- Literature from Oxford Reference Online
- Encyclopedias, dictionaries, and companions to literature from the respected publisher. Search can target a specific publication or span the entire literature collection. See also the Mythology & Folklore resources.
- The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms PN 44.5 .C67
1990
- A straightforward, succinct dictionary of literary movements and terminology.
- A Glossary of Literary Terms PN 44.5 .A284 1993
- The entries in this book are "succinct essays" rather than technical definitions. The author's goal is to define the terminology within a full context. In doing so, he often combines separate terms into a single entry--for example, "Neoclassic and Romantic." The arrangement makes it important to use the book's index first, since Romantic is not represented under the R's in the main part of the book.
Finding primary texts: novels, poems, plays, stories, essays, & speeches
- The Online Books Page
- An index to English-language texts that are legally available online for free.
- LitFinder
- A subscription database of online literature: over 126,000 poems, 5,000 short stories, 2,800 essays, 1,800 speeches, and 1,000 plays. The database is international in scope and covers all time periods.
Databases and Indexessee here
Journals and Magazines
Looking to publish an article or a piece of creative writing? See Writing Subject Guide
Browse titles by category (print + online access)
Current print subscriptions to journals of literary criticism
- American literature a journal of literary history, criticism and bibliography
- American quarterly
- Calyx
- Contemporary literature
- Criticism
- Critique
- ELH
- The Explicator
- Journal of modern literature
- Modern fiction studies
- The New England quarterly
- New literary history
- Publications of the Modern Language Association of America (PMLA)
- Shakespeare quarterly
- Southern humanities review
- Studies in romanticism
- Twentieth century literature
- Western folklore
- The Western humanities review
Current subscriptions to literary magazines and other publications of creative writing
Author Biographies
call numbers refer to Reference collection, 1st floor
The publisher Gale produces multiple series which provide biographical and bibliographical information on authors. Gale's Literary Index indicates the series and volumes to which you should refer.
Contemporary Authors (CA) PN451 .C58 through PN451 .C65
Take note of its multiple sub-series
Contemporary Authors New Revision Series (CANR)
Contemporary Authors Autobiography Series
Contemporary Authors Permanent Series
Generally succinct and in directory format--birth, death, & family information, education and career history, addresses, etc.
Contemporary Dramatists (5th ed.) PN1625 .V5
Contemporary Novelists (4th ed.) PR883 .C64
Contemporary Poets (5th & 7th eds.) PR 603 C6
Dictionary of Literary Biography (DLB) vols. 1-current PN451 .D5
Take note of its two sub-series, which directly follow the main series on the shelf.
Dictionary of Literary Biography Documentary Series vols. 1-19
Dictionary of Literary Biography Yearbook 1980-2002
Entries present "career biographies"--the author's life and major works. Volumes are thematic: for example, authors who are American short-story writers since World War II or Canadian fantasy and science-fiction writers.
Native North American Literature PS508.I5 N38 1994
Something About the Author vol. 1-current PN451 .S6
Covers authors and illustrators of literature for children and young adults. |
Besides the Gale Literary sources, see general biographical sources.
Literary Criticism
The publisher Gale produces multiple series which reproduce, either in full or excerpted, literary criticism from journals and book chapters. Coverage of any given author may appear in several volumes and in multiple series. Some entries present criticism on the author's entire body of work; other entries present criticism on a single important piece of literature. Gale's Literary Index indicates the series and volumes to which you should refer; the titles below are the critical series that Hamersly Library has--there are other Gale series listed in the index which we do not have. For the print volumes, the authors are presented in alphabetical order by last name.
Children's Literature Review (CLR)
vols. 1-124 in Reference PN1009.A1 C5139
vols. 125-current through Literature Criticism Online
Contemporary Literature Criticism (CLC)
vols. 1-237 in Reference PN771 .C59
vols. 238-current through Literature Criticism Online
Hispanic Literature Criticism
Reference PQ7081. A1 H573
Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism (NCLC)
vols. 1-183 in Reference
PN761 .N5
vols. 184-current through Literature Criticism Online
Drama Criticism
vols. 1-27 in Reference PN1601 .D59
vols. 28-current through Literature Criticism Online
Poetry Criticism
vols. 1-77 in Reference PN1010 .P499
vols. 78-current through Literature Criticism Online
Shakespearian Criticism
vols. 1-105: do not own
vols. 106-current through Literature Criticism Online
Short Story Criticism
vols. 1-99 in Reference PN3373 .S386
vols. 100-current through Literature Criticism Online
Twentieth-Century Literature Criticism (TCLC)
vols. 1-189 in Reference PN771 .G27
vols. 190-current through Literature Criticism Online
For additional literary criticism, search the MLA Bibliography, the library catalog and Summit. In all cases, search by subject for your author's name.
Book Reviews
See here.
Selected Web Sites
Intute Arts and Humanities
Web resources megasite for education and research in the Humanities, selected by subject specialists. The cataloging and annotations provide an excellent path for finding relevant sites on the Internet.
Style & Citation Help
See the MLA section and the Tools & guides section of the Style & Citation Manuals resource page
