Online Resources for Background Research
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Salem Literature Online This link opens in a new window
Literary reference resources, including critical surveys of long fiction and poetry and Masterplots. -
Literature Resource Center This link opens in a new window
Provides access to biographies, bibliographies, and critical analyses of authors from every age and literary discipline. -
In Context: Biography This link opens in a new window
Authoritative reference content merged with periodicals and multimedia. Search for people based on name, occupation, nationality, ethnicity, birth/death dates and places, or gender as well as keyword and full text.
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Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
A collection of digital reference titles. Content includes a wide range of general reference titles together with a large collection of subject-specific books.
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Gale eBooks This link opens in a new windowA database of encyclopedias and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research.
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Films on Demand English & Language Arts Video Collection
Streaming video including documentaries, performances, and interviews covering literature, drama, and elements of language.
Reference Books
The reference books listed on this page can be an excellent place to start your search for background information on literary topics. Many contain bibliographies that will point you to additional writings about your work or author.
Any book with a call number starting with REF can be found on the first floor of the library and cannot be checked out.
Literary Theory
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The Encyclopedia of Literary and Cultural Theory
Call Number: OnlineA comprehensive encyclopedia of literary and cultural theory, with accessible entries on the important concepts, theorists and trends in post-1900 literary and cultural theory. -
The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism
Call Number: REF 820.9 J65 2005Contains over 200 alphabetically arranged entries on the major terms, movements, and critics associated with the field of literary theory and criticism. -
Encyclopedia of Contemporary Literary Theory
Call Number: OnlineAccessible and jargon-free, the Encyclopedia of Contemporary Literary Theory provides lucid, concise explanations of myriad approaches to literature that have arisen over the past forty years. -
The Edinburgh Encyclopaedia of Modern Criticism and Theory
Call Number: OnlineIn-depth entries on various schools of criticism and theory from Europe, Britain and the United States. -
Encyclopedia of Literature and Criticism
Call Number: OnlineIn ninety essays by leading international critics and scholars, the volume covers both traditional topics such as literature and history, poetry, drama and the novel, and also newer topics such as the production and reception of literature. -
Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction
Call Number: OnlineCuller, an extremely lucid commentator and much admired in the field of literary theory, uses easy-to-grasp examples as he outlines the ideas behind schools of criticism that can otherwise be quite daunting, such as deconstruction, semiotics, and postcolonial theory. -
Key Concepts in Literary Theory
Call Number: OnlinePresents the student of literary and critical studies with a range of definitions of the significant terms and concepts used in psychoanalytic, poststructuralist, Marxist, feminist, and postcolonial literary studies. This volume also provides useful discussions of the main areas of literary, critical and cultural theory.
Biographical Information
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American Writers
Call Number: REF 810.9 A512A collection of literary biographies covering the life and work of notable American authors. Some analysis of their work is included as well as a bibliography to lead you to additional information. -
British Writers
Call Number: REF 820.9 B862wA collection of literary biographies covering the life and work of notable British authors. Some analysis of their work is included as well as a bibliography to lead you to additional information.
Short Stories
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Columbia Companion to the 20th Century American Short Story
Call Number: OnlineContains 125 essays on major writers and themes. -
Critical Survey of Short Fiction
Call Number: REF 809.31 C934Contains a total of 363 articles: 348 on individual authors, plus 12 comprehensive overview essays, an annotated bibliography of short fiction criticism, a chronology, and a glossary. -
Reader's Companion to the Short Story in English
Call Number: OnlineCovers 50 English-language short story writers from around the world (mostly those from the mid-to-late 20th century and includes biographical material, a brief review of existing criticism, a lengthier analysis of specific works, and a selected bibliography of primary and secondary sources. -
Short Story Criticism
Call Number: REF 809 S559Presents critical views on the most widely studied writers of short fiction. Many entries are included in the Literature Resource Center.
Poetry
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The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
Call Number: OnlineA comprehensive reference work dealing with all aspects of its subject: history, types, movements, prosody, and critical terminology. -
Encyclopedia of American Poetry: The Twentieth Century
Call Number: REF 811 E56 2001 (and online)Contains biographical and critical essays on major American poets of the twentieth century. -
Poetry criticism : excerpts from criticism of the works of the most significant and widely studied poets of world literature
Call Number: REF 809.1 P745Provides substantial critical essays and biographical information on major poets from all eras. Many entries are included in the Literature Resource Center. -
Critical Survey of Poetry
Call Number: REF 809.1003 C934Provides alphabetically arranged essays on 697 culturally and geographically diverse poets. Also available in Salem Literature Online.
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