Outline of this guide: Reference Works Books Articles

Other useful links: Course Reserves/E-Reserves for this class Book Review Sources Film Review Sources RefWorks: A Guide Research Log Research Planner

• General Guides
  • An Annotated Critical Bibliography of Modernism. Alistair Davies. Totowa, NJ: Barnes & Noble, 1982.
    Reference R 016.8 D261a
  • The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms. Ross Murfin and Supryia M. Ray. 2nd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2003.
    Reference R 801.95 M975b
  • The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English. Ian Ousby. Rev. ed. New York: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1993.
    Reference R 928 C178
  • A Companion to Twentieth-Century Poetry. Ed. Neil Roberts. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2001.
    Little Library Stacks 809.1 C737
  • The Continuum Encyclopedia of Modern Criticism and Theory. Ed. Julian Wolfreys. New York: Continuum, 2002.
    Reference R 801.95 C762
  • A Dictionary of Literary and Thematic Terms. Edward Quinn. New York: Facts on File, 1999.
    Reference R 803 Q7d
  • A Dictionary of Literary Devices. Bernard Dupriez. Trans. Albert W. Halsall. Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press, 1991.
    Reference R 803 D943g-T
  • Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory. J.A. Cuddon. 4th ed. Oxford: Blackwell, 1998.
    Reference R 803 C964d4
  • Dictionary of Literary Themes and Motifs. Ed. Jean-Charles Seigneuret et al. 2 vols. New York: Greenwood, 1988.
    Reference R 803 D5541
  • Encyclopedia of American Poetry: The Nineteenth Century. Ed. Eric Haralson. Chicago, IL: Fitzroy Dearborn, 1998.
    Reference R 811.09 E56 v. 1
  • Encyclopedia of American Poetry: The Twentieth Century. Ed. Eric L. Haralson. Chicago, IL: Fitzroy Dearborn, 2001.
    Reference R 811.09 E56 v. 2
  • Encyclopedia of Literary Critics and Criticism. Ed. Chris Murray. New ed. 2 vols. London: Fitzroy Dearborn, 1999.
    Reference R 801.95 E56
  • A Glossary of Contemporary Literary Theory. Jeremy Hawthorne. 4th ed. London: Arnold, 2000.
    Reference R 801.95 H399g4
  • A Handbook to Literature. William Harmon. 9th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2003.
    Reference R 803 H747h9
  • The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism. Ed. Michael Groden et al. 2nd ed. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 2005.
    Reference R 801.95 J65 2005
  • The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics. Ed. Alex Preminger and T.V.F. Brogan. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Press, 1993.
    Reference R 809.1 P957 1993
  • The Oxford Companion to American Literature. Ed. James D. Hart. 6th ed. New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1995.
    Reference R 810.3 O98c6
  • The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-Century Poetry in English. Ed. Ian Hamilton. New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1994.
    Reference R 928.1 O98
  • The Penguin Dictionary of Critical Theory. David Macey. New York: Penguin, 2000.
    Reference R 801.95 M142p
  • The Poet's Dictionary: A Handbook of Prosody and Poetic Devices. William Packard. New York: Harper & Row, 1989.
    Reference R 803 P119p
  • Thematic Guide to American Poetry. Allan Burns. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2002.
    Reference R 811 B967g
  • Twentieth-Century Literary Movements Dictionary: A Compendium to More than 500 Literary, Critical, and Theatrical Movements. Ed. Helene Anderson and Jay P. Pederson. Detroit, MI: Omnigraphics, 2000.
    Reference R 809.9 T971
• Biographical and Bio-Critical Works
  To locate bibliographies, dictionaries, and encyclopedias that focus on one specific author, search the Library Catalog using the techniques described below.
  • American National Biography. Ed. John A. Garraty and Mark C. Carnes. 24 vols. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999-2002.
    Reference R 920.073 A512
  • American Writers. Ed. Leonard Unger. New York: Scribner, 1974- .
    Reference R 810.9 A512
    To locate relevant entries in this set, consult Gale's Literary Index.
  • The Beat Generation: A Gale Critical Companion. Ed. Lynn Zott. 3 vols. Detroit, MI: Thomson Gale, 2003.
    Reference R 810.9 B369
  • Biography Reference Bank. H.W. Wilson, 2003- .
  • Contemporary Authors. Gale: 2000- .
    The E.H. Little Library also has copies of the print volumes from 1967-2003; they are shelved in Reference at call number R 928 C76.
  • Critical Survey of Poetry. Ed. Philip Jason. 2nd rev. ed. 8 vols. Pasadena, CA: Salem Press, 2003.
    Reference R 809.1 C934
  • Dictionary of Literary Biography. Detroit, MI: Gale, 1978- .
    Reference R 928.1 D554
    Note: nearly all of the content in the print set is available online, with the exception of material in the DLB Yearbooks and the documentary volumes. These volumes have separate records in the Library Catalog, so be sure to do subject searches for the names of literary authors. For instructions on how to do this, see below.
  • Encyclopedia of American Poetry: The Nineteenth Century. Ed. Eric Haralson. Chicago, IL: Fitzroy Dearborn, 1998.
    Reference R 811.09 E56 v. 1
  • Encyclopedia of American Poetry: The Twentieth Century. Ed. Eric L. Haralson. Chicago, IL: Fitzroy Dearborn, 2001.
    Reference R 811.09 E56 v. 2
  • Encyclopedia of World Literature in the 20th Century. Ed. Steven R. Serafin. 5 vols. Farmington Hills, MI: St. James Press, 1999.
    Reference R 803 E562 1999
  • Feminist Writers. Ed. Pamela Kester-Shelton. Detroit, MI: St. James Press, 1996.
    Reference R 928 F3291
  • Interviews and Conversations with 20th-Century Authors Writing in English: An Index. Stan A. Vrana. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow, 1982.
    Reference R 016.82 V978i
  • The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Literature. Ed. Jay Parini. 4 vols. New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 2004.
    Reference R 810.3 O983
  • Reference Guide to World Literature. Ed. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. 3rd ed. 2 vols. Detroit, MI: St. James Press, 2003.
    Reference R 809 R332

• To find books at Davidson, search the following:
  • Library Catalog
    Includes information about books, government documents, and journals, magazines, and newspapers in the Library.
    • To locate appropriate Library of Congress Subject Headings, start with a keyword search and then browse records.
    • To locate reference works about a literary author, do a subject search for the author's name (last name first) and look for subject headings with the words "bibliography," "dictionaries," or "encyclopedia."
    • To locate works of criticism about a poet's work, do a subject search for the author's name and look for subject headings with the phrase "criticism and interpretation."
    • To locate videos, do a keyword search and limit your search by the format "video materials (VHS/DVD)."
    Search Syntax:
    • Truncation: use a dollar sign $
    • Phrase searching: use double quotation marks " "
    • Wildcard: use a question mark ?
• To find information about books that might be available from other libraries, search the following:
  • WorldCat
    Indexes books, periodicals, and other materials held by libraries around the world. Search WorldCat to identify additional books on your topic and then order the books on interlibrary loan.
    Note: It can be helpful to identify relevant Library of Congress Subject Headings in the Library Catalogue first; you can then do a subject search in WorldCat to find additional items with these subject headings.
    Search Syntax:
    • Truncation: use an asterisk *
    • Phrase searching: insert a "w" between the words in a phrase (for example, "cold w war")
    • Wildcard: use a question mark ?

• Starting points
  • Academic Search Premier
    (1975 to present) Indexes popular and scholarly articles in a broad range of subject areas; also includes citations to book reviews and citations to articles in several national newspapers.
    Search Syntax:
    • Truncation: use an asterisk *
    • Phrase searching: use double quotation marks " "
    • Wildcard: use a question mark ?
  • OmniFile Full Text Mega
    (1982 to present) Indexes articles from over 3,000 scholarly and popular periodicals in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences; also includes the full text of selected articles from over 1,650 of these periodicals.
    Search Syntax:
    • Truncation: unnecessary when using "All - Smart Search"; otherwise, use an asterisk *
    • Phrase searching: use double quotation marks ""
    • Wildcard: do not use with "All - Smart Search"; otherwise, use a question mark ?
• Core Resources for English
  Print Sources | Online Sources
  • Print Sources
    • American and British Poetry: A Guide to the Criticism, 1925-1978. Harriet Semmes Alexander. Athens, OH: Swallow Press, 1985.
      Reference R 016.82 A375a
    • Annual Bibliography of English Language & Literature (ABELL). Cambridge: Bowes & Bowes, 1924 - .
      Reference R 016.82 M689a
      Indexes journal articles and books published from 1920 to present; also includes citations to book reviews. ABELL is particularly good source of information about books published in the U.K. Many of these works do not appear in the MLAIB.
    • Gale Literary Criticism Titles
      • Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Detroit, MI: Gale, 1981- .
        Reference R 809.03 N714
        To locate relevant entries in this set, consult Gale's Literary Index.
      • Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. Detroit, MI: Gale, 1978- .
        Reference R 809.04 T971
        To locate relevant entries in this set, consult Gale's Literary Index.
      • Contemporary Literary Criticism. Detroit, MI: Gale, 1973- .
        Reference R 809.04 C761
        To locate relevant entries in this set, consult Gale's Literary Index.
        Some entries from this set are available online as part of the Gale Literary Databases, but the online version is incomplete. You will still need to consult the print set.
    • Guide to American Poetry Explication: Modern and Contemporary. John R. Leo. Boston, MA: G.K. Hall, 1989.
      Reference R 016.81 G946
    • Guide to Poetry Explication. Nancy C. Martinez and Joseph G.R. Martinez. 4 vols. Boston: G.K. Hall, 1991-1995.
      Reference R 016.82 M385g
    • Moulton's Library of Literary Criticism
      • Moulton's Library of Literary Criticism of English and American Authors through the Beginning of the Twentieth Century. Rev. Martin Tucker. New York: Ungar, 1966.
        Reference R 820.9 M92L1
      • New Moulton's Library of Literary Criticism. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1985-1990.
        Reference R 809 C5162
      • The Major Author's Edition of the New Moulton's Library of Literary Criticism. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1985- .
        Reference R 809 C5163
      • Twentieth-Century American Literature. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1985-1988.
        Reference R 809 C5166
    • Poetry Explication: A Checklist of Interpretation since 1925 of British and American Poems Past and Present. Joseph Marshall Kuntz. Rev. ed. Boston: G.K. Hall, 1980.
      Reference R 016.82 K96p3
    • The Year's Work in English Studies. London: English Association, 1920- .
      Little Library Stacks 820.4 E58y
  • Online Sources
    • MLA International Bibliography
      (1926 to present). Indexes journal articles, books, and doctoral dissertations in the fields of English, American, European, Asian, African, and Latin American linguistics, modern languages and literatures, film studies, and folklore.
      For more information, see the MLAIB Search Planner.
      Search Syntax:
      • Truncation: use an asterisk *
      • Phrase searching: use double quotation marks ""
      • Wildcard: use a question mark ?
• Other Resources
  • Essay & General Literature Index
    (1985 to present) Indexes chapters and essays in edited collections.
    Search Syntax:
    • Truncation: unnecessary when using "All - Smart Search"; otherwise, use an asterisk *
    • Phrase searching: use double quotation marks ""
    • Wildcard: do not use with "All - Smart Search"; otherwise, use a question mark ?
  • Humanities Abstracts
    (1907 to present). Indexes articles in over 500 English-language journals in the fields of archaeology, art, classics, communication, film, folklore, history, languages and literatures, music, philosophy, religion, and theatre. Also includes citations for book, theatre, and film reviews as well as interviews, obituaries, and some original creative works. Includes the full text of selected articles from 1995 to the present.
    Search Syntax:
    • Truncation: unnecessary when using "All - Smart Search"; otherwise, use an asterisk *
    • Phrase searching: use double quotation marks ""
    • Wildcard: do not use with "All - Smart Search"; otherwise, use a question mark ?
  • JSTOR
    Includes pdf copies of scholarly articles from a core collection of journals; also includes book reviews. Note:JSTOR does not contain articles from the most recent 3-5 years.
    Search Syntax:
    • Truncation: use a plus sign +
    • Phrase searching: automatic
  • Periodicals Index Online
    (c. 1665-1995) Indexes journal and magazine articles as well as book reviews in a broad array of humanities, social sciences, and science subjects.
    Search Syntax:
    • Truncation: use an asterisk *
    • Phrase searching: automatic
  • Project Muse
    Includes pdf and HTML copies of journal articles published by university and scholarly presses.
    Search Syntax:
    • Truncation: use an asterisk *
    • Phrase searching: use double quotation marks " "
  • Women Studies Abstracts
    Reference Index Area R 050 W872
    (1972 to present) Indexes popular articles, scholarly articles, and books on all aspects of women's studies, including history, education, gender, literature, religion, and art.