American Literature
FIND BOOKS
URSUS, available on Mariner, is the University of Maine System’s shared online catalog.
FIND ARTICLES
MLA International Bibliography [Mariner] Index to scholarly research in literature.
Academic Search Premier [Mariner] Full-text articles and index for scholarly and popular periodicals.
JSTOR [Mariner] Digital archive of core scholarly journals in arts, humanities, general science and social
sciences. Historical collection covering complete run of each journal from its inception to generally
2-5 years ago.
New York Times Historical [Mariner] America’s newspaper of record. Exact reproductions of entire issues of The New York Times from its first issue in 1851 up to the last two to three years. For current coverage, use LexisNexis Academic, ProQuest Newspapers, or the New York Times link.
New York Times [Mariner] Index to and full text coverage from 1999 to the present.
LexisNexis Academic [Mariner] Complete articles and indexing to many US and international newspapers.
ProQuest Newspapers [Mariner] Like LexisNexis Academic: full-text articles and indexing to US and international newspapers.
New York Times Index 1952-2002 [Index tables] NYT is available in full-text online 1851+ (see above New York Times Historical) and 1955-2003 in microfilm or paper.
New York Times Article Archive [Mariner] Indexing for The New York Times from 1851 to the present.
Literature Resource Center [Mariner] Includes Contemporary Authors, Contemporary Literary Criticism
Select, Dictionary of Literary Biography, Scribner Writers Series and Twayne Authors Series.
Wright American Fiction [Mariner] Collection of 19th century 1851-1875 American fiction texts.
Gale Literary Databases [Mariner] Includes Dictionary of Literary Biography, Contemporary Authors, and Contemporary Literary Criticism.
Humanities Index 1974-2003 [Index tables] Previously Social Sciences & Humanities Index (1965-74) and
International Index to Periodicals (1907-65).
Essay & General Literature Index 1975-2002 [Index tables] Indexes essays and articles found in books.
Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature 1932-59; 1970-73; 1978-2003 [Index tables] Popular magazines. July
1939-June 1941 and April 1953- February 1955 unavailable at UMA.
Cumulative Index to Periodical Literature 1959-78 [Index tables] Fills gaps in Readers' Guide holdings.
Book Review Digest 1965-2003 [Index tables]
Book Review Index 1969-84 [REF Z 1035 A1 B59]
Short Story Index 1976+ [Index tables]
Biography Index 1976-2003 [Index tables]
CRITICISM
Continuum Encyclopedia of Modern Criticism and Theory [REF PN 94 C695]
Contemporary Critical Theory: A Selective Bibliography [REF Z 6514.C97 M37]
Dictionary of Literary Biography (DLB) [REF PS 21 D5] Lengthy essays on life and work of literary figures as well as literary history and movements.
American Writers [REF PS 129 A55] Similar to DLB with long biographical and critical essays.
Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism (NCLC) [REF PN 771 N5] Excerpts from criticism and brief biographical portraits of authors who died between 1800 and 1899. Topical essays.
Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism (TCLC) [REF PN 771 T8] Excerpts from criticism and brief biographical portraits of authors who died between 1900 and 1959. Topical essays.
Contemporary Literary Criticism (CLC) [REF PN 771 C59] Portions from criticism about authors now living or who died after Dec. 31, 1959. Topical essays.
Contemporary Authors (CA) [REF Z 1224 C595 and C6] Personal information and statements by writers about their work.
New Moulton's: Pre-Twentieth-Century Criticism of British and American Literature to 1904 [REF PR 85 N39]
Critical Perspective: Twentieth-Century Criticism of British and American Literature to 1904 [REF PR 85 C76]
Magill's Literary Annual 1969-1999 [REF Z 1219 M33] Essay reviews of about 200 books published in U.S. that year.
Poetry Criticism (PC) [REF PN 1031 P64]
Critical Survey of Poetry [REF PN 1021 C7] Biographical and analytical essays covering 698 poets. Includes bibliographical sources for further study.
Granger’s Index to Poetry [REF PN 1021 G7]
Short Story Criticism (SSC) [REF PN 3373 S386]
Critical Survey of Short Fiction [REF PN 3321 C7]
Twentieth-Century Short Story Explication [REF Z 5917 S5 W33 & W35] Bibliography of criticism of short stories published after 1800.
Masterplots: 2,010 Plot Stories & Essay Reviews from the World's Fine Literature [REF PN 44 M33]
Masterplots II. American fiction series [REF PS 373 M37]
Masterplots II. Short Story Series [PN 3326 M27]
Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism [REF PN 81 J64]
Something about the Author (SATA) [REF PN 451 S6] Children’s literature; personal information and statements of writers.
American Women Writers [REF PS 147 A4] Biographical sketches and examination of works of women authors.
Modern Women Writers [REF Z 1231 F4 M65] Bibliographical information for ten fictions writers including Joyce Carol Oates, Eudora Welty, Kate Chopin and Willa Cather.
Oxford Companion to Women’s Writing in the United States [REF PS 147 O94]
Contemporary Lesbian Writers of the United States: A Bio-bibliographical Critical Sourcebook [REF PS 153 L46 C65]
American Ethnic Writers [REF PS 153 M56 A414]
Modern African American Writers [REF Z 1229 N39 M63] Bibliographies for such fiction writers as Toni Morrison, Richard Wright, Alice Walker and Ishmael Reed.
Harlem Renaissance and Beyond: Literary Biographies of 100 Black Women Writers, 1900-1945 [REF PS 153 .N5 R65]
Contemporary Poets [REF PR 603 C6] Biographical sketches, criticism and bibliography; English language poets.
Literary History of the United States [REF PS 88 L522] Historical narrative and bibliographical essays on periods, movements, authors, etc.
Mystery and Suspense Writers [REF PR 830 D4 M97] Surveys authors and topics in this genre.
ENCYCLOPEDIAS & DICTIONARIES
Oxford English Dictionary [REF PE 1625 O87] Historical and changing meaning of words.
Oxford Reference Online [Mariner] Searchable collection of 100 language and subject dictionaries and reference works.
A Glossary of Literary Terms [REF PN 41 A184]
Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms [REF PN 41 C67]
Oxford Dictionary of Allusions [REF PE 1580 D45]
Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory [REF PN 41 C83]
Common Knowledge: A Reader's Guide to Literary Allusions [REF PN 43 G68]
Brewer’s Dictionary of Modern Phrase and Fable [REF PN 43 B65]
Cyclopedia of Literary Characters [REF PN 44 M34]
Dictionary of Writers and Their Works [REF PN 451 C99]
Major Characters in American Fiction [REF PS 374 C43 M35]
Reader’s Guide to the Twentieth Century Novel [REF PR 888 P53 R43] Entries include critical assessments and plot summaries of English-language fiction.
Columbia Companion to the Twentieth-century American Short Story [REF PS 374 S5 C57]
Oxford Companion to American Literature [REF PS 21 H3] Author entries include biographical information and analysis of author’s work; also definitions, descriptions of literary movements and other topics.
Oxford Companion to African American Literature [REF PS 153 N5 O96] African American literary heritage.
Oxford Dictionary of Plays [REF PN 1625 P38] Accounts of 1000 significant plays.
Benet's Reader's Encyclopedia [REF PN 41 B4] Short articles on various topics and people; international coverage.
Reader’s Guide to Twentieth Century Writers [REF PR 471 R43] Biographical outline, brief assessment and bibliography for each author entry.
Feminist Companion to Literature in English [REF PR 111 B57] Biographies and topics important to the development of women writers.
Guide to Twentieth-Century Women Novelists [REF PR 888 W6 W44] Introduction to women writing fiction in English; discussion of their work.
Latino and Latina Writers [PS 153 H56 L39] Includes overviews of Latino and Latina writer’s works, bibliographies, and criticism.
New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics [REF PN 1021 N39] History, theory, technique and criticism. Surveys of national poetries.
Patterns of Poetry: An Encyclopedia of Forms [REF PN 1042 W514]
Twentieth-century Literary Movements Dictionary [REF PN 597 T94]
RESEARCH & WRITING MANUALS
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers [REF LB 2369 G53]
Chicago Manual of Style [REF Z 253 U69]
Manual for Writers of Term Papers, These and Dissertations for the Study of Literatures in English and Related Topics [REF PN 171 F56 W35]
Columbia Guide to Online Style [REF PN 171 F56 W35]
Electronic Styles: A Handbook for Citing Electronic Information [REF PN 171 F56 L5]
Literary Research Guide: An Annotated Listing of Reference Sources in English Literary Studies [REF PR 83 H37]
Undergraduate’s Companion to Women Writers and Their Web Sites [REF PR 111.W65 D43]
Women Poets of the World and Their Web Sites [REF PR 1024.D43]
A Short Guide to Writing about Literature [REF/RESERVE PE 1479 C7 B3 2003]