ENG 290: Literary Studies
Gale Literary Index
Many of the library's reference sources were published by Gale. Use this free online index to locate sources that discuss an author or literary work.
- Gale Literary Index This link opens in a new windowSearch the indices of Gale’s literary reference source (over 202,000 titles). Use the WSU Library Catalog to find the location of the reference title; Krueger Library does not own all of Gale’s literary reference sources.
Biographical Print Sources
Dictionary of Literary Biography (DLB)Call Number: Ref. PS221 .D5The DLB presents career biographies and criticism of writers from all eras and all genres through volumes dedicated to specific types of literature and time periods.
The Krueger Library's Reference Collection (on the library's first floor) holds many specialized resources, such as biographies. Please find a sampling of some of those resources below. You are encouraged to browse the Reference Collection to locate additional valuable resources.
American Writers SupplementCall Number: Ref. PS129 .A55This set includes a collection of essays that examine the literary and biographical life of an American writer.
Contemporary AuthorsCall Number: Ref. PN451 .C58ISBN: 0810300206Contemporary Authors contains biographical and bibliographical information on modern fiction and nonfiction writers' including novelists, poets, playwrights, scriptwriters, journalists, biographers, essayists, and media people. Use the cumulative index in the last volume of the set to find the appropriate volume(s) that contains the information about the author or title.
Encyclopedias & Dictionaries
Here is a sampling of some of the reference sources that are available via the web:
- Oxford English Dictionary This link opens in a new windowWidely regarded as the accepted authority on the English language. An unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of 600,000 words, past and present, from across the English-speaking world.
- Oxford Encyclopedia of American LiteraturePart of the Oxford Digital Reference Shelf. The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Literature includes over 350 entries covering the history of American Literature from the 1600s to the present day. It includes entries on poets, playwrights, essayists and novelists, as well as information on literary movements, periods, and themes.
- Oxford Encyclopedia of British LiteraturePart of the Oxford Digital Reference Shelf. The Oxford Encyclopedia of British Literature includes over 500 entries covering the history of literature in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. It also includes information on individual authors and information on themes, movements, genres, and institutions.
- Encyclopedia of the Middle AgesThis Oxford encyclopedia includes over 3,000 articles on all aspects of the period from the fifth to the fifteenth century. It explores art, architecture, religion, law, science, language, philosophy, and theology, as well as cultural, religious, intellectual, social and political history.
- Oxford Dictionary of the RenaissanceThis dictionary provides detail on all aspects of the Renaissance in 14th to 17th century Europe. It includes comprehensive coverage of the art, literature, science, culture, philosophy, religion, economics, history, and conflict of the period.
Surveys of Criticism
Contemporary Literary CriticismCall Number: Ref. PN771 .C59ISBN: 0787663417The CLC covers authors who are currently active or who died after December 31, 1959. Each print volume profiles writers by providing full-text or excerpted criticism.
The Krueger Library's Reference Collection (on the library's first floor) holds many specialized resources, such as surveys of criticism, which provide an overview (not exhaustive) of the criticism of a particular author or literary work. Please find a sampling of some of those resources below.
For how to cite in MLA format a reprinted or excerpted article, consult section 5.5.6 of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 7th Edition ( p.159).
Twentieth-Century Literary CriticismCall Number: Ref. PN771 .G27ISBN: 1414421893The TCLC presents excerpts of criticism on major writers of 1900 to 1999.
