Highlighted Journal
- MELUS (Online)
"MELUS, a prestigious and rigorous journal in the field of multi-ethnic literature of the United States, has been a vital resource for scholarship and teaching for more than thirty years. Published quarterly, MELUS illuminates the national, international, and transnational contexts of U.S. ethnic literature."
Scroll down in this record for fullest access through Oxford UP or Project Muse.
Introductory Sources
The links here provide an introduction to the author, his/her works, and the influences behind those works. Use these as a starting point for further research, or to help you grasp the importance of a work or author in relation to the rest of American literature. Search for the specific author you are looking for.
- Scribner writers series This link opens in a new window
Includes full-text articles on writers and literary genres drawn from 13 Scribner print series.
Starting Points
It's useful when you are first reading a new author to take a look at background information sources on the literary culture s/he was writing from. The online sources listed below will give you reliable and authoritative information on specific authors, genres, or terms and movements in literature. Spending time with these as you start reading will repay itself in a better understanding of what you are reading.
- Gale Literature This link opens in a new window
Provides a single search site for several different and very useful full-text resources in literature covering biography and criticism of major authors and literary works from classical Greek and Roman literature to contemporary works, all languages and most countries are represented. Among the individual titles included are: Gale Literature Criticism (title list), Gale Literature Resource Center, Dictionary of Literary Biography (title list), and Something about the Author (title list). Gale.
- Johns Hopkins guide to literary theory & criticismThe Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism is recognized as the most authoritative and even-handed reference to the intellectual traditions of literary theory, from the margins to the mainstream. Contains articles on various literary styles and trends, regional literature (Irish literature, for example), and definitions of the various ways to critique literature (semiotics, psychoanalytic, etc.)
- Cambridge companions to literature and classics This link opens in a new window"Cambridge Companions are lively, accessible introductions to major writers, artists, philosophers, topics and periods. All are collections of specially commissioned essays, shaped and introduced to appeal to student readers. . . . each title is supported by reference features such as a chronology and guide to further reading."
Also allows you to select chapters to send to your Amazon Kindle account (if you have a Kindle reader or the Kindle app, you have a Kindle account).
The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics by Call Number: e-book link providedISBN: 9780691154916Publication Date: 2012-08-26Through three editions over more than four decades, The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics has built an unrivaled reputation as the most comprehensive and authoritative reference for students, scholars, and poets on all aspects of its subject: history, movements, genres, prosody, rhetorical devices, critical terms, and more. Entries range in length from brief paragraphs to major essays of 15,000 words, offering a more thorough treatment--including expert synthesis and indispensable bibliographies--than conventional handbooks or dictionaries. International coverage includes articles on the poetries of more than 110 nations, regions, and languages Expanded coverage of poetries of the non-Western and developing worlds
Finding Scholarly Journal Articles, Books, & Essays
Use these databases to find scholarly articles on your topic.
- MLA international bibliography This link opens in a new window
Provides a subject, author, and title index for books and articles published on modern languages, literatures, folklore, and linguistics.
- JSTOR: the scholarly journal archive This link opens in a new window
Provides online access to important scholarly journals and books in many different disciplines.
- Literature Online (LION)Covers literary criticism, biography, and reviews of authors from all genres and around the world. Overlaps MLA International Bibliography but has fuller coverage of scholarly journals from Great Britain. Does provide abstracts of the articles and some full text.
- Humanities source This link opens in a new windowThe extensive collection features full text for journals, high-quality indexing and in-depth abstracts for thousands of journals, and indexing for hundreds of thousands of articles, including book reviews. It also provides full text plus abstracts and bibliographic indexing for the most noted scholarly sources in the humanities, including feature articles, interviews, obituaries, bibliographies, original works of fiction, drama and poetry, books review, and reviews of ballets, dance programs, motion pictures, musicals, operas, plays, radio and television programs
Cultural Resources by Region
- American West This link opens in a new window
Digitized special collection on the American west (areas west of the Mississippi, including Canada and the Pacific Northwest, Mexico, and Texas).
The Encyclopedia of New England by Call Number: Ref. F4 .E53 2005ISBN: 0300100272Publication Date: 2005-09-28An essential work, the first to celebrate, document, and interpret New England's unique regional history and culture Often defined by the familiar images of taciturn Yankees, town meetings, maple syrup, and rocky seacoasts, New England is both a distinctively American place and a distinctive place within America. Yet these images present only one aspect of the richly varied region that is New England in the twenty-first century. Today traditional scenes of white-clapboard buildings surrounding an idyllic village green, hillside farms, and red-brick mills rub shoulders with advanced research centers, nuclear power plants, and urban neighborhoods of immigrants from around the globe. In entries written by leading authorities in the field, The Encyclopedia of New England presents a comprehensive view of this important region, past and present. Both authoritative and entertaining, this single-volume reference will be an invaluable resource for the scholar and an irresistible pageturner for the browser. The Encyclopedia contains * 1,300 alphabetically arranged entries examining significant people, places, events, ideas,and artifacts * Fascinating and little-known facts that rarely appear in history books * More than 500 illustrations and maps * Contributions from nearly 1,000 distinguished scholars and writers, including journalists, academics, and specialists from museums, industries, and historical societies * 1.5 million words in 22 thematic sections, ranging from agriculture to tourism, each with an introduction by a leading specialist in the field * Extensive cross-references and a full index
- The Encyclopedia of New York City
"A newly updated, expanded edition of the most comprehensive one-volume reference work on New York City ever compiled." - New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture : Volume 1: Religion
This is the first of over 20 volumes in the "New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture" series.
Search for "New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture" in the Ebook central database below to access the other volumes in this series.
- Ebook central This link opens in a new window
Provides access to academic and scholarly electronic books which Baylor University Libraries have purchased. Covers all subject fields.
