right place when satisfying, fulfilling challenges crop up."

Snodgrass later added: "Writing at home is both frustrating and liberating. I can set my own schedule and pursue what subjects interest me, but I miss the daily contact with teenagers. Over twenty years later, I still teach in my dreams. I take pride in my research into neglected women's history. Whatever subjects I tackle for my reference books, I locate the females whose contributions go unheralded."

Later, Snodgrass added: "When I taught school, I wanted to pique intellectual curiosity in teenagers—to turn them on to [the] amazing deeds of ordinary people. I tried to debunk Hollywood heroism, just as my books now laud greatness and vision in everyday events."