NOTE: The emphasis of this Subject Guide is resources for finding literary criticism and other research materials on English and American literatures, and on general, comparative, and classical literature.
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Finding Critical and Historical Sources: Articles in Journals and Books, etc. (Bibliographies and Indexes) |
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Specialized Guides, Bibliographies, and Indexes (literary periods, themes, ethnic writers, women writers) |
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Resources |
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and a Literature Degree |
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Library Home Page Library Remote Access Guide
Electronic Resources Research Guides
The online catalog, COAST, tells you which books, periodicals, and media materials this Library owns.
You may search by:
Author: This is the creator of the item you want. It can be a writer/author, or an artist, or a composer, or a corporate/governmental organization (e.g., American Medical Association, United States Internal Revenue Service), etc. Always type the name as you would look the person up in the telephone book, by last (or family) name, then first name (do type: Washington, George; do not type: George Washington).
Title/Journal Title: Use whenever you know the exact title of the book/video you are looking for (e.g., Star Wars), or the exact title of the scholarly journal, popular magazine, or newspaper (e.g., Nature, Newsweek, Los Angeles Times) which you already know you need to find. If the title starts with the word "A" or "An" or "The" (e.g.,The Red Pony), ignore that word and give the computer the rest of the title (e.g., ignore "The" and start typing "Red Pony").
Subject: Uses the official/standarzied list of subjects (see below).
Keywords: Use this when you don't know the official subject heading words, or if you want to combine two or more concepts. For example: Shakespeare and (woman or women).
Call Number: If you've written down a call number and don't remember what the item is that you thought you wanted, use this option.
You may search in specific Library collections, as well as View My Library Record, Request Interlibrary Loans (ILLiad), etc.
COAST will also permit you to request books (and only books) that are available from some other libraries in California who have joined us in the Link+ [Link Plus] partnership. Just use the "Repeat Search in Link+" button at the top of most COAST screens. For more information on the Link+ partnership, click here.
[AUTHOR'S LASTNAME FIRSTNAME DATES]--[subdivisions; e.g., --BIBLIOGRAPHY, --CONCORDANCES], e.g.,
SHAKESPEARE, WILLIAM 1564-1616 -- KNOWLEDGE -- CLASSICAL LITERATURE
AUSTEN, JANE, 1775-1817 -- BOOKS AND READING
COLERIDGE, SAMUEL TAYLOR, 1772-1834 -- BIBLIOGRAPHY
ENGLISH [or American, Irish, etc.] LITERATURE [or POETRY, FICTION, DRAMA, ESSAYS, etc.] --[subdivision]
Subdivisions may be by:
form, e.g. ENGLISH LITERATURE--HISTORY AND CRITICISM; or, AMERICAN POETRY--BIBLIOGRAPHY
time period, e.g., AMERICAN LITERATURE--19TH CENTURY; or, ENGLISH LITERATURE--EARLY MODERN, 1500-1700; or, ENGLISH ESSAYS--18TH CENTURY--HISTORY AND CRITICISM
type of author, e.g. AMERICAN LITERATURE--MEXICAN-AMERICAN AUTHORS; or, ENGLISH LITERATURE--AFRICAN AUTHORS
AUTHORS, AMERICAN [etc.]--BIOGRAPHY, etc. AUTOBIOGRAPHY
DETECTIVE AND MYSTERY FICTION EPIC POETRY
FEMINIST LITERARY CRITICISM GOTHIC REVIVAL LITERATURE
PICTURESQUE, THE PROHIBITED BOOKS
ROMANTICISM SCIENCE FICTION, [or SCIENCE FICTION, AMERICAN, etc.], etc.
[Subject] IN LITERATURE
NOTE: For these '[Subject] as portrayed in literature' headings the Subject can be virtually any officially recognized LCSH heading, e.g. TULIPS (!) IN, WOMEN IN, BIBLE IN, REALISM IN, LONDON IN, TREES IN, etc. LITERATURE
[Subject] AND LITERATURE, or LITERATURE AND [Subject]
NOTE: LCSH must be consulted on the proper order of terms for the 'relationship of literature to [another subject]' headings.
NOTE: For longer texts, check COAST under name of author (e.g., Morrison, Toni; Dickens, Charles). Electronic copies of texts usually are older materials, now out of copyright (pre-1923 original publication). Do not expect materials published within the last seventy or eighty years or so to be available free in electronic format as they are usually under copyright. Some materials still under copyright are available for a fee.
Primary Bibliographies: Listings of works by an author (the primary or original work) will also help you to identify her/his works and where they were published, e.g.,
Kirkpatrick's Bibliography of Virginia Woolf
Swigart's Harlan Ellison: A Bibliographical Checklist
COAST Subject Search (author primary/secondary biblio): [last name first name <dates>] -- bibliography, e.g.:
"Clarke, Arthur Charles, 1917- -- bibliography" finds Arthur C. Clarke: A Primary and Secondary Bibliography, by [CSULB Prof. of English] David N. Samuelson.
For critical (secondary) bibliographies, listing of the materials written about an author or a subject, click here.
Alex: A Catalogue of Electronic Texts on the Internet.
The Alex Catalogue of Electronic Texts is a collection of public domain documents from American and English literature as well as Western philosophy.
The American Verse Project is a collaborative project between the University of Michigan Humanities Text Initiative (HTI) and the University of Michigan Press. The project is assembling an electronic archive of volumes of American poetry prior to 1920. One can conduct simple searches (single word and phrase searches throughout the entire corpus), proximity searches (the co-occurrence of two or three words or phrases), and Boolean searches (combinations of two or three words in a given paragraph or verse, as well as using the word index to browse through lists of all unique words in the texts, and thecitation search to identify works by author and title.
One of the earliest free, full-text archives on the 'net, Bartleby.com, named after Herman Melville's Bartleby the Scrivener, publishes classics of literature, nonfiction, and reference.
The purpose of Blind Bookworm "is to offer resources for visually-impaired readers and digital bookworms."
One of a number of resources to help you identify bestselling books. Also, check in COAST under the Subject "Best Sellers" for books.
A Celebration of Women Writers
"The Celebration of Women Writers recognizes the contributions of women writers throughout history. Women have written almost every imaginable type of work: novels, poems, letters, biographies, travel books, religious commentaries, histories, economic and scientific works. Our goal is to promote awareness of the breadth and variety of women's writing. All too often, works by women, and resources about women writers, are hard to find. We attempt to provide easy access to available on-line information. The Celebration provides a comprehensive listing of links to biographical and bibliographical information about women writers, and complete published books written by women."
Columbia Granger's Index to Poetry in Anthologies. Ref PN 1022 .H39 1997 (Reference Desk; check COAST for earlier editions)
The many volumes of the Columbia Granger's index the contents of hundreds of anthologies of poetry. Indexes are by title and first line, by author, and by subject. We have annotated with CSULB call numbers the listings of collections indexed (at the front of each volume). Hint: Start your search with the current volume at the Reference Desk, and if it does not reveal one or more anthologies with the poem you seek, try the other, earlier, versions in the Reference Stacks.
"Digital Book Index provides access to more than 65,000 titles records . . . [it] gathers both commercial and non-commercial eBooks from more than 1800 publishers and private publishing organizations. Titles range from the Ancient Agriculture to Space Flight. An extensive Reference section includes more than 2000 Dictionaries, Encyclopedias, Thesauri, Glossaries, Bibliographies, Timelines, Chronologies, Literary Histories, and includes, as well, a section on Writing & Style Guides . . ."
Electronic Text Center [University of Virginia Library].
The Electronic Text Center offers some 10,000 publicly accessible e-texts, and more than 160,000 publicly available related images.
Fiction Catalog, 1950- . Ref PS 371 .W5
A very selective subject, author, and title index, with annotations, of novels, plus a few short story and novella collections. It is handy for identifying novels onparticular topics. The current edition is kept in the Reference Center (!st West), with previous editions in Storage (Lower Level).
National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections [NUCMC]
The NUCMC is a Library of Congress based database of manuscript collections, including collections of literary manuscripts, in United States libraries and archives.
The Online Books Page [University of Pennsylvania]
"The Online Books Page is a website that facilitates access to books that are freely readable over the Internet. It also aims to encourage the development of such online books, for the benefit and edification of all. Major parts of the site include: an index of thousands of online books freely readable on the Internet; pointers to significant directories and archives of online texts; special exhibits of particularly interesting classes of online books; and, information on how readers can support the growth of online books."
The Online Medieval & Classical Library
"The Online Medieval and Classical Library (OMACL) is a collection of some of the most important literary works of Classical and Medieval civilization." You may search by title, author, genre, or language.
"Perseus is an evolving digital library, engineering interactions through time, space, and language. Our primary goal is to bring a wide range of source materials to as large an audience as possible. We anticipate that greater accessibility to the sources for the study of the humanities will strengthen the quality of questions, lead to new avenues of research, and connect more people through the connection of ideas." Currently Perseus includes materials on Classics [primary and secondary sources for the study of ancient Greece and Rome; history, literature, images, art, archaeology]; Papyri [non-literary papyri from the Ptolemaic and Roman periods]; English Renaissance [primary and secondary sources in early modern English literature]; London [the Edwin C. Bolles Collection on the history of London from its founding to the 19th century]; California, the Midwest, andChesapeake [the Library of Congress' American Memory Collection of books on these regions]; Tufts University [primary and secondary sources on the host institution]; Boyle [works and diaries of scientist Robert Boyle]; and electronic exhibits on the Olympic Games and on Hercules/Herakles.
Play Index. Ref PN 1655 .P539
The many volumes of the Play Index list both individually published plays, and plays published in collections of plays. The plays listed are both ancient and modern. The plays are listed by author, title, and subject, as well as by cast composition.
The first archive of electronic texts, Project Gutenberg provides simple ASCII text of thousands of public domain (out-of-copyright) books.
Shakespeare in Quarto: Treasures in Full
"On this site you will find the British Library's 93 copies of the 21 plays by Shakespeare printed in quarto before the theatres were closed in 1642." The site includes a 'basics' primer to Shakespeare, background (to Shakespeare's life, works, theatre, the quartos, and the plays not in quarto), the 'afterlife' (the plays from the Restoration until today), 'expert views' (essays by scholars which highlight the importance of the Shakespeare quarto texts for particular plays), References (a short bibliography), Shakespearean links, a glossary of specialist terms used in the site, and, of course, the texts which may be viewed singly or in pairs for comparative purposes.
Short Story Index. Ref PS 374 .S5 S6; and Supplements. Ref PS 374 .S5 S62
An author, title, and subject index to short stories in single author collections and multi-author anthologies. It is handy for identifying stories on a theme or subject, and for locating them in a variety of sources.
Text Archive: Internet Archive Open-Access Text Archive
"The Internet Archive is a 501(c)(3) public nonprofit that was founded to build an ‘Internet library,' with the purpose of offering permanent access for researchers, historians, and scholars to historical collections that exist in digital format." "This collection is free and open for everyone to use. Our goal in digitizing these texts and putting them online is to provide easy access to a rich and fascinating core collection of archival texts. By providing near-unrestricted access to these texts, we hope to encourage widespread use of texts in new contexts by people who might not have used them before."
The WWW Virtual Library: Theatre and Drama: Electronic Text Archives and Plays Online
Links to plays available in full text versions online for free.
Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 6th edn. Ref PE 1478 .G53 2003
This style manual is most useful for undergraduates, particularly those who must use the 'MLA' style of referencing in their papers.
Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing. 2nd edn. PN 147 .G444 1998
This style manual is most useful for graduate students and professors, not only for information on the proper use of the 'MLA' style of referencing, but also for formating their papers and theses for presentation or publication.
Gohdes, Clarence. Bibliographical Guide to the Study of the Literature of the U.S.A.PS 504 .G6 1984
A guide to assist you in determining useful recources for the study of American literature. Use it to supplement Harner (below).
Harner, James L. Literary Research Guide: An Annotated Listing of Reference Sources in English Literary Studies. Ref PR 83 .H34 2002; Updated at: http://www-english.tamu.edu/pubs/lrg/
THE source for descriptions of hundreds of reference sources in general, English, and American literary studies. It has been annotated with call numbers for all of the items which the CSULB Library owns.
Patterson, Margaret C. Literary Research Guide.PN 43 .P37 1984
A somewhat out-of-date resource, but handy for older resources.
Indexes and Abstracting Services: Sources which provide access to the contents of (usually) periodical publications, and (sometimes) books and media. They are usually limited to a stated subject area.
NOTE: For current information on access to Electronic Resources (E-REF below), check the Library's Electronic Resources page, or with a librarian in Reference (1st West).
Modern Language Association International Bibliography of Books & Articles on Modern Languages & Literatures, 1921-25, Ref PB 1 .M64; since 1926-date as: MLA Bibliography, in: E-Ref
THE literary criticism resource! The MLA Bibliography, sometimes called the PMLA Bibliography, began modestly enough with a 29-page listing of the American scholarship on modern (post-classical) languages and literatures published in 1921. It has expanded over the years to become the International Bibliography (in 1956), and now annually adds 40-50,000 items (books, book collections (of essays), journal articles, book articles (essays in collections of essays), and doctoral dissertations) to its listing of materials.
Academic Search Complete [some full-text]. E-Ref
Academic Search Complete indexes articles, reviews, and editorials in more than 1800 journals and magazines, and several newspapers. It also provides the full-text of some of these articles, plus links to our COAST catalog so you may determine if the CSULB Library owns those publications which are not full-text in the database.
Humanities Abstracts, 1974-date; and Humanities & Social Sciences Index Retrospective, 1907-1984, both in E-Ref. [Print version called Humanities Index; preceded by:International Index, [later,] Social Sciences & Humanities Index]
The Humanities Index provides access to approximately 400 scholarly journals in the humanities, including language, literature, philosophy, religion, history, theatre, film, broadcasting, journalism, classics, archaeology, art, and music. The CSULB Library currently subscribes to approximately 70% of these journals.
ABC-Lit: An Index to Children's Literature Scholarship.
ABC-Lit is a nascent index to literary scholarship on children's literature. It does not have a great many citations as yet, but is growing.
American Humanities Index, 1975- . Ref PN 2 .A35
American Literary Scholarship, 1963- . Ref PS 3 .A47; since 1998- full-text in Project Muse.
L'Anne'e philologique: Bibliographie critique et analytique de l'antiquite greco-latine, 1924/26- . PA 2 .A56
L'Anne'e philologique provides access to the world's scholarship on classical antiquity, history, literature, philosophy, etc.
Arts and Humanities Citation Index. See below: Web of Science.
Bibliographic Index, 1937/42-1999. Z 1002 .B593
Will assist you in identifying journal and magazine bibliographical articles, bibliographical essays in books, and book-length bibliographies.
Biography Index, 1946-2005. CT 104 .B56
Will assist you in identifying journal and magazine biographical articles, biographical essays in books, and book-length biographies.
Black Studies Center (incorporating: International Index to Black Periodicals [some full-text], 1998- ) E-Ref
Chicano Database, in E-Ref [for: Chicano Periodical Index, 1967/78- . E 184 .M5 C46; since 1965-1989, 1991-1993]
CompPile, 1939-1999.
An ongoing inventory of publications in post-secondary composition, rhetoric, ESL, and technical writing: 1939-1999. This database of more than 70,000 items includes references to journal articles, books, and collections of essays.
ERIC: Educational Resources Information Center, 1966- . E-Ref
The index to consult on all matters educational, including teaching literature and language arts from pre-kindergarten to post-doctoral studies. NOTE: ERIC Document (ED) microfiche are in Lower Level.
Ethnic NewsWatch [full-text], 1994- . E-Ref
Film Literature Index, 1973- [Section Two: Television/Video, 1986- ] Ref PN 1993 .F628; and 1976-2001 as: Film Literature Index in E-Ref.
The Film Literature Index is particularly useful for articles on films made from literary works.
GenderWatch [full-text]. E-Ref
HAPI: Hispanic American Periodicals Index, 1970/74- . Ref F 1401 .H35; and, Ref F 1401 .H36; and as: Prisma/HAPI in E-Ref
Index to Black Periodicals [formerly, Index to Periodical Articles By and About Blacks/Negroes], 1950-98 . Ref AI 3 .I55
International Index to the Performing Arts [some full-text], 1998- . E-Ref
ILEJ: Internet Library of Early Journals: A Digital Library of 18th and 19th Century Journals [full-text]. E-Ref
The ILEJ contains digitized runs of 18th and 19th century journals. Currently the titles are the 18th century journals: The Gentleman's Magazine, The Annual Register, and the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society; and the 19th century journals: Notes and Queries, The Builder, and Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine.
JStor [full-text scholarly journals; individual titles are linked in COAST]. E-Ref
Lexis/Nexis Academic [formerly, Academic Universe; full-text]. E-Ref
For the student of literature, the major uses of Lexis/Nexis Academic are to find newspaper reviews of contemporary books (approx. 1970-date), interviews with and articles on contemporary authors, and information on contemporary literature or on modern views of older literature.
Library Literature and Information Science, 1933-1999. Z 666 .L69; since1984- , as: Library Literature and Information Science [some full-text] in E-Ref
Modern Humanities Research Association. Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature for 1919-1996. PE 58 .E63
NewsBank Review of the Arts, 1975-97: Literature. PN 2 .N45; Performing Arts. (Storage)PN 1560 .N45; Film and Television. (Storage)PN 1993 .N45.
19th Century Masterfile, 1786-1922. E-Ref
This index provides access magazine and newspaper articles as found in these indexes: [Series I] Poole's Index to Periodical Literature, 1802-1906 (Ref AI 3 .P7), Index to Periodicals, 1890-1902, Index to Legal Periodical Literature, 1786-1922, and An Alphabetical Subject Index and Index Encyclopedia to Periodical Articles on Religion, 1890-1899; and [Series III] indexes to the New York Times, 1863-1906, the New York Daily Tribune, 1875-1906, the London Times, 1880-1890, and the Oregon Spectator, 1846-1854. Hint: Since these indexes were created in an earlier age, you must search them, sometimes, using terminology of an earlier age. Please consult theInstructional Guide for information.
Newspapers [partial full-text], 1986- . E-Ref
Project Muse [full-text scholarly journals; individual titles are linked in COAST]. E-Ref
Reader's Guide Abstracts [popular magazines], 1983-date, in E-Ref; and, Reader's Guide Retrospective, 1890-1983, in E-Ref
The Reader's Guide indexes popular, mass-market magazines, e.g., Time, Newsweek, Los Angeles Magazine, America, Nation, People Weekly, Seventeen, and Rolling Stone.
Science Fiction and Fantasy Research Database.
The SFFRD indexes more than 55,000 critical, historial, and news items about science fiction, fantasy, and horror literature and media materials. The sources indexed are scholarly, popular, and news publications from both the mainstream and specialist press. You may perform Quick simple searches and more Advanced (boolean) searches. For further information on science fiction and fantasy, see the research guide: Science Fiction & Fantasy Literature and Media.
Voice of the Shuttle [meta-site]. http://vos.ucsb.edu
Watson, George, ed. The New Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature. 5v. Ref PR 19 .B3 1969
Web of Science [including Arts and Humanities Citation Index], 1996- E-Ref
For earlier volumes of Arts and Humanities Citation Index, 1977-91. NX 1 .A1 A83 (Storage; request volumes at Media/Reserve/InterLibrary Loan Desk)
Women Studies Abstracts, 1972- . HQ 1101 .W63
WorldCat, 12th century- . E-Ref
The Year's Work in English Studies, 1919-1994. PE 58 .E6
Baker, William, and Kenneth Womack. Recent Work in Critical Theory, 1989-1995: An Annotated Bibliography. Ref PN 81 .R36 1996
Continuum Encyclopedia of Modern Criticism and Theory. Ref PN 94 .C695 2002
Groden, Michael, and Kreiswirth, Martin. The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism. Ref PN 81 .J656 1994
Hawthorn, Jeremy. A Glossary of Contemporary Literary Theory. PN 44.5 .H37 1992
Makaryk, Irena Rima. Encyclopedia of Contemporary Literary Theory: Approaches, Scholars, Terms. PN 81 .E43 1993
Marshall, Donald G. Contemporary Critical Theory: A Selective Bibliography. PN 81 .M277 1993
Murray, Chris, ed. Encyclopedia of Literary Critics and Criticism. 2v. Ref PN 75 .E53 E53 1999
Bennett, James R. A Bibliography of Stylistics and Related Criticism, 1967-83. PN 203 .B455 1986
Bullock, Chris, and David R. Peck. A Guide to Marxist Literary Criticism. PR 77 .B84
Frost, Wendy, and Michele Valiquette. Feminist Literary Criticism: A Bibliography of Journal Articles, 1975-1981. Ref PN 98 .W64 F767 1988
Meurs, Jos van. Jungian Literary Criticism, 1920-1980: An Annotated, Critical Bibliography of Works in English (with a Selection of Titles after 1980). PN 98 .P75 M48 1988
Natoli, Joseph P. Psychocriticism: An Annotated Bibliography. PN 56 .P93 N37 1984
Peck, David R. American Marxist Literary Criticism, 1926-1941: A Bibliography. PS 221 .P4 1975
Secondary Bibliographies: Listings of the materials written about an author or a subject (secondary or critical), e.g.,
COAST Subject Search (topic in literature): [subject heading for topic] -- bibliography, e.g.:
"science fiction--history and criticism--bibliography" finds Reference Guide to Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror, by [CSU San Bernardino librarian] Michael Burgess.
The Heroic Age: A Journal of Early Medieval Northwestern Europe
"The Heroic Age is a fully peer-reviewed academic journal intended for professionals, students and independent scholars. The Heroic Age focuses on North-western Europe during the early medieval period (from the late 4ththrough 11th centuries). We seek to foster dialogue between all scholars of this period across ethnic and disciplinary boundaries, including-but not limited to-history, archaeology, and literature pertaining to the period."
Medieval Forum is a new electronic journal for the promotion of scholarship in Medieval English Literature, and is hosted by the English Department at San Francisco State University. It "is dedicated to providing a venue for the free exchange of ideas, a return to the original vision of a public forum informed by a collegial and cooperative spirit. Electronic format has been chosen to afford a wide circulation of articles by a broad range of contributors, particularly independent scholars, who wish to share their perspectives in a communal atmosphere. Critical essays on works from any genre or period of the medieval corpus are invited. Although the focus of Medieval Forum is on literature, submissions from other disciplines, particularly cultural and historical, that will contribute to the study of literature are welcome. Book reviews of scholarly publications and notices of interest to the medieval community are also encouraged."
Pollard, A. W., and G. R. Redgrave. A Short-Title Catalogue of Books Printed in England, Scotland, & Ireland and of English Books Printed Abroad, 1475-1640. 2nd edn. Z 2002 .P77 1976 [STC I; or, Early English Books, 1475-1640]
Wing, Donald Goddard. A Short-Title Catalogue of Books Printed in England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and British American, and of English Books Printed in Other Countries, 1641-1700. 2nd edn. Z 2002 .W5 1972 [STC II; or, Early English Books, 1641-1700]
NOTE: 'STC I and II' microfilms are in Lower Level microforms.
English Literature, 1660-1800: A Bibliography of Modern Studies. [1939-1970] Ref PR 401 .E6
The Eighteenth Century: A Current Bibliography, 1975- . Ref PR 401. E63
Houtchens, Carolyn Washburn, ed. The English Romantic Poets and Essayists: A Review of Research and Criticism. Rev ed. PR 590 .H6 1966
Jordan, Frank, ed. The English Romantic Poets: A Review of Research and Criticism. 4th ed. Ref PR 590 .E5 1985
Reiman, Donald H. The Romantics Reviewed: Contemporary Reviews of British Romantic Writers. PR 590 .R43
Reprints, in facsimile, reviews of the major Romantic writers (Coleridge, Wordsworth, Byron, Shelley, and Keats, and occasionally others) taken from magazines contemporary with them. Very useful (and interesting) for reception studies.
A chronology of the Romantic Age, with indexing and search features for dates, topics, events, and people, with links to a variety of sources.
Romantic Circles. E-Ref
A website devoted to the study of Romantic-period literature and culture. It has electronic editions of Romantic texts, scholarly publications, reviews, scholarly resources, and resources by and for high school students.
The Romantic Movement Bibliography, 1936-1970: A Master Cumulation. 7v. Ref PN 56 .R7 R6 1973
The Romantic Movement: A Selective and Critical Bibliography, 1964- . Ref PR 751 .R65; Library has: 1964-72, 1974-77, 1979-84, 1987-1998 [publication ceased]
Romanticism on the Net [RoN]
Romanticism On the Net is an international refereed electronic journal devoted to British Romantic studies. The peer-review system means that articles submitted to the journal will normally be considered by at least two experts in the field, one of whom is a member of the Editorial Board. This site provides access to the full-text of articles and reviews found on RoN. There also are links to information on scholarly conferences and journals of interest to Romantic scholars, plus websites (General, Romantic Writers, Scholars Homepages, Online bookstores, Academic Presses, and Associations).
Ward, William S. Literary Reviews in British Periodicals, 1789-1797: A Bibliography, with a supplementary list of general (non-review) articles on literary subjects. PR 442 .W32
Ward, William S. Literary Reviews in British Periodicals, 1798-1820: A Bibliography, with a supplementary list of general (non-review) articles on literary subjects. PR 442 .W32
Ward, William S. Literary Reviews in British Periodicals, 1821-1826: A Bibliography, with a supplementary list of general (non-review) articles on literary subjects. PR 442 .W32
Ward's indexes are very useful for identifying contemporary reviews of Romantic writers, major or minor or forgotten. The Library has many of the periodicals indexed on microform and even a few in the traditional full-text format of paper!
DeLaura, David J., ed. Victorian Prose: A Guide to Research. PR 785 .D4
Faverty, Frederic E., ed. The Victorian Poets: A Guide to Research. 2d ed. PR 593 .F3 1968
Ford, George H., ed. Victorian Fiction: A Second Guide to Research. Ref PR 873 .V5 1978
Stevenson, Lionel, ed. Victorian Fiction: A Guide to Research. 1964. PR 873 .S8
"Victorian Bibliography for [1932- ]." Modern Philology, 1933-1957 PB 1 .M7; then in Victorian Studies, 1958- . D 1 .V5; and for 1999-date see: Victorian Bibliography Online.
Bibliographies of Studies in Victorian Literature for the Thirteen Years 1932-1944. Ref PR 461 .B52 1945; ... 1945-1954. Ref PR 461 .B52 1956; ... 1955-1964. Ref PR 461 .B52 1967; .. 1965-1974. Ref PR 461 .B52 1981; and ... 1975-1984. Ref PR 461 .B52 1991
Pownell, David E. Articles on Twentieth Century Literature: An Annotated Bibliography, 1954 to 1970. 7v. PN 771 .P68
"Current Bibliography." Twentieth Century Literature, 1- 1955- . PN 2 .T8
Bryer, Jackson R., ed. Sixteen Modern American Authors: A Survey of Research and Criticism. PS 221 .S625 1974
Sixteen Modern American Authors: Volume 2, A Survey of Research and Criticism Since 1972. PS 221.S625 1990
Woodress, James L., et al, eds. Eight American Authors: A Review of Research and Criticism. Rev. ed. PS 201 .S81; and, first editionPS 201 .S8
Leary, Lewis. Articles on American Literature, 1900-1950. Ref PS 88 .L431 1954
Leary, Lewis. Articles on American Literature, 1950-1967. Ref PS 88 .L432 1970
Leary, Lewis. Articles on American Literature, 1968-1975. Ref PS 88 .L433
Arthur Complete / Arthuriana / The Camelot Project
Arthur. King. Brenin. Le roi. Dux bellorum. Hosted by Arthuriana: The Journal of Arthurian Studies (PN 685 .Q65), this site provides access not only to abstracts of articles in the journal, but the Camelot Project bibliographies (e.g., the historic Arthur; Arthurian fiction, short stories, science fiction, film, animation, music), and links to things Arthurian around the world.
Mystery & Detective Fiction and Media
Locally produced guide to resources on detective and mystery fiction, film, and television.
Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Horror Literature and Media
Locally produced guide to resources on science fiction, fantay, horror, and utopian/dystopian fiction, film, and television.
Peck, David R. American Ethnic Literature: Native American, African American, Chicano/Latino, and Asian American Writers and Their Backgrounds: An Annotated Bibliography.Ref PS 153 .M65 P424 1992
Bibliography of Asian and Pacific Islander American Literature
Created by the Wing Luke Asian Museum, this mostly unannotated bibliography is designed to "assist teachers, students, and the general public in their Asian Pacific American research projects. The following bibliography is arranged according to ethnicity, age or grade for ease of locating information. Some of these books and publications are out-of-print, but may be found in libraries or used bookstores." The listings are divided by ethnicity into Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, and Southeast Asian (Asian Indian, Cambodian, Hmong, Laos, Mien, Thai, and Vietnamese).
This Internet Public Library site "provides information on Native North American authors with bibliographies of their published works, biographical information, and links to online resources including interviews, online texts and tribal websites. Currently the website primarily contains information on contemporary Native American authors, although some historical authors are represented. The website will continue to expand, adding additional authors, books and web resources." Includes indexes by author name, titles, and tribes.
For general works on women authors, consult COAST, the online catalog, with a Subject search on such subject headings as: Literature--Women authors; American literature--Women authors; Spanish poetry--women authors; etc.
Blain, Virginia. The Feminist Companion to Literature in English: Women Writers from the Middle Ages to the Present. Ref PR 111 .B57 1990
Boos, Florence, ed. Bibliography of Women and Literature: Articles and Books by and about Women from 600 to 1975. 2v. Ref PR 111 .B667 1989
A Celebration of Women Writers
"The Celebration of Women Writers recognizes the contributions of women writers throughout history. Women have written almost every imaginable type of work: novels, poems, letters, biographies, travel books, religious commentaries, histories, economic and scientific works. Our goal is to promote awareness of the breadth and variety of women's writing. All too often, works by women, and resources about women writers, are hard to find. We attempt to provide easy access to available on-line information. The Celebration provides a comprehensive listing of links to biographical and bibliographical information about women writers, and complete published books written by women."
Davidson, Cathy N., Linda Wagner-Martin, and Elizabeth Ammons, eds. The Oxford Companion to Women's Writings in the United States. Ref PS 147 .O94 1995
Mainiero, Lina. American Women Writers: A Critical Reference Guide from Colonial Times to the Present. 4v. PS 147 .A4 and supplement
Schlueter, Paul, and June Schlueter. An Encyclopedia of British Women Writers. PR 111 .E45 1988
Schwartz, Narda Lacy. Articles on Women Writers: A Bibliography. 2v. PR 111 .S37
Shattock, Joanne. The Oxford Guide to British Women Writers. PR 111 .S48 1993
Todd, Janet, ed. A Dictionary of British and American Women Writers, 1660-1800. PR 113 .D5 1985
Dictionaries and Encyclopedias will provide you with definitions, short articles, etc.
To search for them in COAST, the online catalog, do a subject search = [subject/topic]--dictionaries. For example: literature--dictionaries; american literature--dictionaries; or, mythology--dictionaries.
Benet's Readers Encyclopedia. PN 41 .B4 1987
Benet's Readers Encyclopedia of American Literature. Ref PN 41 .B4 1991
Cassell's Encyclopaedia of World Literature. 3v. Ref PN 41 .C3 1973
Cevasco, G. A. The 1890s: An Encyclopedia of British Literature, Art, and Culture. Ref DA 560 .A18 1993
Cuddon, J. A., and C. E. Preston. A Dictionary of Literary Terms & Literary Theory. Ref PN 41 .C83 1998
Dabundo, Laura Susan. The Encyclopedia of Romanticism: Culture in Britain, 1780s-1830s. Ref DA 529 .E53 1992
Elkhadem, Saad. The York Companion to Themes and Motifs of World Literature: Mythology, History, Folklore. PN 43 .E445
Harmon, William. Handbook to Literature. Ref PN 41 .H355 2003
Based on the original work of Thrall, Hibbard, and later Holman, the Handbook will provide you with definitions, discussions, explanations, and illustrations of literary terms, as well as a chronological outline of British and American literay history, and lists of the Nobel Prizes for Literature (through 2001), and the Pulitzer Prizes for fiction, poetry, and drama (through 2002).
Lacy, Norris J., and Geoffrey Ashe. The Arthurian Encyclopedia. Ref DA 152.5 .A7 A78 1986
Mitchell, Sally. Victorian Britain: An Encyclopedia. DA 550 .V53 1988
The Oxford Companion to ... [series]. Check COAST for available titles.
Preminger, Alex, ed. The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics. Ref PN 1021 .N39 1993
Seigneuret, Jean-Charles. Dictionary of Literary Themes and Motifs. 2v. Ref PN 43 . D48 1988
Sobczak, A. J., ed. Cyclopedia of Literary Characters. Rev. ed. Ref PN 44 .M3 1998
Tucker, Herbert F., ed. A Companion to Victorian Literature and Culture. Ref PR 461 .C597 1999
Historical and Biographical works will provide you with the history of a particular literary tradition, or biographical information about a person.
To search for them in COAST, the online catalog, do a subject search = [subject/topic]--history and criticism, or, [name of person last name first name dates]--biography. For example: american literature--history; or, american literature--19th century--history and criticism or, shakespeare william 1564-1616--biography.
Spiller, Robert. A Literary History of the U.S. PS 88 .L522 1974
Baugh, Albert. A Literary History of England. Ref PR 83 .B3 1967
Oxford History of English Literature. Check COAST for available titles.
Biography and Genealogical Master Index. E-Ref
The Gale Literary Databases is a union of the electronic versions of Contemporary Authors [CA], of Contemporary Literary Criticism Select [CLC Select], and of the Dictionary of Literary Biography [DLB]. It provides information on the lives and writings of more than 110,000 authors, and select critical reaction to their works.
Contemporary Authors. CT 83 .C6; CT 83 .C61; CT 83 .C62; CT 83 .C63; and,CT 83 .C633
Dictionary of Literary Biography. [various call numbers].
Biographical essays, mostly on writers. Use COAST keywords/word search capability: dictionary and literary biography and (American or English), for titles and call numbers, e.g., American Poets since World War II, or, Chicano Writers, or, American Short-Story Writers, 1910-1945.
Havilice, Patricia Pate. Index to Literary Biography. 2v. and supplement.PN 41 .H4 1975
The Paris Review: The DNA of Literature
"Welcome to the DNA of literature-over 50 years of literary wisdom rolled up in 300+ Writers-at-Work interviews, now available online-free. Founder and former Editor George Plimpton dreamed of a day when anyone-a struggling writer in Texas, an English teacher in Amsterdam, even a subscriber in Central Asia-could easily access this vast literary resource; with the establishment of this online archive that day has finally come. Now, for the first time, you can read, search, and download any or all of these in-depth interviews with poets, novelists, playwrights, essayists, critics, musicians, and more, whose work set the compass of twentieth-century writing, and continue to do so into the twenty-first. " Release dates for DNA of Literature PDFs: 1950s-1970s: Online Now; 1980s: Ongoing; 1990s-2000s: To be online in soon.
The sources listed below provide citations to criticisms (both journal articles and pages in books). They are arranged by author then by title of the work in question. Most of them have a list of sources consulted at the back of the volume which has been annotated with call numbers of items held in the CSULB Library collections.
Weiner, Alan. Literary Criticism Index. Ref PN 523 .W425 1994 (Reference Desk).
Covers many of the criticism bibliography resources listed below, and others besides. The list of sources indexed is annotated with CSULB call numbers.
The Gale Literary Databases is a union of the electronic versions of Contemporary Authors [CA], of Contemporary Literary Criticism Select [CLC Select], and of Dictionary of Literary Biography [DLB]. It provides information on the lives and writings of more than 110,000 authors, and select critical reaction to their works.
Adelman, Irving. Modern Drama: A Checklist of Critical Literature on 20th Century Plays. PN 1861 .A3 1967
Breed, Paul. Dramatic Criticism Index: A Bibliography of Commentaries on Playwrights from Ibsen to the Avant-garde. Ref PN 1861 .B67 1972
Carpenter, Charles A. Modern Drama Scholarship and Criticism, 1966-1980: an International Bibliography. Ref PN 1851 .C376 1986
Coleman, Arthur. Drama Criticism. 2v. PN 1707 .C6
Eddleman, Floyd. American Drama Criticism: Interpretations, 1890-1977. Ref PS 332 .P3 1979 plus supplements
Otero, Rosalie C. Guide to American Drama Explication. Ref PS 332 .O84 1995
Palmer, Helen. European Drama Criticism. Ref PN 1721 .P2 1977 [Note: Includes the UK; excludes Shakespeare]
Adelman, Irving. The Contemporary Novel: A Checklist of Critical Literature on the British and American Novel since 1945. Ref PR 881 .A3 1972
Bell, Inglis Freeman. The English Novel, 1578-1956: A Checklist of Twentieth-Century Criticism. f PR 821 .B43 1958
Palmer, Helen H. English Novel Explication: Criticisms to 1972. Ref PR 821 .P3 1973; and supplement
Gerstenberger, Donna. The American Novel: A Checklist of Twentieth-Century Criticism on Novels Written since 1789 [1789-1968]. 2v. Ref PS 379 .G47
Glitsch, Catherine. American Novel Explication, 1969-1980. Ref PS371 .G56 2000
Walker, Warren S. Twentieth-Century Short Story Explication: Interpretations, 1900-1975, of Short Fiction Since 1800. 3rd ed. Ref PN 3353 .W3 1977 and supplements (DESK)
Weixlmann, Joseph. American Short Fiction Criticism and Scholarship, 1959-1977: A Checklist. Ref PS 374 .S5 W35 (DESK)
Alexander, Harriet Semmes. American and British Poetry: A Guide to the Criticism, 1925-1978. Ref PS 303 .A44 1984
Coleman, Arthur. Epic and Romance Criticism: A Checklist of Interpretations, 1940-1972. Ref PN 1303 .C74
Kuntz, Joseph Marshall, and Nancy C. Martinez. Poetry Explication: A Checklist of Interpretation Since 1925 of British and American Poems Past and Present. 3d ed. Ref PR 502 .K8 1980 DESK
Martinez, Nancy C. The Guide to British Poetry Explication. 4v. Ref PR 311. M377 1991
Ruppert, James, and John Leo. The Guide to American Poetry Explication. 2v. Ref PS 201. G842 1989
All of these sources reprint excerpts from critical resources: books, journal articles, book reviews, etc. Use the index at the back of the last volume of the appropriate set to find critical excerpts on your author.
Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism. Ref PN 610 .C53
Literature Criticism from 1400 to 1800. Ref PN 86 .L56
Shakespearen Criticism. Ref PR 2965 .S44
Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Ref PN 761 .N5
Twentieth Century Literary Criticism. Ref PN 771 .G27
Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ref PN 771 .C59
Drama Criticism. Ref PN 1625 .D72
Short Story Criticism. Ref PN 3373 .S393
The Association of Literary Scholars and Critics [ALSC]
"Mission Statement of the Association of Literary Scholars and Critics: The ALSC offers a forum for all those interested in the distinctive nature, uses, and pleasures of literature, from ancient to modern, in all languages. Its aim is to encourage wide-ranging discussions between those committed to the reading and study of literary works, and to the reading and writing of non-fiction essays, criticism, and scholarship concerned with them. We seek to develop a healthy environment for academic literary study and for the literary culture that extends beyond the academy. We accordingly welcome literary scholars, both academic and independent; teachers of literature in colleges, universities, and secondary schools; poets, novelists, playwrights, actors, and directors; translators, journalists, critics, editors, and publishers; and all other serious students of literature, wherever they come from and however they define themselves."
Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, in association with UCLA
The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books is a two-day celebration of the written word. It is free to the public and held each year on the last weekend of April on the UCLA campus. The next Festival will be held on the 28th and 29th of April 2007. The events include special lectures by celebrated authors, book reviews, writing workshops, and storytelling at two stages in the children's area. A panel of respected judges from the literary world are also on hand to award the annual Book Prizes for outstanding offerings from the past year. The Festival promises something for everyone, from nearly endless rows of booths with book dealers and related materials to exciting events and demonstrations on many different stages. The Festival also features book signings by today's leading authors, poetry readings, an extensive children's area and books for sale. The Festival of Books celebrates books as a valuable source of learning, information and entertainment, and is a great way to spend a Spring weekend.
Modern Language Association of America [MLA]
The MLA is an organization of scholars, teachers, researchers, librarians, and others interested in the modern languages and literatures, modern being anytime post-Classical. This site provides information about the organization; about the MLA Style of citation; job information; publications, reports, and other documents; the MLA radio show What's the Word; and other resources.
National Association of Comics Art Educators
Are you interested in graphic novels and sequential narrative art? NACAE "is an organization committed to helping facilitate the teaching of comics in higher education. The increasing numbers of young artists who have chosen comics as their medium of expression continues to grow rapidly. Colleges and universities have been slow to acknowledge and engage these students. While most schools still hold antiquated notions of what comics are, a growing number of colleges have started offering programs and classes in comics (or sequential art, as it is often referred to). Teaching comics in college is a relatively new phenomenon. The few colleges that have implemented programs have met with tremendous success. The NACAE's website objective is to be a resource where the growing number of educators in comic art/sequential art can get and share ideas. I also hope that educators who work in other disciplines can use comics as a way of furthering their own objectives." Includes links to teaching resources and syllabi.
National Council of Teachers of English [NCTE]
The NCTE is "a professional association of educators in English studies, literacy, and language arts." The site provides information on the organization, and provides tools and resources for teachers from elementary school through college. They also sponsor email lists for teachers and student teachers at all levels, and for many interest areas (for information see: Conversations).
The California affiliate of NCTE is California Association of Teachers of English [CATE].
April is National Poetry Month! "Inaugurated by the Academy [of American Poets] in April 1996, National Poetry Month (NPM) brings together publishers, booksellers, literary organizations, libraries, schools, and poets around the country to celebrate poetry and its vital place in American culture. Thousands of businesses and non-profit organizations participate through readings, festivals, book displays, workshops, and other events."
What can you do with a degree in <English? American? Comparative? Classical? NameYourLanguage> Literature? Try some of these resources:
In COAST (for books), try a SUBJECT search under "English philology--Vocational Guidance" or "Philology, Modern--Vocational Guidance." Some of the books are:
Aside from Teaching, What in the World Can You Do?: Career Strategies for Liberal Arts Graduates. By Dorothy K. Bestor. HF 5381 .B412 1982
Making the Journey: Being and Becoming a Teacher of English Language Arts. By Leila Christenbury. LB 1631 .C4486 2000
The Employment of English: Theory, Jobs, and the Future of Literary Studies. By Michael Berube. PE 68 .U5 B48 1998
The MLA Guide to the Job Search: A Handbook for Departments and for PhDs and PhD Candidates in English and Foreign Languages. By Elaine Showalter [et al.]. PB 11 .C37 1996
Try some of our Subject Guides:
Careers & Jobs [general guide]
Make the Library Your Career [okay, so I'm biased!]
Or maybe the campus Career Development Center can help.
University Style and Format Guidelines for Master's Theses and Project Reports [aka: The Thesis Manual]
CSULB Master's theses in English may be retrieved through a search of COAST, the Online Catalog, by doing either:
Title search: masters thesis collection. dept of english
This will bring up a listing of all theses, since July 1976 submitted to the Department of English. For theses submitted to the Department prior to July 1976, please see: Master's of Arts & Master's of Sciences Theses & Projects, 1960-June 1976. Ref AS 36 .C25.
Keyword search: thesis beach english
This will bring up all CSULB theses with the word English in the title or subject headings.
Keyword search: thesis beach [topic word(s), e.g. shakespeare]
This will bring up all CSULB theses with the [topic word(s)] in the title or subject headings.
Thesis Students: If you would like to discuss research and information resources for your thesis, please feel free to contact me, Leslie Kay Swigart [The Literature Librarian] byclicking here or at (562) 985-8327. I am available for email, telephonic, or in person consultations on your topic.
Are you are feeling discouraged about your thesis? Take a look at the Dead Thesis Society website, which "is a thesis support community of graduate students. This is a place to vent for those who have stalled or feel frustrated with their theses." They also have an e-mail forum which "provides a supportive environment for people to discuss problems and ways to keep focussed and motivated during the writing and revision stages of a thesis." Help with other support groups, thesis writing advice, time management, enotional rescue, and faculty supervisors/advisors, and general survival. For graduate students in all areas, both Masters and Doctoral candidates.
Piled Higher and Deeper: A Grad Student Comic Strip
It is aimed at Ph.D students, but all grad students can probably sympathize
A poetry-by-email service fun for fun and information, with indexes by poet, title, first line, length.
America's Most Literate Cities
A literacy profile of America's 64 largest cities based on statistics from five categories (education, publications, newspapers, libraries, and booksellers), and 13 different measures of literacy. Includes Los Angeles (#54), Santa Ana (#59), and Long Beach (#62).
Please make suggestions for changes and improvements on this page to:
Leslie Kay Swigart, Librarian, University Library
California State University, Long Beach, 1250 Bellflower Blvd, Long Beach, CA, USA 90840-1901
Voice: 562-985-8327 FAX: 562-985-1701 Email me by clicking here.
Content maintained by Leslie Kay Swigart, Literature Librarian
