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Quick Lookups

There are many handbooks, dictionaries, and encyclopedias that provide basic information for literary studies. The following sources can give you a quick overview or summary of a topic.

American National Biography This link opens in a new window
Biographical info about American men and women. Updated semi-annually.

Oxford Companion to American Literature
Author biographies, plot summaries, and descriptions of literary movements in American literature.
Oxford Encyclopedia of American Literature
Essays from leading scholars on authors, works, and literary movements and themes in American literature.
The Cambridge Companion to Narrative
Oxford Companion to Women's Writing in the United States
The Blackwell Companion to the American Short Story

Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism This link opens in a new window
Historical survey of critics and theorists, critical schools and movements, and theoretical innovations of specific countries and historical periods.

Contemporary Authors
Provides biographical and bibliographical information and references on more than 120,000 U.S. and international authors
Concise Oxford Companion to African American Literature
Contains biographies of authors, critics, literary characters, and historical figures, and plot summaries of major works

The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Multiethnic American Literature by Emmanuel S. Nelson (Editor)
Call Number: Ref PS153.M56 G74 2005
ISBN: 9780313330599
Publication Date: 2005-10-30

Last Updated: Nov 22, 2024 9:33 AM
URL: https://libguides.reed.edu/english
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Subjects: English

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