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MADISON, Wis., Jan 24, 2006 (UPI via COMTEX) -- African-American literature scholar, Nellie Y. McKay, who co-edited the "Norton Anthology of African American Literature," has died in Madison, Wis.
McKay was chairwoman of the Afro-American studies department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and she lived in a large house near the campus until shortly before her death from cancer on Sunday, the Wisconsin State Journal reported Tuesday.
In 1997, McKay and Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates received accolades from The New York Times and scholarly journals for the "Norton Anthology of African American Literature," a 2,600-page canon of 200 years of African-American literature.
Born to West Indian parents in New York City, McKay earned a master's degree and doctorate in English from Harvard. She had taught at the University of Wisconsin-Madison since 1978.
"When she came here there was not a single university that was paying any attention to black women's literature, Craig Werner, UW-Madison professor of Afro-American studies, told the State Journal. "Now, there isn't a single university that isn't."
A memorial service was planned.
URL: www.upi.com Copyright 2006 by United Press International
