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Literature and Composition Research Guide
Databases
- Academic Search Complete (EBSCO)
- CAMIO
- Contemporary Authors, Literary Criticism (Gale)
- JSTOR Arts & Sciences III
- Literature Criticism Online (Gale)
- Literature Resource Center (Gale)
- MLA Directory of Periodicals (EBSCO)
- MLA International Bibliography (EBSCO)
- ProjectMuse Humanities Collection
- Twentieth Century American Poetry (ProQuest)
- Twentieth Century English Poetry (ProQuest)
Dictionaries & Encyclopedias - General and background information on a topic.
- World Mythology and Legend REF 303 M45 1988
- Larousse World Mythology REF BL 311 L3
- Dictionary of Mythology, Folklore and Symbols REF GR 36 J6
- Oxford English Dictionary REF PE 1625 087 1989
- Cyclopedia of Literary Characters REF PN 44 M3 1963
- The Writers Handbook REF PN 137 W73
- Magazine Writers Nonfiction Guidelines REF PN 147 M33 1987
- Literary Market Place REF PN 161.L5 1999
- The Query Book REF PN 161 B8
- Writer's Market REF PN 161.W83 2000
- Writer's Guide to Texas Markets REF PN 161 W825 1988
- NTC's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions REF PE 2846 S64 1989
- Writer's Guide to Style and Usage REF PE 1421.N46 1994
Handbooks & Manuals
- MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers REF LB 2369 G53
- Creative Writer's Handbook PN 145 J37 1994
Biographical Resources
- Cyclopedia of World Authors REF PN 451 C93 1989
- European Writers REF PN 501 E9 1983
- Dictionary of Literary Biography REF PS21 D5 (look for cumulative indexes)
- Larouse's Dictionary of Writers REF PN 451 L37 1994
- McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Biography REF CT 103 M27
Literary Criticism
Literary criticism analyzes, compares and contrasts, interprets, or evaluates works of literature. The print and electronic resources listed below contain biographical information on authors and critical essays regarding their literary works. Most of these indexes list scholarly journals and books on a specific work. Choose the reference work which is most related to your author and the literary time period.
- Critical Survey of Short Fiction. REF PN 3321 C7 -- v.1-v.2 essays about the art of writing short fiction. v.3 - v.6 entries arranged by author.
- Gale's Short Story Criticism REF PN 3373 S 386
- Gale's Literature Criticism from 1400-1800 REF PN 86 L56
- Gale's Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism REF PN 761 .N56
- Gale's Contemporary Literary Criticism REF PN 771 .C59
- Gale's Twentieth Century Literary Criticism REF PN 771.G27
- Gale's Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism REF PN 681.5 C57
- Survey of Long Fiction REF PN 81 C7 1983
- Poetry Criticism REF PN 1010.P499
- Gale's Shakespearean Criticism REF PR 2965.S44
- Magill's Critical Survey of Drama REF PN 1625 C74 1986 (foreign language series) -- Entries are arranged alphabetically by author. There is a list of the playwright’s principal works, literary forms, achievements, biographical information, analysis of his/her works and a bibliography.
- Magill's Critical Survey of Drama REF PN 2035 C7 1985 -- Entries are arranged alphabetically by author. There is a list of the playwright’s principal works, literary forms, achievements, biographical information, analysis of his/her works and a bibliography.
- Magill's Critical Survey of Poetry REF PN111.C7
Print Indexes - To Locate a Play in a Collection
- Ottemiller's Index to Plays in Collections, 6th ed. REF Z5781.08 1976
- Ottemiller's Index to Plays in Collections, 7th ed. REF Z5781.08 1988
- Play Index's 1949-1992 REF Z5781. P53
- Monologue Index: A Guide to 1,778 Monologues from 1,074 Plays REF PN 2080.S6 1995
- Holiday Plays PS 627.H65 H64 1983
- The Best Plays, v.1-v.67 1903-1989 PN 6112 .B45 -- The season on and off Broadway, stage productions, followed by the year’s best plays, synopses, biographical sketches and other materials. Substantial quotations from pivotal scenes.
- Best Short Plays of the World Theater, v.1-v.4 PN 6112.R53 1973 -- Collections of plays with some dialogue.
Plot Summaries
- MasterPlots II. Short Story Series REF PN 3326 M27 1986
- Magill's Masterpieces of World Literature REF PN 44 M3 1952 -- Includes type of work (drama, poetry, biography, novel, history, speech, treatise, etc.), characters, a critique or short critical analysis of the book and a plot summary. (Similar to Cliff Notes)
- MasterPlots Digests of World Literature REF PN 44 M33 1976 -- Includes type of work, characters, a critique or short critical analysis of the book and a plot summary.
- MasterPlots II v.1-v.6, Women’s Literature Series REF PN 44471.M37 -- Includes type of work, characters, a critique or short critical analysis of the book and a plot summary.
Interviews
- Writers at Work; the Paris Review Interviews PN 453.W7
Scripts & Screenplays
