Locating Poems
In addition to searching under an author's name in the library's catalog, consider these indexes and web sites:
Granger's Index to Poetry
H.W. Wilson, 1904-
Main Ref PN1021.G72
Index to Poetry in Periodicals
Granger Book Co., c1981-
Main Ref PS324 .I4
Covers poems published in American magazines and newspapers, 1915-1929
The American Verse Project
Volumes of American poetry prior to 1920.
Representative Poetry On-line
Early medieval period to the beginning of the twentieth century. From University of Toronto. Unlike many collections of verse on the Web, this one is edited by scholars. Poems tend to be British and American and number over 3,000.
Reference, Poetic Terms and Concepts
Dictionary of Literary Biography
(Part of Literature Resource Center.) "The essays of DLB outline the lives and careers of authors from all eras and genres and summarize the critical response to their work." Personal information, principals works, and further readings also are covered.
Encyclopedia of American Poetry: The Twentieth Century
Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
Dictionary of Poetic Terms
By Jack Myers and Don Charles Wukasch
University of North Texas Press, c2003
Main Ref PN1042 .M93 2003
Criticism
See also the Journal Articles and Books & E-books sections.
Critical Survey of Poetry
Edited by Philip K. Jason
Salem Press, c2003
Main Ref PN1021 .C7 2003
Includes biographies and analysis
Poetry Explication : A checklist of Interpretation Since 1925 of British and American Poems Past and Present
By Joseph M. Kuntz and Nancy Conrad Martinez
G. K. Hall, c1980
Main Ref PN1022.K8 1980
Guide to British Poetry Explication
By Nancy C. Martinez and Joseph G.R. Martinez
G.K. Hall, 1991-c1995
Main Ref. PN1022.M34 1991 (v.1 Old English - Medieval; v.3 Restoration - Romantic; v.4 Victorian - Contemporary)
American and British Poetry : A Guide to the Criticism, 1925-1978
By Harriet Semmes Alexander
Swallow Press, c1984
Main Ref PN1022.A44 1984
Guide to American Poetry Explication: Colonial and Nineteenth-Century
By James Ruppert
G.K. Hall, c1989
Main Ref Z1231.P7 R66 1989
Guide to American Poetry Explication: Modern and Contemporary
By John R. Leo
G.K. Hall, c1989
Main Ref Z1231.P7 L46 1989
Short Stories
Locating Short Stories
Index to Best American Short Stories and O. Henry Prize Stories
By Ray Lewis White
G.K. Hall, c1988
Main Ref Z1231.F4 W52 1988
Short Story Index: An Index to 60,000 Stories in 4,320 Collections
Compiled by Dorothy E. Cook and Isabel S. Monro
H. W. Wilson, 1953
Main Ref Z5917.S5 C6
Supplement: 1950-1983
Main Ref Z5917.S5 C62 (7 vols.)
Chicorel Index to Short Stories in Anthologies and Collections
Edited by Marietta Chicorel
Chicorel Library Pub. Corp., 1974
Main Ref Z5781 .C485
Index to Short Stories
Compiled by Ina Ten Eyck Firkins
H.W. Wilson company, 1915
Main Ref Z5917.S5 F5
Supplement
Main Ref Z5917.S5 F5 Suppl
The Standard Index of Short Stories, 1900-1914
Compiled by Francis J. Hannigan
Small, Maynard & Company, c1918
Main Ref Z5917.S5 H2
Reference & Criticism
Note: See also articles and books sections.
Columbia Companion to the 20th-Century American Short Story
Dictionary of Literary Biography
"The essays of DLB outline the lives and careers of authors from all eras and genres and summarize the critical response to their work." Personal information, principals works, and further readings also are covered. Especially good coverage of short story writers.
A Reader's Companion to the Short Story in English
Reference Guide to Short Fiction
Edited by Noelle Watson
St. James Press, c1994
Main Ref PN3373 .R36 1994
Twentieth-Century Short Story Explication ...
Shoe String Press, 1961-
Main Ref Z5917.S5 W3 and supplements
Main Ref Z5917.S5 W33 and supplements
Covers 1800-
American Short-Fiction Criticism and Scholarship, 1959-1977 : A Checklist
By Joe Weixlmann
Swallow Press, c1982
Main Ref Z1231.F4 W43
Shakespeare
Reference
There are many, many reference sources for all aspects of Shakespeare study -- biographical, theatrical, criticism, textual analysis, etc. Here is short sample:
Biblical References in Shakespeare's Plays. Main Ref PR 3012 S53 1999.
The Cambridge Companion to Shakespearean Comedy. (e-book) 2002.
A Complete and Systematic Concordance to the Works of Shakespeare. Main Ref PR 2892 S6 1970. Six volumes.
A Dictionary of Shakespeare. (e-book) 1998.
The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare. (e-book) 2001.
Shakespearean Characterization: A Guide for Students and Actors. (e-book) 2002.
Shakespeare: from Stage to Screen. (e-book) 2004.
Shakespeare after Shakespeare:And Encyclopedia of the Bard in Mass Media and Popular Culture. Main Ref PR 2880 S48 2007.
Criticism
There is no end, it seems, to Shakespeare criticism. You will want to search for books and journal articles-- please refer to the Books and Journal Articles section. in both cases, you can do a keyword search, for example, for Shakespeare and Hamlet or Shakespeare and Women. Or do a subject search of Shakespeare and browse the subject headings or other phrases to narrow down your search.
Shakespearean Criticism Yearbook: Excerpts from the criticism of William Shakespeare's plays and poetry, from the first published appraisals to current evaluation. Main Ref PR2965 .S43 1984.
Web Sites
General Gateway Sites
Voice of the Shuttle: Web Page for Humanities Research
Excellent collection of links from Alan Liu, English Dept, UCSB.
Full-text Resources
Alex Catalogue of Electronic Texts
A full-text indexed collection of classic American and English literature
The American Verse Project
Volumes of American poetry prior to 1920.
Online Books Page
From the University of Pennsylvania -- access to over 30,000 books on the Web.
Representative Poetry On-line
Early medieval period to the beginning of the twentieth century. From University of Toronto. Unlike many collections of verse on the Web, this one is edited by scholars. Poems tend to be British and American and number over 3,000.
Bartleby Library
Literature, reference, and verse.
English Language Resources: The Electronic Text Center
A variety of electronic texts and illustrations made available over the Internet from the Electronic Text Center at the University of Virginia. Some contents available only to UV students.
Victorian Women Writers Project
British women writers of the late 19th century. A collection of anthologies, novels, political pamphlets, and volumes of poetry.
General Internet Sources
The Cambridge History of English and American Literature
An Encyclopedia in Eighteen Volumes According to Bartleby.com this source "is considered the most important work of literary history and criticism ever published on writings in the English language. Compiled over fourteen years, from 1907 to 1921."
The Children's Literature Web Guide
The Children's Literature Web Guide is an attempt to gather together and categorize the growing number of Internet resources related to books for Children and Young Adults. From the University of Calgary.
Labyrinth: The World Wide Web Server for Medieval Studies
A comprehensive resource for Medieval Studies: bibliographies, European cultural studies, pedagogical resources, electronic texts, music.
Luminarium
Anthologies of Middle, Renaissance, and 17th Century English literature. A great introduction to the major authors of these periods. Beautiful graphics. Includes biographies, criticism, bibliographies and much more. Very useful as an overview.
Maine Writers Index
Over 350 Maine writers, past and present.
New York Times Books (free but registration required to use New York Times' sites.)
Includes the complete Sunday Book Review, daily book related news and reviews, a searchable archive of over 50,000 New York Times Book Reviews going back to 1980, and more.
PAL: perspectives in American Literature
Covers major movements, narrower themes, and links to individual web pages to nearly 400 authors
The Writers' Workshop Online Resources for Writers (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne)
This page links to the many resources produced by this workshop, as well as links to outside resources for writers. Includes the Grammar Handbook, the Bibliography Styles Handbook, and the Writing Process Handbook. Check out their annotated list of "Best Web Sites for Writers."