Research Guides: CMP-203: Literature and Composition (Muzyk, Spring 2022): Literary Reference Sources

Types of Literary Reference Sources

Online full-text literary references sources.

Gale Literature Criticism This link opens in a new window
Literature Criticism Online is a searchable database with full text of the titles in the Gale Literary Criticism Series.

Rider University Libraries subscribes to:

Contemporary Literary Criticism
Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism
Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism
Shakespearean Criticism
Literature Criticism from 1400-1800
Poetry Criticism
Short Story Criticism

These titles are anthologies of published essays on authors, particular works, and literary topics. A good place for one-stop shopping and to get an overview of criticism from a particular time frame on a certain author, work, or topic.

You can search the contents of all of the above titles at the same time!:

Dictionary of Literary Biography Complete Online (Gale) This link opens in a new window
Dictionary of Literary Biography Complete Online provides more than 16,000 biographical and critical essays on the lives, works, and careers of the world's most influential literary figures from all eras and genres. Comprised of the award-winning Dictionary of Literary Biography series, which over its 30-year history has been dedicated to making literature and its creators better understood and more accessible to students and interested readers, DLB Complete Online includes the DLB main series, the DLB Documentary Series, and the DLB Yearbook Series - all delivered in an easy-to-use 24/7 online format that matches the exact look and feel of the print originals.

Literary Reference Source This link opens in a new window
Literary Reference Source™ is a comprehensive database that provides users with a broad spectrum of information on thousands of authors and their works across literary disciplines and timeframes. It has been specifically designed for public libraries, secondary schools, junior/community colleges, and undergraduate research. Literary Reference Source is a full-text database that combines information from thousands of major respected reference works, books, and literary journals as well as original content from EBSCO Publishing. Content includes thousands of plot summaries, essays of literary criticism, author biographies, book reviews, classic and contemporary poems, classic and contemporary short stories, and author interviews. Access provided by the New Jersey State Library.

Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
Credo Reference provides access to 600+ encyclopedias, handbooks, guides and dictionaries. These reference works cover a wide swath of topics including, science and medicine, history and cultural studies, business, education, and much more.

Hint: Go to Advanced Search and limit to Selected Subject "Literature." Or, after your search, limit to "Literature" in the subject category in the left side menu.

Writing about an author's novel, play, or poem, but not familiar with their time period or oeuvre?

A bio-bibliographical essay will provide you with the needed context and insight--and possibly some leads on a topic or approach for your research!

Use bio-bibliographical sources to learn about a particular author's life, times, and works. They offer not just biographical facts but critical assessment and context.

Selected Resources:

Dictionary of Literary Biography (Online)
Provides in-depth career biographies for authors, tracing the development of their canon and evolution of their reputation. Places literary figures in the larger perspective of literary history and offers appraisals of their accomplishments by experts. Each volume focuses on a particular topic, period, or genre ((e.g. "American Novelists since WWII," "Victorian Poets after 1850," "Twentieth-Century American Science Fiction Writers") and provides a biographical-bibliographical guide and overview for that particular area of literature.
Contemporary Authors (Print)
Call Number: REF Z1010 .C6 (Moore Library-Reference Extension)
ISBN: 9780810300248
A bio-bibliographical guide to current writers in fiction, general nonfiction, poetry, journalism, drama, motion pictures, television.
Search the Gale Literary Index to see which volume(s) feature a particular author.
Contemporary Authors New Revision Series (Print)
Call Number: REF Z1010 .C63 (Moore Library-Reference Extension)
ISBN: 9780787678982
Updates entries previously published in Contemporary Authors.
Search the Gale Literary Index to see which volume(s) feature a particular author.
American Writers (Base volumes + Supplements)
Call Number: REF PS129 .A55 (Moore Library-Reference Room)
ISBN: 9780684314464
"This collection of critical and biographical articles covers hundreds of notable authors from the 17th century to the present day. Signed essays, 12-15 pages in length by noted scholars, provide thought-provoking insights into the lives, careers and works of American writers. Each Supplement covers approximately 20 additional author."

Search the Gale Literary Index to see which volume(s) feature a particular author.
British Writers (Base volumes + Supplements)
Call Number: PR85 .B688 (Moore Library-Reference Room)
ISBN: 9780684315997
"This collection of critical essays covers hundreds of writers who have made significant contributions to British, Irish, and Commonwealth literature from the 14th century to the present day. The contributors analyze many individual works and engage the reader with their distinctive themes and stylistic. Introductory essays and chronological tables open each volume and provide historical background."

Search the Gale Literary Index to see which volume(s) feature a particular author.
African-American Writers (Facts on File)
Call Number: REF E185.6 .F33 v.7 (Moore Library-Reference Room)
ISBN: 0816048606
Brief (1-3 page) biographical essays profile more than 145 writers. Each entry concentrates on the events in that persons life related to his or her accomplishments as a writer and includes a list of further reading on that person.
African American Writers (Charles Scribner's Sons) by Valerie Smith (editor)
Call Number: REF PS153.N5 A344 2001 (Moore Library-Reference Room)
ISBN: 0684806398
Contains biographical and critical essays on the work of important African American writers.

Also, search the Gale Literary Index to see if later essays have been published on these authors in other Gale titles.
African American dramatists : an A to Z guide
Call Number: REF PS338.N4 A69 2004 (Moore Library-Reference Room)
ISBN: 0313322333
Alphabetically arranged entries for 61 authors. Click the link above to see who is included in this resource.
Black writers : a selection of sketches from contemporary authors
Call Number: REF E185.96 .B545 (Moore Library-Reference Room)
ISBN: 0810388383
1989 (1st ed.), 1994 (2nd ed.), 1999 (3rd ed.)

Essays are pulled from Contemporary Authors above.
Search the Gale Literary Index to see if later essays have been published on these authors in the Contemporary Authors series.
Harlem Renaissance and beyond : literary biographies of 100 Black women writers, 1900-1945 /
Call Number: REF PS153.N5 R65 1990 (Moore Library-Reference Room)
ISBN: 0816189269
Chronicles the lives and works of 100 black women novelists, short-story writers, playwrights, poets, essayists, critics, historians, journalists, and editors writing in the United States between 1900 and 1945. Here are insightful portraits of famous black women, among them Zora Neale Hurston, Katherine Dunham, Angelina Weld Grimkeacute;, Mary Eliza Church Terrell, and Ida Bell Wells-Barnett. Here, too, are many thoughtful profiles of neglected writers. Drawing on extensive archival research and interviews with the writers and their families, this book traces its subjects' contributions to literature, their concerns about race and gender, their common themes, their relationships with artistic contemporaries, and the influence of these early writers on their modern-day counterparts in American literature.
Hispanic writers : a selection of sketches from Contemporary authors
Call Number: REF PQ7081.3 .H58 1999 (Moore Library-Reference Room)
ISBN: 0810383772

Essays are pulled from Contemporary Authors above.
Search the Gale Literary Index to see if later essays have been published on these authors in the Contemporary Authors series.
Latino and Latina Writers
Call Number: REF PS153.H56 L39 2004 (Moore Library-Reference Room
ISBN: 0684312948
Extensive, original essays on well-known and lesser-known authors, as well as thematic essays on important issues in Latino literature, such as the role of music, language, feminism, and history.

Also, search the Gale Literary Index to see if later essays have been published on these authors in other Gale titles.
Modern American women writers
Call Number: REF PS151 .M54 1991 (Moore Library-Reference Room)
ISBN: 0684190575
The Greenwood encyclopedia of American poets and poetry (5 vols.)
Call Number: REF PS303 .G74 2006 (Moore Library-Reference Room)
ISBN: 031332381X
Notable British Novelists (3 vols.)
Call Number: REF PR821 .N57 2001 (Moore Library-Reference Room)
ISBN: 0893562041
Biographical sketches and analyses of 104 British novelists from the 15th century to the present. Profiles 89 English, 6 Scottish, and 9 Irish writers (Irish writers included lived under British rule before the creation of the Irish Free State in 1922; thus James Joyce and Samuel Beckett are not included here).

Find critical essays on particular authors and their works in one place. The essays in the sources listed here provide history and context for the critical landscape, as well as provide you with excerpts or full text of criticism on particular works.

Use Gale's database Literature Criticism Online to search and get the full text of entries in these titles below:

Contemporary Literary Criticism
Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism
Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism
Shakespearean Criticism
Literature Criticism from 1400-1800
Poetry Criticism
Short Story Criticism

Black literature criticism : classic and emerging authors since 1950 (3 vols.)
Call Number: REF PS153.N5 B556 2008 (Moore Library-Reference Room)
ISBN: 9781414431703
Click the link above to see which authors are included in these three volumes.
Search the Gale Literary Index to see which volumes contain the author or work you are researching.

Black literature criticism : excerpts from criticism of the most significant works of Black authors over the past 200 years (3 vols.)
Call Number: REF PS153.N5 B556 1992 (Moore Library--Reference Room) and PS153.N5 B556 1992 (Moore Library-Stacks)
ISBN: 0810379295
Search the Gale Literary Index to see which volumes contain the author or work you are researching.
Contemporary literary criticism.
Call Number: Internet: Access Restricted to current Rider students, faculty, and staff.
Each print volume in this long-standing series profiles approximately 6-8 novelists, poets, playwrights and other creative writers by providing full-text or excerpted criticism taken from books, magazines, literary reviews, newspapers and scholarly journals.
Literature criticism from 1400 to 1800.
Call Number: Internet: Access Restricted to current Rider students, faculty, and staff.
ISBN: 9781414441368
"Turn to this authoritative international resource for complete critical coverage of the careers and works of the greatest writers and thinkers of the late Middle Ages, the Renaissance and the Restoration eras. Detailed entries offer students and other researchers access to a variety of important interpretations of historical periods, literary trends and topics, and the achievements of noteworthy individuals. Approximately 90-95% of critical essays are full text. Volumes include author, nationality, topic and title indexes; a cumulative title index to the entire series is published separately."
Nineteenth Century Literature Criticism
Call Number: Internet: Access Restricted to current Rider students, faculty, and staff.
ISBN: 9781414438603
"Here is a convenient source of commentary on the careers and works of acclaimed poets, novelists, short story writers, dramatists and philosophers who died between 1800 and 1899. Each volume presents overviews of four to eight authors with chronologically arranged criticism representing the entire range of response to each author. Entries typically include an author portrait, an introduction to the author, a primary bibliography, annotated criticism and an annotated list of further reading sources. Approximately 90-95% of critical essays are full text.

Every fourth volume is a Topics volume covering major literary movements, trends and other topics related to nineteenth-century literature. Volumes include author, nationality, topic and title indexes; a cumulative title index to the entire series is published separately."
Poetry criticism
Call Number: Access Restricted to current Rider students, faculty, and staff.
ISBN: 9780787698799
"Each volume of this reference provides substantial critical essays and biographical information on four to eight major poets from all eras.

Entries provide an introductory biographical sketch, an author portrait, a primary bibliography, annotated full text and excerpted criticism of the poets' works and sources for additional reading. When available, comments from the poets themselves are included. Approximately 90-95% of critical essays are full text.Each volume includes cumulative author name and nationality indexes as well as a volume-specific title index."
Shakespearean criticism : excerpts from the criticism of William Shakespeare's plays and poetry, from the first published appraisals to current evaluations
Call Number: Access Restricted to current Rider students, faculty, and staff.
ISBN: 9781414441993
"This detailed series provides comprehensive coverage of critical interpretations of the plays of Shakespeare. Volumes one through ten present critical overviews of each play and feature criticism from the 17th century to the present. Volumes 11-26 focus on the history of Shakespeare's plays on the stage and in important film adaptations. Volumes 27-56 focus on criticism published after 1960 and provide readers with thematic approaches to Shakespeare's works. Starting with Vol. 57, the series provides general criticism published since 1990 and historical criticism not featured in previous volumes on four to five plays or works per volume. Beginning with Vol. 60, the series replaced its annual compilation of essays representing the year's most noteworthy Shakespearean scholarship with topic entries, comprised of essays that analyze various topics or themes found Shakespeare's works. Approximately 90-95% of critical essays are full text. Each volume includes a cumulative character index, a topic index and a topic index arranged by play title."
Short Story Criticism
Call Number: Internet: Access restricted to current Rider students, faculty, and staff.
ISBN: 9781414433318
This series presents critical views on the most widely studied writers of short fiction. Each volume includes overviews of three to six short story writers, works, or topics and a historical survey of the critical response. Approximately 90-95% of critical essays are full text.
Modern American Literature (5th ed.) (5 vols.)
Call Number: REF PS221 .M53 1999 (Moore Library-Reference Room)
ISBN: 1558623795
Critical excerpts for 489 significant authors of the modern period in American literature. Excerpts are culled from brief reviews to lengthy critical evaluations and from a wide variety of critical perspectives, showing the evolution of an author's reputation and stature.

Use these specialized books to learn more about specific literature topics or genres, such as poetry, multiethnic literature, drama, etc. Entries are usually arranged alphabetically and contain both overviews of topics and short entries on authors.

A dictionary or an encyclopedia? A question of terminology.

A dictionary is not just for looking up the definition of words we don't know, even though, in a sense, that is what we are doing: we are looking up the meaning of a particular literary term, concept, movement, literary work, or person. A dictionary in this sense is like an encyclopedia, arranged A-Z, but it has shorter entries, usually unsigned and lacking bibliographical references after each entry. They are meant for quicker reference. Sometimes you will find the Library of Congress calling a resource a "dictionary" when you might think of it as an "encyclopedia."

American Literature: Selected Sources

Oxford encyclopedia of American literature (4 vols.)
Call Number: REF PS21 .E537 2003 (Moore Library-Reference Room)
ISBN: 0195156536
The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Literature gathers together 350 essays from over 190 leading scholars on the whole of American literature, from European discovery to the present. At the core of the Encyclopedia lie 250 essays on poets, playwrights, essayists, and novelists. Figures such as Whitman, Melville, Faulkner, Frost, and Morrison are discussed in detail with each examined in the context of his or her times, an assessment of the writer's current reputation, a bibliography of major works, and a list of major critical and biographical works about the writer. Fifty entries on major works such as Moby Dick, Song of Myself, Walden, The Great Gatsby, The Waste Land, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Death of a Salesman, and Beloved place the work in its historical context and offer a range of possibilities with regard to critical approach. The Encyclopedia also contains essays on literary movements, periods, and themes, pulling together a broad range of information and making connections between them. Each entry has its own primary and annotated secondary bibliography, and a system of cross-references helps readers locate information with ease.
Encyclopedia of Asian-American Literature by Seiwoong Oh
Call Number: REF PS153.A84 O37 2007 (Moore Library-Reference Room)
ISBN: 081606086X
Traces the lives and works of American writers with roots in all parts of Asia, including China, Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia, the Philippines, the Indian subcontinent, and the Middle East. Coverage includes major novels, memoirs, nonfiction, plays, poetry, and short stories; writers; and a survey of the history of Asian-American literature from its roots in the 19th century to its flowering in the last 30 years.
Hispanic Literature of the United States: A Comprehensive Reference
Call Number: REF PS153.H56 K36 2003 (Moore Library-Reference Room)
ISBN: 157356558X
Hispanic literature in the United States is covered from the Spanish colonial period to the present. Features a detailed historical overview, an extensive chronology, and topical essays, including significant trends, movements, and themes in Hispanic literature. Also includes a list of "essential" Hispanic literary works.
The Greenwood encyclopedia of multiethnic American literature by Emmanuel S. Nelson
Call Number: REF PS153.M56 G74 2005 (Moore Library-Reference Room)
ISBN: 031333059X
Publication Date: 2005
1,100 entries focus on individual writers, seminal works, ethnic stereotypes, literary genres, the writings of particular ethnic groups, places that are prominent in ethnic histories, major historical events, key pieces of legislation affecting ethnic populations, and various other topics that form the social context surrounding multiethnic American literature.
The Greenwood encyclopedia of African American literature (5 vols.) by Hans Ostrom and J. David Macey, Jr (editors)
Call Number: REF PS153.N5 G73 2005 (Moore Library-Reference Room)
ISBN: 0313329729
Publication Date: 2005
Contains more than 1,000 entries by more than 200 expert contributors. While most of the entries are on individual authors, the encyclopedia gives special attention to the historical, cultural, and political contexts that have shaped African American writing. Included are entries on critical movements and terms, critics and scholars, historical and social issues, cultural and historical figures, literary forms and genres, literary schools and organizations, and many other topics. The entries cite numerous print and electronic resources, and the encyclopedia concludes with a selected, general bibliography.
The Greenwood encyclopedia of American poets and poetry (5 vols.)
Call Number: REF PS303 .G74 2006 (Moore Library-Reference Room)
ISBN: 031332381X
The encyclopedia of the Harlem literary renaissance
Call Number: REF PS153.N5 B675 2006 (Moore Library-Reference Room)
ISBN: 081604967X
More than 800 concise, A-Z entries detail the historical relevance of the subject and explain how the writer, work, or idea helped shape American literature. Draws on historical studies, biographies, literary criticism, and primary materials such as letters and diaries.
Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance
Call Number: REF PS153.N5 A24 2003 (Moore Library-Reference Room)
ISBN: 0816045399
Offers a-Z entries; a chronology; a glossary of slang; a bibliography and lists of sources for further reading, listening, and viewing; a subject index; a general index; 12 maps; and more than 105 black-and-white photographs.

British and Commonwealth Literature: Selected Sources:

Encyclopedia of British women's writing, 1900-1950
Call Number: REF PR111 .E55 2006 (Moore Library-Reference Room
ISBN: 1403916926
Detailed entries on 185 authors, ranging from the canonical, to the popular, to the largely forgotten. Also includes contextualizing material, with 76 concise introductions to related topics, including organizations, movements, genres, and publications, as well as historical and literary events. Features a timeline and detailed bibliography of 100 books.
The Facts on File companion to the British novel
Call Number: REF PR821 .F2 2006 (Moore Library-Reference Room)
ISBN: 081606377X
Publication Date: 2006
Approximately 500 entries cover novels; authors; and concepts, terms, periodicals, and themes. Considers everything from the British works of the late 1600s that prefigured the British novel to British novels published through the end of the 20th century. Includes English, Welsh, Irish, Scottish, and British Commonwealth writers.

Specific Genres, Movements, or Styles: Selected Titles

Historical dictionary of science fiction literature
Call Number: REF PN3433.4 .S73 2004 (Moore Library-Reference Room)
ISBN: 0810849380
Tracks the development of speculative fiction influenced by the advancement of science and the idea of progress from the eighteenth-century to the present. Entries are listed A-Z and are followed by an extensive bibliography by topic. An introductory essay and chronology give context.

CMP-203: Literature and Composition (Muzyk, Spring 2022)

Types of Literary Reference Sources

Selected Resources:

Search the Gale Literary Index to see which volume(s) feature a particular author.

Search the Gale Literary Index to see which volume(s) feature a particular author.

Search the Gale Literary Index to see which volume(s) feature a particular author.

Search the Gale Literary Index to see which volume(s) feature a particular author.

Also, search the Gale Literary Index to see if later essays have been published on these authors in other Gale titles.

Search the Gale Literary Index to see if later essays have been published on these authors in the Contemporary Authors series.

Search the Gale Literary Index to see if later essays have been published on these authors in the Contemporary Authors series.

Also, search the Gale Literary Index to see if later essays have been published on these authors in other Gale titles.

Search the Gale Literary Index to see which volumes contain the author or work you are researching.

Search the Gale Literary Index to see which volumes contain the author or work you are researching.

Use these specialized books to learn more about specific literature topics or genres, such as poetry, multiethnic literature, drama, etc. Entries are usually arranged alphabetically and contain both overviews of topics and short entries on authors.

American Literature: Selected Sources

British and Commonwealth Literature: Selected Sources:

Specific Genres, Movements, or Styles: Selected Titles