Selected to represent a diversity of voices, styles, and genres, The Woman That I Am gathers 126 works of contemporary fiction, poetry, drama, autobiography, and culture criticism by American women of color—African American, Asian American, Latina American, and Native American. This collection includes writings by new voices, as well as by Alice Walker, Gwendolyn Brooks, Maxine Hong Kingston, Louise Erdrich, Paule Marshall, Amy Tan, Toni Morrison, Judith Ortiz Cofer, Leslie Marmon Silko, Maya Angelou, Rita Dove, June Jordan, Lucille Clifton, Ntozake Shange, Nikki Giovanni, and others.