TN Tech Volpe Library

Dictionaries & Encyclopedias

• The Companion to Southern Literature.  (Ref. PS261 .C55 2002)
  An encyclopedia of themes, genres, places, people, movements, and motifs associated with the literature of the South.
• Dictionary of Literary Biography.
  (Ref.—end of “P”—various call numbers)
  Extensive number of volumes covering authors, genres, critiques, and bibliographies. The indexing is cumulative—the last volume indexes all the previous ones.
• Encyclopedia of the Harlem Literary Renaissance.
  (Ref. PS153 .N5 B675 2006)
  Focuses on the diverse literary history and figures associated with the period and strives to illuminate the connections between writers and regions.
• Encyclopedia of Transcendentalism.  (Ref. PS217 .T7 E53 1996)
  A guide to the major philosophical concepts, antecedents, genres, institutions, organizations, movements, periodicals, and places associated with Transcendentalism in the United States.
• The Facts of File Companion to the American Short Story.
  (Ref. PS374 .S5 F33 2000)
  Focuses on American short story authors, terms, and movements from the early 19th century to the 1990s.
• The Greenwood Encyclopedia of African American Literature.  (Ref. PS153 .N5 G73 2005) 5 vols.
  Offers an overview of African American literature from its origins in the colonial period through the present day.
• The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Multiethnic American Literature.  (Ref. PS153 .M56 G74 2005) 6 vols.
  Offers a comprehensive introduction to the diverse range of ethnic American writing.

Handbooks & Manuals

• Dictionary of Native American Literature.
  (Ref. PM155 .D53 1994)
  A handbook, which explores both oral and written literature, as well as, that of individual authors.
• Voices of Multicultural America.  (Ref. PS 663 .W55 V64 1996)
  Contains notable speeches delivered by African, Hispanic, and Native Americans from 1790 to 1995.

Indexes & Abstracts (hardcopy)

• Book Review Digest.  1905-     (Index Area)
  Provides citations to and excerpts of reviews of current juvenile and adult fiction and nonfiction in the English language.
• Book Review Index.  1965- (Index Area)
  This index provides access to reviews of thousands of books, audiobooks, and e-books.
• Essay & General Literature Index.  1900- (Index Area)
  An author and subject index to essays published in collections, with particular emphasis on materials in the humanities and social sciences.
• Humanities Index.  1974- (Index Area)
  [Formerly Social Sciences & Humanities Index.  1965-1973]
  Indexes, by subject, periodicals in the humanities, including topics associated with American  authors and literature.
• MLA International Bibliography.  1921-2002.  (Index Area)
  Indexes publications dealing with literature, language, and linguistics.  For current index see “Magazine and Journal Articles.”

Magazines, Journals & Newspapers (hardcopy)

• American Literary Realism.  1974-1999.
  Presents articles and reviews on topics dealing with literature and history of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
• American Literature.  1929-
  The leading periodical for American literary history, criticism, and bibliography.  Covers the works of American authors, past and present.
• American Poetry Review.  1986-
  Poetry, criticism, fiction, interviews, translations, and social commentary.
• Early American Literature.  1966-
  The only journal that focuses on scholarship and criticism of American literature through the early national period.
• Poe Studies.  1975-
  Covers any aspect of Edgar Allan Poe, from any critical, historical or scholarly approach.   
• Poetry.  1930-
  The oldest, most widely read monthly devoted to verse.

Online Research Databases

• Academic Onefile.
  Contains 11,000 academic journals, including some peer-reviewed, full-text articles.  Journal articles cover a wide range of subjects, including psychology and the social sciences.  Academic OneFile also contains full text of the New York Times, Financial Times, Times of London, and NPR Audio.  Full text articles are available in both PDF and HTML format.
• Dissertations & Theses.  1861-
  Citations, abstracts, some "first 24 pages" and some full text for published doctoral dissertations and master's theses covering all academic disciplines from more than 1,000 universities. Abstracts are included only from 1980 to present. Selected titles from 1997 forward are available full text.
• Humanities Full-Text.  1984-
  A bibliographic database that cites articles from English-language periodicals, plus the full text of selected periodicals. Periodical coverage includes some of the best-known scholarly journals and numerous lesser-known but important specialized magazines. Indexing and abstracting starts as far back as 1984 and full-text coverage begins in January 1995.
• General OneFile.  1980-
  A one-stop mega-resource for journal and news articles - full text, abstracts, citations and images - from all general interest areas and academic disciplines.
• Literary Index Gale’s Criticism Series.
  A master index to the major literature products published by Gale. It combines and cross-references about 151,000 author names, including pseudonyms and variant names, and listings for over 202,000 titles into one source.
• Literature Resource Center.  1990-
  A complete literature reference database designed for both the undergraduate and graduate student, as well as the sophisticated casual user.
• MLA International Bibliography.  1963-
  Provides access to more than 1.6 million bibliographic citations to journal articles, books, and dissertations from 1963 to the present in academic disciplines such as: language, literature, folklore, linguistics, literary theory and criticism, and the dramatic arts.
• OmniFile Full Text Mega.  1982-
  A multi-disciplinary database providing the complete content - indexing, abstracts, and full text - from six of Wilson's full-text databases.

Online Magazines, Journals, and Newspapers

• American Drama.  6/2002- (General OneFile)
  Scholarly studies of the dramatic literature of American playwrights.
• American Literary History.  2004- (OmniFile Full Text Mega)
  Publishes essays, commentaries, critical exchanges, and reviews on American literature from the colonial period to the present.
• ATQ.  1995- (General OneFile)
  Covers nineteenth-century American literature and culture.
• Hemingway Review.  9/1994- (General OneFile)
  A scholarly journal published twice a year, in November and May, specializing in scholarly articles on the work and life of Ernest Hemingway. 
• Southern Literary Journal.  3/1969-
  (General OneFile)
  Publishes essays dealing with Southern writing from colonial times to the present.
• Studies in American Fiction.  3/1993- (General OneFile)
  Essays explore literary figures, works, and themes in American literature.

Biographical & Critical Sources

• American Nature Writers.  (Ref. PS163 .A6 1996)  2 vols.
  Biographical and critical information for each author, as well as a listing of works and bibliography of biographical and critical studies.
• American Writers:  A Collection of Literary Biographies.
  (Ref. PS 129 .A55) 4 vols. with numerous supplements
  Provides information about the lives, careers, and works of American writers.
• American Writers Before 1800.  (Ref.  PS185 .A4)  3 vols.
  Provides a convenient source of information about the lives and works of 786 early American writers.
• American Writers:  Classics.  (Ref. PS129 .A56 2003)
  Contains articles that focus on single masterworks—novels, stories, plays, poems, or major works of autobiography or nonfiction.
• Contemporary American Ethnic Poets.
  (Ref.  PS153 .M56 C66 2004)
  Focuses on seventy-five poets who look and actively work for cultural healing—in their poetry and their other work.  Most have a political agenda in their writing, and they speak out on social issues in their works and decry racism and discrimination in all forms.
• Contemporary Southern Writers.  (Ref. PS262 .C569 1999)
  Contains a biographical sketch for each author, as well as, critiques of his or her works.
• Encyclopedia of American Poetry:  The Twentieth Century.
  (Ref. PS324 .E53 2001)
  Entries on poets, poems, and themes associated with American poetry of the twentieth century.
• Encyclopedia of Pulp Fiction Writers.
  (Ref. PS374 .P63 S45 2002)
  Contains biographical information and listings of the authors’ works.
• Hispanic Literature of the United States:  A Comprehensive Reference.  (Ref. PS153 .H56 K36 2003)
  Provides an in-depth overview of the evolution of Latino literature in the U.S. and identifies the major authors, books, trends, and themes.
• Latino and Latina Writers.  (Ref. PS 153 .H56 L39 2004)  2 vols.
  A comprehensive introduction to a core grouping of authors and themes of Latino and Latina literature. Gives an overview of each author’s work within a historical and biographical context, along with a bibliography of the author’s work and criticism of it.
• Masterplots II:  African American Literature Series.
  (Ref. PS 153 .N5 M2645 1994) 3 vols.
  Contains 266 essays examining the major writings of the African American tradition.
• The Oxford Companion to African American Literature.
  (Ref. PS153 .N5 O96 1997)
  Provides users with the essentials of African American literary history, with biographies of writers comprising the largest category of articles.
• The Oxford Companion to American Literature.
  (Ref. PS21 .H3 1983)
  A useful companion to the authors and writings that are included in the area of American literature.

Research Guides

• The Humanities:  A Selective Guide to Information Sources.
  (Ref. Z6265 .B53 2000)
  Lists and describes the major reference and research sources for the humanities, including language and literature.
• Reference Guide to American Literature.
  (Ref. PS129 .R44 1994)
  Features 555 authors, each with an entry containing a biography, a complete list of published books, a selected list of bibliographies and critical studies on the writer, and a signed critical essay.

General Sites

• American Authors on the Web.
  Contains biographical and critical information on major American authors.
• American Writers:  A Journey Through History.
  Part of a C-SPAN produced series, which looks at the lives and works of selected American writers who have chronicled, reflected upon, or influenced the course of our nation.
• Library of Southern Literature.
  Includes a wide range of literary works of the American South published before 1924, and is part of Documenting the American South (DocSouth), a digital publishing initiative sponsored by the University Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, provides access to digitized primary materials that offer Southern perspectives on American history and culture.
• The Mississippi Writers Page.
  An Internet Resource about writers in, from, or otherwise associated with the state of Mississippi.
• Native American Authors.
  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
• Southern Literature & Culture on the Internet.
  A listing of links to sources for Southern literature and culture.
• Tennessee Writers.
  Brief information about major Tennessee writers.