Meriam Library ReSEARCH Station *skip navigation
csu, chico | csc-portal | e-mail   
  Home  ||  Books  ||  Articles & Databases  ||  Periodicals List  ||   ||  Help  

* Literature Sources in the Meriam Library *
Literature Online (LiOn)   ReSEARCH Station > Articles & Databases
contains over 350,000 fully-searchable works of poetry, prose and drama. Also included are author biographies, guides to more than 200 classic and contemporary literary works from Aeschylus to Toni Morrison, and poets on screen -- a multimedia collection of major poets reading and interpreting their own works.
MLA International Bibliography   ReSEARCH Station > Articles & Databases
indexes over 3,000 journals, relevant monographs, working papers, proceedings, bibliographies, and theses and dissertations. It provides broad coverage to scholarly resources pertaining to literature, language, linguistics, and folklore. The online version covers 1963 to the present. For earlier research from 1921 to 1963, consult the print edition. Print indexes , 1921-1963 are available in Meriam Library's second floor Index Collection, P 1 M6 (Index). Subjects Covered: Literature, Language, Linguistics, Folklore

To find a poem, play or novel by a particular author, first check the Library catalog under the author's name. If you don't see the title, there may be a complete or collected works which would contain it. If you still can't find the work, or if you wish to find a poem, play or novel on a particular subject, try the following reference books.
Poems
Chicorel Index to Poetry ref PN 1022 C41
Granger's Index to Poetry
Contains listings of poetry by title, first line, subject and author. 1990 edition has title Columbia Granger's Index to Poetry
ref PN 1022 G7
Index of American Periodical Verse
Gives access to poetry published in magazines or journals.
ref Z 1231 P7 I47
Poetry Index Annual ref PN 1022 P63
Plays
Chicorel Theatre Index to Plays ref Z 5781 C485
Index to Plays in Periodicals (supplement lists 1977-1987) ref PN 1721 K45 1979
Ottemiller's Index to Plays in Collections ref PN 1655 O88 1988
Play Index Best general source for recent drama. ref PN 1655 P551949-
Short Stories
Chicorel Index to Short Stories in Anthologies and Collections ref PN 3373 C44 1974
Short Story Index ref PN 3378 S83
Novels
Fiction Catalog (Subject Approach)
You may also search online catalog under author's name.
ref PN 3353 H23 1991
Book Reviews
MLA International Bibliography on the ReSEARCH Station.
Contains modern language, literature, folklore and linguistics information. Back files located in Index P1 M6.
Lexis/Nexis on the ReSEARCH Station contains recent reviews. Select "General News" and enter author's name in direct order in the first search box and the title of the book in the second, e.g., "Dan Brown" "Da Vinci Code." Recent reviews can also be found in Academic Search by entering the author's name and/or the title of the book. The following lists only book reviews. Check the year the book was published as well as several years thereafter.

Recent reviews can also be found in Academic Search by entering the author's name and/or the title of the book. The following lists only book reviews. Check the year the book was published as well as several years thereafter.
Book Review Digest ind Z 1035 A1 C96
Book Review Index Z 1035 A1 B58
New York Times Index under "Book Reviews" (1913-1993 only) ind AI 21 N44
Synopses
Characters in 20th Century Literature ref PN 56.4 H37 1990
Crown Guide to the World's Great Play ref PN 6112.5 S45 1984
Cyclopedia of Literary Characters ref PN 44 M3 1998
Digests of Great American Plays ref PS 338 P5 L6
Magill's Literary Annual ref PN 44 M324
Masterpieces of Latino Literature ref PQ 7081 A1 M29 1994
Masterpieces of World Literature ref PN 44 M31 1989
Masterplots ref PN 44 M33
Masterplots Annual ref PN 44 M324
Plot Summary Index ref PN 44 K6
Twentieth Century Plays in Synopsis ref PN 6112.5 S68
Top
Biographical Information

For a book length biography use the Library catalog. Choose subject search and enter the name, last name first. For an autobiography, choose author search. For 20th century authors, use Contemporary Authors online on the LIbrary ReSEARCH Station. It is much easier and faster to use than the print version. The following contain brief biographical entries on many writers.
African American Writers ref PS 153 N5 A344 1991
American Authors ref PS 21 K8
American Nature Writers ref PS 163 A6 1996
American Women Writers ref PS 147 A4
American Writers ref PS 129 A55
Black American Writers Past and present ref Z 1229 N39 R87
British Authors Before 1800 ref PR 105 K9
British Authors of the 19th Century ref PR 451 K8 1936
Contemporary Authors ref PN 453 C6
Contemporary Black American Playwrights ref PS 153 N5 P4
Contemporary Dramatists ref PR 106 V5 1988
Contemporary Novelists ref PR737 V5
Contemporary Poets ref PR 603 C6 1980
Cyclopedia of World Authors ref PN 451 M36 1974
Cyclopedia of World Authors II ref PN 451 M36 1989
Encyclopedia of World Literature in the Twentieth Century

ref PN 771 E5 1999

Feminist Writers

ref PN 451 F46 1996

Hispanic Writers ref PQ 7081.3 H58 1991
Index to Literary Biography ref PN 451 H38
Latin American Writers ref PQ 7081 A1 L37 1989
Modern American Women Writers ref PS 151 M54 1991
Modern Women Writers ref PN 471 M62
Reference Guide to English Literature ref PR 1061 S7 1991
Selected Black American, African and Caribbean Authors ref PS 153 N5 P3 1985
Spanish American Authors: the Twentieth Century ref PQ 7081.3 P57 1992
Writers Directory ref PS 1 W73
Literary Terms and Characters
Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable

ref PN 43 B65 1995

Characters in 19th Century Literature ref PN 56.4 H68 1993
Characters in 20th Century Literature ref PN 56.4 H37 1990
Cyclopedia of Literary Characters ref PN 44 M3 1998
Dictionary of Fictional Characters ref PR 19 F7 1974
Glossary of Contemporary Literary Theory

ref PN 44.5 H37 1992

Glossary of Literary Terms ref PN 445. A2 1993
Handbook to Literature ref PN 41 H6 1980
Heroes & Heroines of Fiction, v. 1 & II ref PN 43 W33 1914a
New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics ref PN 1021 E5 1993
Science Fiction
Checklist of Science Fiction Anthologies ref PN 3448 S45 C56 1975
Encyclopedia of Fantasy ref PN 3435 E53 1997
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ref PN 3433.4 E53 1993
MIT Science Fiction Society's Index, 1951-1965 ref PN 6071 S33 S77 1965
Reader's Guide to Twentieth Century Science Fiction

ref PN 3433.8 R44 1989

Reference Guide to Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror ref PN 3433.5 B87 1992
Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, 1975-1991 ref PN 3448 S45 R4212 1992
Science Fiction Story Index, 1950-1979 ref PN 3433.5 F54 1981
Essays
Essay and General Literature Index ind AI 3 E752
Quotations and Proverbs
Quotation dictionaries ref PN 60-6426
 
Where to Find a Critique

General Sources
Critiques may be found in several places: books about an author or an author's work; collections of articles and essays published in book form; literary journals; or reference works which bring together critical material on various literary themes. To find books and collections of articles, use the Library catalog. Choose subject search, and enter the author's name, last name first. Browse the headings, looking for "Criticism and Interpretation," or for the name of the work. Journal articles may be found by consulting the periodical indexes listed here:
Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature ref Z 2011 M6
Articles on Twentieth Century Literature ref Z 6519 P66
Arts and Humanities Citation Index ind NX 1 A7
Essay and General Literature Index ind AI 3 E752
Humanities Index (1974-1993 only) ind AI 3
MLA International Bibliography and Back files ReSEARCH Station & ind P 1 M6
Relevant Reference Books
19th Century Literature Criticism ref PN 761 N5
20th Century Literary Criticism (for authors who died 1900-1959) ref PN 771 G27
Benet's Reader's Encyclopedia

ref PN 41 B4 1991

Contemporary Literary Criticism (for authors who died after 1959) ref PN 771 C59
Encyclopedia of Contemporary Literary Theory ref PN 81 E43 1993
Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism ref PN 81 J554 1994
Literature Criticism from 1400-1800 ref PN 86 L53 1984
Moulton's Library of Literary Criticism of English & American Authors ref PR 83 M73 1966
Oxford Companion to Twentieth Century Literature in English PR 471 094 1996
American Literature-Multicultural Studies
American Ethnic Literatures ref PS 153 M56 P43 1992
American Writers ref PS 129 A55
Articles on American Literature 1900-1975 ref PS 88 A773-A78
Cambridge Handbook of American Literature ref S 21 C36 1986
Chicano Literature ref PS 153 M4 C46 1985
Dictionary of Native American Literature ref PM 155 D53 1994
Encyclopedia of Post-Colonial Literatures in English ref PR 9080 A52 E53 1994
Literary History of the United States. Bibliography ref PS 88 L522 1974
Masterpieces of African-American Literature ref PS 153 N5M264 1992
Modern American Literature ref PS 173 I6 R64 1985
Native Americans in American Literature ref PS153M56N475 1996
New Immigrant Literatures in the United States ref PS 153 N5 096 1997
Oxford Companion to African American Literature ref PS 221 C8 1969
Penguin Companion to American Literature ref PN 843 P4
Reader's Encyclopedia of American Literature ref PN 41 B4 1991
Schomburg Center Guide to Black Literature ref PN 841 S36 1996
Twentieth Century American Literature ref PS 221 T834 1985
English Literature
British Writers ref PR 85 B688
Cambridge Guide to Literature in English ref PR 85 C29 1992
Library of Literary Criticism: Modern British Literature ref PR 473 T4
Oxford Companion to English Literature ref PR 19 H3
Reference Guide to English Literature ref PR 106 S7 1991
Penguin Companion to English Literature ref PN 849 C5 P4
Top
Poetry
Critical Survey of Poetry ref PR 502 C85 1982
Explicator per PR 1 E9
Explicator Cyclopedia ref PR 401 E9
Guide to American Poetry Explication

ref PS 201 G84 1989

Index to Criticisms of British and American Poetry ref PR 89 C5
New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics ref PN 1021 N39 1993
Oxford Companion to Twentieth Century Poetry

ref PR 601 09 1994

Parnassus; Poetry in Review per PN 1010 P37
Poetry Criticism ref PN 1010 P499
Plays
American Drama Criticism ref PS 332 P3
Cambridge Guide to American Theatre ref PN 2220 C35 1993
Cambridge Guide to Theatre ref PN 2035 C27 1995
Drama Criticism ref Z 5781 C65
Dramatic Criticism Index ref Z 5781 B8
Guide to Critical Reviews ref PN 2266 S24 1984
Modern Drama Scholarship and Criticism, 1966-1980 ref PN 1851 C37 1986
Modern Drama Scholarship and Criticism, 1981-1990 ref PN 1851 C37 1997
New York Theatre Critics' Reviews ref PN 1601 N4
New York Times Theatre Review, 1920-1982 ref PN 1581 N4
Oxford Companion to American Theatre ref PN 2220 B6 1992
World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre ref PN 1861 W67
Reviews of recent or popular plays may be found in Academic Search on the ReSEARCH Station by entering the title or author of the play or in the Reader's Guide ( ind AI3 R4). Check the issues covering the year during which the play was originally produced.

For general information on playwrights and national drama, consult:
McGraw Hill Encyclopedia of World Drama

ref PN 1625 M3 1984

Modern World Drama: an encyclopedia

ref PN 1851 M36

Short Stories
Bibliography of Books of the Short Story (begin on p. 44) ref PN 3373 P69
Critical Survey of Short Fiction ref PN 3321 C7
Twentieth Century Short Story Explication ref PN 3373 W33 1977
Reference Guide to Short Fiction ref PN 3373 R36 1994
Studies in Short Fiction (Index in the Fall issue) per PN 3311 S8
Science Fiction
Anatomy of Wonder: a critical guide to science fiction ref PN 3433.8 A52 1987
Encyclopedia of Fantasy ref PN 3435 E53 1917
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ref PN 3433.4 E 53 1993
Reader's Guide to Twentieth-century Science Fiction ref PN 3433.8 R44 1989
Science Fiction Criticism ref PN 3448 S45 C43 1972
Science Fiction & Fantasy Book Review Index ref PN 3448 S45 S34
Science Fiction Writers: critical studies of major authors from early 19th century-date ref PS 374 S35 S36 1982
Survey of Science Fiction Literature ref PN 3448 S45 S88
Twentieth Century Science Fiction Writers ref PS 374 S35 T39 1986
Year's Scholarship in Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Literature ref PN 3433.8 T96
Publication Guides for Authors

Possible publishers for poems, essays, stories or novels.
Poet's Market ref PN 1059 M3 P63
Literary Marketplace ref PN 161 L5
Writer's Market ref PN 161 W83
Novel and Short Story/Writer's market ref PN 3555 N68
Additional sources include the following useful bibliographic series. Material on individual authors, groups of authors, genres, and related topics are included.

  • Contemporary Authorx on the ReSEARCH Station
  • Garland Reference Library of the Humanities (Garland Press)
  • Reference Guide to Literature (G.K. Hall)
  • Scarecrow Author Bibliographies (Scarecrow Press)
  • Soho Bibliographies (Oxford University Press)
  • Twayne's English Author Series (Twayne)
  • Twayne's U.S. Author Series (Twayne)
  • Twayne's World Author Series (Twayne)
  • Ask a Reference Librarian for help to develop a search strategy attuned to your specific needs in accessing these guides.

    Top
     

     

    Last updated:
    Send comments to
    lwebmaster
    CSU, Chico