Literary Criticism
Quick Reference Guide
Herkimer County Community College
Indexes
BOOK REVIEW DIGEST (1905 – present). Citations and excerpts of reviews including juvenile and adult fiction and nonfiction.
BOOK REVIEW INDEX (1965 – 2002). Indexes reviews of books, periodicals and books-on-tape/CD.
ESSAY AND GENERAL LITERATURE INDEX (1900 – 2003). Citations of reviews and criticisms.
HUMANITIES INDEX (1974 – present). Subject and author index to periodical articles.
READER’S GUIDE TO PERIODICAL LITERATURE (1890 – present). Indexes more than 200 periodicals of general interest, includes a subject and author index.
DATABASES
(Available on the HCCC Library Website.)
ALL HCCC JOURNALS PRINT AND ELECTRONIC All HCCC periodicals, both in print (in the Library) and in electronic format.
ACADEMIC SEARCH PREMEIR Provides full text for nearly 4,650 serials, including full text for more than 3,600 peer-reviewed titles.
BOOK INDEX WITH REVIEWS A database that provides information on over 3.8 million book titles with over 800,000 full-text searchable reviews from reputable sources.
LITERATURE RESOURCE CENTER W/ TWAYNE AND SCRIBNER Biographies, bibliographies, and critical analysis of authors’ works are available; corresponds to the Gale Literature Series.
NETLIBRARY Provides access to digital versions of 4,800 printed books and reference works, including literary criticism works.
WILSONSELECT Full-text articles including articles about literary criticism.
Periodicals
AMERICAN LITERATURE (1960 – present). A journal of literary history, criticism and bibliography.
CENTER FOR CHILDREN’S BOOKS BULLETIN (1974 – present). Devoted entirely to the review of current books for children and young adults; provides concise summaries and critical evaluations.
CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE (1968 – present). Emphasis on post-WWII literature.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE NOTES (1968 – 1970, 1974 – present). Short articles and scholarly notes pertaining to English and American language literature, supported by biographical, historical or bibliographical evidence.
EXPLICATOR (1969 – present). Brief interpretations of specific aspects of mostly English and American literature.
MODERN FICTION STUDIES (1955 – present). Criticism of modern and contemporary narrative and theory.
NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW (1851 – present). Book reviews and essays featuring recently published works.
NOTES ON CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE (1985 – present). Criticisms and explications of literature since 1940.
SHAKESPEARE QUARTERLY (1950 – present). Scholarly articles on all aspects of Shakespeare’s works and life.
Other journals available: AMERICAN POETRY REVIEW, CHOICE, COLLEGE LITERATURE, CRITICISM, ESSAYS IN CRITICISM, FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION, HORN BOOK MAGAZINE, THE LION AND THE UNICORN, NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS and
STUDIES IN SHORT FICTION.
RESOURCE BOOKS
(Reference Area – Library 1st floor.)
Contemporary Authors. Ref Z1224.C6. A multi-volume, bio-bibliographical guide to current writers in fiction, general nonfiction, poetry, journalism, drama, motion pictures, television and other fields.
Contemporary Authors, New Revision Series. Ref.Z1224.C62. Updated information, often with significant changes, on authors listed in earlier volumes of Contemporary Authors.
Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ref. PN771.C59. Multi-volume criticism of the works of today’s novelists, poets, playwrights, short story writers, scriptwriters and other creative writers.
Critical Survey of Poetry. Ref.PN1021.C7 2003 (8 Vols.). Critical essays on poetry and references for further research.
Dictionary of Literary Biography. Ref. PS129.D5. Career biographies, tracing the development of the author’s work and evolution of his reputation.
Encyclopedia of the Harlem Literary Renaissance. Ref. PS153.N5B675 2006. This volume has more than 800 alphabetically arranged entries, most including a short bibliography of further reading.
Hispanic Literature Criticism. Ref.PQ7081.A1 H573 1994. Focuses the Spanish and Portuguese speaking world, includes biographical sketches, lists of principal works, critical essays, and short bibliographies of additional articles.
Identities and Issues in Literature. Ref. PS153.M56I34 1997. The set is arranged A to Z and includes articles on authors, titles and subjects.
Notable Latino Writers. Ref. PS153.H56N68 2006. Includes biographical and essays on Latino writers and their genres.
Shakespearean Criticism. Ref. PR2965.S43. Excerpts from the criticism of his plays and poetry from the first published appraisals to current evaluations.
Short Story Criticism. Ref. PN451.S6. Criticism of works of short fiction writers.
Locating other books in the HCCC collection
Check the HCCC OPAC (online public access catalog) for other books on your subject. Some examples of subject headings: name of author, title of book, American literature, English literature, science fiction…
Browse the shelves. The Library of Congress call numbers for books on literature and literary criticism are shelved from PN through PS.
Online literary criticism
Internet Public Library: A database of online literary criticism.
The Library Spot. Literary criticism information with links to related sites.
Links to Literary Criticism. Links to literary criticism information.
Voices from the GAP: Women Artists and Writers of Color: Focuses on the lives and works of North American minority women artists, writers, musicians, performance artists and filmmakers.
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