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Fletcher Library at the West Campus

Print Resources:    Reference Books (Biographical Information  · Book Reviews  ·  Literary Criticism)
  Journals (Book Reviews  ·  Literary Criticism)
Databases/Indexes: Biography  ·  Book Reviews  ·  Languages & Literatures  ·  Ethnic Studies  ·  General/Multidisciplinary
Full-Text: Journal Collections  ·  Book Collections
Other: Free Web Resources of Note  ·  Citing Sources: MLA Style  ·  Catalog Search Tips

Reference Book Series with Substantial Literary Criticism Content

Biographical Information About Authors

  • American Writers: A Collection of Literary Biographies
         West Reference PS129.A55 [vol. 1-4, supp. 1 pt. 1 - supp. 4 pt. 2, and retrospective supp.]
  • Contemporary Authors: A Bio-Bibliographical Guide to Current Writers in Fiction, General Nonfiction, Poetry, Journalism, Drama, Motion Pictures, Television and Other Fields.
         West Reference CT120.C6 [vol.1- (1962)-]
         Full-text of current volumes is also available from the online Literature Resource Center database.
  • Contemporary Authors, New Revision Series: A Bio-Bibliographical Guide to Current Writers in Fiction, General Nonfiction, Poetry, Journalism, Drama, Motion Pictures, Television and Other Fields.
         West Reference CT120.C62 [vol.1- (1962)-]
         Full-text of current volumes is also available from the online Literature Resource Center database.

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Sources for Identifying Book Reviews

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Literary Criticism

  • Contemporary Literary Criticism: Criticism of the Works of Today's Novelists, Poets, Playwrights, Short Story Writers, Scriptwriters, and Other Creative Writers
         West Reference PN771 .C59 [vol.1- (1973)-]
         Full-text of current volumes is also available from the online Literature Resource Center database.
  • Drama Criticism: Criticism of the Most Significant and Widely Studied Dramatic Works from All the World's Literature
         West Reference PN1601 .D59 [vol. 1- (1991)-]
  • Nineteenth Century Literature Criticism: Excerpts from Criticism of the Works of Novelists, Philosophers, and Other Creative Writers Who Died Between 1800 and 1899, From the First Published Critical Appraisals to Current Evaluations
         West Reference PN761 .N5x [vol. 1- (1981)-]
  • Poetry Criticism: Excerpts From Criticism of the Works of the Most Significant and Widely Studied Poets of World Literature.
         West Reference PN1010 .P499 [vol. 1-34 (1991-2002)]
  • Twentieth Century Literary Criticism: Excerpts From Criticism of the Works of Novelists, Poets, Playwrights, Short Story Writers, and Other Creative Writers, 1900-
         West Reference PN94 .T8x [vol. 1- (1978)- ]

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Print Journals Which Regularly Contain Literary Criticism Content

Print Journals Which Regularly Include Book Reviews

 

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Print Journals Which Regularly Include Literary Criticism

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Recommended Databases/Indexes for Literary Criticism

Finding Biographical Information: Recommended Databases/Indexes

Biography and Geneaology Master Index
This is a citation database - it does not provide full-text. You will need to search the ASU Libraries Catalog to determine if the titles cited by BGMI are available from the ASU Libraries.
Literature Resource Center
Contains biographical information on famous and lesser-known novelists, poets, essayists, journalists, and other writers.

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Book Reviews

See the Finding Book Reviews page.

Languages & Literatures

Gale Full Text
Literature Resource Center (LRC)
Provides biographical, bibliographical, and critical analysis/interpretation for 90,000 authors (2,000 in-depth)
Available searches: Author, Title, Genre, Literary Theme, Literary Movement
Includes "Guide to Conducting Literary Research" (see "Research Guide" hyperlink)
    The LRC includes the full-text of current volumes from the following Gale Publishing titles:
    Contemporary Authors
    Contemporary Literary Criticsm
    Dictionary of Literary Biography

Note: The complete series of these titles (all volumes) are available in print format - see the West Reference Collection.

ABELL (Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature)

An index to about 200 journals, ABELL is a British product and is especially good for critical and     analytical articles on British and Commonwealth literatures, but is good for all literature in English.  It covers about 200 journlas and about 30 are avaialble full-text online.

 
 
LION: Literature Online
A fully searchable library of more than 330,000 works of English and American poetry, drama and prose, plus biographies, bibliographies and key criticism and reference resources.
Extensive author and title indexes for the authors covered (400 author bibliographies; 1,000 biographies for the most studied authors).
 
MLA International Bibliography
The premiere index for scholarly research on modern languages and literatures.
The MLA International Bibliography, produced by the Modern Language Association of America, indexes nearly 4,000 journals and book series; it consists of bibliographic records pertaining to literature, language, linguistics, and folklore and includes coverage from 1963 to the present.
Additional coverage includes relevant monographs, working papers, proceedings, bibliographies, and other formats.
Humanities Full Text
HFT provides indexing of 400 core/major humanities journals. It does not provide a very deep selection of literary sources, but most of the indexed titles are part of the ASU Libraries' collections.
Coverage includes: Archaeology, Area Studies, Art, Classical Studies, Communications, Dance, Film, Folklore, Gender Studies, History, Journalism, Linguistics, Literary & Social Criticism Literature, Music, Performing Arts, Philosophy, Religion and Theology
British Humanities Index
Indexes over 320 internationally respected humanities journals and weekly magazines published in Great Britain and other English speaking countries.
Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory & Criticism
The West Library also has the print version of the Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory & Criticism - see West Reference PN81 .J55x 1994
World Shakespeare Bibliography Online
"This release of The World Shakespeare Bibliography Online provides annotated entries for all important books, articles, book reviews, dissertations, theatrical productions, reviews of productions, audiovisual materials, electronic media, and other scholarly and popular materials related to Shakespeare and published or produced between 1972 and mid-2001. The scope is international, with coverage extending to more than 92 languages and representing every country in North America, South America, and Europe, and nearly every country in Asia, Africa, and Australasia. The more than 74,855 records in this version cite several hundred thousand additional reviews of books, productions, films, and audio recordings."
Early English Books Online
From the first book printed in English by William Caxton, through the age of Spenser and Shakespeare and the tumult of the English Civil War, Early English Books Online (EEBO) contains over 125,000 titles listed in Pollard & Redgrave's Short-Title Catalogue (1475-1640), Wing's Short-Title Catalogue (1641-1700), and the Thomason Tracts (1640-1661).
Among the thousands of titles featured in EEBO are works by Malory, Bacon, More, Erasmus, Boyle, Newton, Galileo; musical exercises by Henry Purcell and novels by Aphra Behn; prayer books, pamphlets, and proclamations; almanacs, calendars, and many other primary sources.
Radical Scatters: Emily Dickinson's Fragments and Related Texts
The images of Emily Dickinson's manuscripts are reproduced courtesy of the noted libraries and the Harvard University Press.
This resource provides critical introductions to Dickinson's late manuscripts and fragments.

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Ethnic Studies Article Databases/Indexes with Literary Criticism Content

Bibliography of Native North Americans
From Human Relations Area Files (HRAF), BNNA contains the citations from the cumulative eight volumes of the Ethnographic Bibliography of North America as well as additional new citations.
All citations are to published materials (16th century to the present); publications include books, journal articles, essays, conference papers, and US and Canadian government documents.
Chicano Database
Updated quarterly, the Chicano Database provides extensive coverage from the 1960s to the present, with selective coverage dating back to the early 1900s.
It completely indexes 125 journals and contains over 50,000 citations to all types of material on Mexican-American and Chicano topics.
Records added since 1992 have expanded its scope to include the broader Latino experience, including Puerto Ricans, Cuban Americans, and Central American immigrants.
Hispanic American Periodicals Index
From analyses of current political, economic, and social issues to unique coverage of Latin American arts and letters, HAPI Online contains complete bibliographic citations to articles, book reviews, documents, original literary works, and other materials appearing in more than 400 key social science and humanities journals published throughout the world.
HAPI is your source for authoritative, worldwide information about Central and South America, Mexico, the Caribbean basin, the United States-Mexico border region, and Hispanics in the United States.
Ethnic NewsWatch
Ethnic NewsWatch is a full-text collection of the newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press.
A rich collection of articles, editorials, columns, and reviews, Ethnic Newswatch indexes 180 periodicals and provides a broad diversity of perspectives and viewpoints -- the other sides of the stories.

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Multidisciplinary & General Article Indexes/Databases with Literary Criticism Content

Academic Search Premire (EbscoHOST)
Academic Search Elite indexes 2,730 journals and provides full-text for 1,530 academic, social sciences, humanities, general science, education and multi-cultural titles.
Over 1,700 journals are peer-reviewed.
Full text backfiles go as far back as January of 1990, while indexing and abstract backfiles go as far back as January of 1984.
Good starting indexes for almost any humanities question; includes creative works (e.g. poems and stories). Book reviews and criticism.
Periodical Contents Index: Citation Only
Provides complete indexing of thousands of periodicals in the humanities and social sciences, from their first issues to 1995.
Indexes over twelve million journal articles in 3,615 journals.
NewsBank Newsfile Collection
Full text newspaper book reviews and literary news topics.
News articles from more than 500 U.S. regional and national newspapers, wire services, and broadcasts.
Newspaper book reviews and literary news topics. Go to:  "General News: Arts and Sports Reviews."
Essay & General Literature Index
Cites essays and articles contained in collections of essays and miscellaneous works published in the United States, Great Britain, and Canada.
More than 300 volumes are indexed annually. Additionally, more than 20 annuals and serial publications are indexed.
Focuses on the humanities and social sciences, with subject coverage ranging from economics, political science, and history to criticism of literary works, drama, and film.
Essays and chapters in book collections; strength is literature. Not a first source, but good for finding sources not found elsewhere.
Encyclopaedia Britannica Online
EB Online includes the complete encyclopedia, as well as Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary and the Britannica Book of the Year.
You can also use EB Online to search an Internet directory that includes more than 130,000 links to Web sites selected, rated, and reviewed by Britannica editors.
Good humanities coverage. Indexing to related topics and authors is especially good.

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Full-Text Journal Collections with Literary Criticism Content

Project Muse
Provides full-text of over 100 scholarly journals in arts and humanities, social sciences, and mathematics - including 31 literature titles.
JSTOR
Provides full-text of over 300 scholarly journals in arts and sciences.
Literature titles: African American Review; African Languages and Cultures Supplement; Alif; American Literary History; American Literature; American Speech; Boundary 2; Callaloo; Chinese Literature; Essays, Articles, Reviews; College Composition and Communication; College English; Comparative Literature; Diacritics; ELH; French Review; The French Review Special Issue; German Quarterly; Hispania; Hispanic Review; Italica; Journal of African Cultural Studies; Japanese Language and Literature; Language; MELUS; MLN; Modern Language Journal; Modern Philology; Nineteenth-Century Literature; New England Quarterly; New German Critique; New Literary History; PMLA; Poetics Today; Renaissance Quarterly; Representations; Review of English Studies; Rhetoric Review; Shakespeare Quarterly; Social Text; Speculum; Studies in English Literature, 1500 - 1900; Studies in the Renaissance; Transition; Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature; Twentieth Century Literature; Yale French Studies

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Full-Text Book Collections with Literary Criticism Content

netLibrary
Includes classic texts that are in the public domain (no longer protected by copyright) and freely available to any user, as well as titles purchased by the ASU Libraries'.
Access to titles purchased by the ASU Libraries is restricted.
The ASU Online Catalog does note the availability of netLibrary titles.

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Other Resources Related to Literary Studies

Recommended "Free" World Wide Web Resources for Literary Studies

Voice of the Shuttle
VoS emphasizes both primary and secondary (or theoretical) resources, and defines its audience as people who have something to learn from a higher-education, professional approach to the humanities (which in practice has included students and instructors from the elementary school, high school, and general population sectors).
Wright American Fiction, 1851-1875
"This is a collection of 19th century American fiction, as listed in Lyle Wright's bibliography American Fiction, 1851-1875. There are currently 2,887 volumes included (2,109 unedited, 778 fully edited and encoded) by 1,394 authors."
The print version is also available - West Reference PS377.W695x 1978
Internet Public Library's Online Literature Collection
The Online Literary Collection primarily seeks to collect evaluative or explanatory writings about works of literature. While the collection will not provide evaluation of the collected writings themselves, certain standards must be met for critical works to be included in the collection.
The IPL Online Literary Criticism Collection contains 4637 critical and biographical websites about authors and their works that can be browsed by author, by title, or by nationality and literary period.

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Citing Sources: MLA (Modern Languages Association) Style

For an overview of the requirements of MLA Style, view the Library's MLA Citation Style Guide

  • Note: copies of the most recent edition of The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers are shelved at the Reference Desk and the Reserve Desk (LB2369.G53 1999)

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Catalog Search Tips

Most of the available language and literature materials are assigned call numbers of PN, PR, or PS.

General Literature Subject Headings:
Literature - History and criticism
Poetry - History and criticism
Drama - History and criticism
Novelists, American -- 20th century -- Interviews
Authors, American--biography
Authors, English--biography

For particular authors:

[Last name, First name]
Example:      Poe, Edgar Allan

[Last name, First name, dates] -criticism and interpretation
Example:      Poe, Edgar Allan, 1809-1849, -criticism and interpretation

 

For particularly famous titles:

[Last name, First name, dates, title] -
Example:      Poe, Edgar Allan, 1809-1849 - Fall of the House of Usher

[Last name, First name, dates, title] -
Example:      Crane, Stephen, 1871-1900. Red Badge of Courage.

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Modified: October 02, 2007,
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