• Concise Dictionary of American Literary Biography (CDALB) (R 928 C744 6 v.) Writers are organized alphabetically within the time period in which they flourished; time period covered - 1640-1988; includes a chart which succinctly outlines each author's major themes and influences
• World Authors 1970 - 1990 (R 928 W927 4v.) Features writers who came to prominence between 1970 and 1990
• Cyclopedia of World Authors (R 928 C995 1997 5v.) Covers writers from antiquity to the present
• Twentieth Century Authors: A Biographical Dictionary (R 928 K96) International scope - includes authors such as Frost, Faulkner, London, etc.
• Current Biography (R 920 C93) A who's who of people in the news and in the limelight
• Spanish American Authors: The Twentieth Century (R 860.9868 F634)
• Encyclopedia of American Literature (R 810.3 E58) Biographies of American authors from Colonial times to the present
• European Writers: Selected Authors (R 928 E89 3v.) Covers primarily pre-twentieth century writers going back to the beginning of time; includes some twentieth century writers
• Contemporary Authors (R 928.1 C761 - over 100 vols. Also online in Literature Resource Center) Includes writers living as of 1962; access by cumulative index of authors
• Contemporary Novelists (R 928 C761 v. 2) Covers novelists living as of 1972
• Contemporary Poets (R 928 C761 v. 3) Covers poets living as of 1975
• Contemporary Dramatists (R 928 C761 v. 1) Covers dramatists living as of 1973
• Oxford Companion to Women's Writing (R 810.99287 O98) Entries range from short biographies to longer essays
• Oxford Guide to British Women Writers (R 820.99287 S533) Guide to over 400 writers from medieval to modern times
• Southern Writers: A Biographical Dictionary (R 810.9975 S727) Brief one page sketches of writers such as Flannery O'Connor, Kate Chopin, etc.
• Benet's Reader's Encyclopedia of American Literature (R 810.3 B465 1995) An A to Z listing of literary terms and concepts; biographical information on selected well known writers of wide influence, i.e. Hemingway, Shakespeare, etc.

FOR BACKGROUND ON A LITERARY WORK / LITERARY CRITICISM

• Contemporary Literary Criticism (on middle index table. Also online in Literature Resource Center - includes the 266 most studied authors from v. 1-94 and all authors in v. 95+) Excerpted criticism of writers who are currently living, or if deceased, who died after Dec. 31, 1959; emphasis on established authors; consult cumulative indexes for access by author or nationality of author; consult cumulative title index for access by title (to vols. 1-129); after vol. 129, consult specific indexes within each volume for title access
• Short Story Criticism (on middle index table) Excerpted criticism of the greatest short story writers of all time
• World Literature Criticism: 1500 to the Present, a Selection of Major Authors ( R 809 W927 6 v. + 2 supplements) Features biographical information, critical commentary and critical essays spanning from writer's time to current times
• Reader's Index to Twentieth Century Views Literary Criticism Series (R 809 R285) This is an index to titles found in the circulating collection; index to titles found in the circulating collection; index gives editor and subject of each title; check the library catalog for locations
• British Writers (R 820.9 B862) Provides an introduction to the work of writers; assessment of work as a whole
• Asian American Literature (R 810.9895 A832) Criticism of works by Asian American writers
• A Library of Literary Criticism - Modern British Library (R 820.9009 T286 3v.) Excerpts from critical essays on British authors
• Moulton's Library of Literary Criticism of English and American Authors Through the Beginning of the Twentieth Century (R 820.9 M927 4v.) Covers Old English through mid 19th century; features brief summaries of critical responses

FOR BOOK REVIEWS AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT LITERATURE

• Magil's Literary Annual (R 808.8 M195) Provides reviews of selected books published going back to 1962
• Book Review Digest (1927-1979 - 2nd floor circulating stacks; 1980-present - index table) An index to book reviews; includes summaries of reviews
• Masterplots (R 808.8 M194c) Provides short critiques and longer essay reviews (plot summaries) of novels, stories and poems; series includes American fiction, English fiction, drama, poetry, non-fiction; reviews from 1956-1996
• Survey of Contemporary Literature (R 808.8 M197 7v.) Reprints of essay reviews (plot summaries) from Masterplots Annuals 1954-1969

SEE ALSO ELECTRONIC RESOURCES

Literature Resource Center provides biographical information on 109,000 authors from Contemporary Authors and literary criticism from Contemporary Literary Criticism Select, Dictionary of Literary Biography, literary journals and other Gale Literature sources.

ProQuest (a full text magazine database) for biographical information, criticism and book reviews. Newspaper Databases (full text articles from major newspapers) for articles on authors in the news. Library Catalog to search for books about a writer's life or works. Search by subject for information about an author.

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