Literature and Creative Writing

Getting Started

Background sources like encyclopedias can help you as you begin a research assignment. Encyclopedia entries provide synthesis of widely accepted scholarship and facts, and are fairly short and broad in scope. Scholarly encyclopedias are more trustworthy than most free websites, and provide additional depth because they focus on specific regions, time periods, or themes. Some are now available online through the Libraries, such as:

Oxford Reference: Literature - collection of online literature-related encyclopedias.

Many more print sources are available in the Grace Library. Examples include:

• Contemporary Literary Criticism REF 809.04 C76
• The Norton Anthology of World Literature REF 808.8 L41wl
• Reference Guide to Russian Literature REF 891.703 C81r
• Encyclopedia of Post-Colonial Literatures in English REF 820.99171241 B44e
• Modern American Literature REF 810.9005 C33m

Research Databases

Articles:

Start your search for scholarly articles in these databases:

EBSCO - Select the "Literature Databases" option.

Project Muse - full-text humanities article source. You have the option to do a general search, or select Literature under "discipline."

JSTOR - Do a general search (good for interdisciplinary topics), or limit to Language and Literature by going to "Advanced Search."

Books in the Franklin College Libraries

To locate books on literature and creative writing, use the Franklin College catalog . Start with an "Anywhere" (keyword) search on your topic, or a Title or Author search if you are looking for a specific book. Books on similar subjects are shelved together, so you can find one title in the catalog and then browse the shelves for more books. Books in the General Collection can be checked out at the Circulation Desk. Also try searching our new Humanities eBook Collection for eBooks.

Reserve Collection: Many books have been placed on reserve by professors. To determine whether a book has been placed on reserve, check the catalog (which will say "reserve" along with a professor's name). Reserve books can be used in the library for a limited amount of time.

Advanced searching: You can also search by subject term. This will typically result in a shorter, more focused list of books than an "Anywhere" search. To find general books on literary criticism, do a subject search for Literature--History and criticism. To find books on a certain author, search on that person's last name, or that general area, as a subject, for example:

Proust, Marcel--1871-1922--Critique et Interpretation or French Fiction--20th century--History and Criticism, etc.

Selected Websites

Literary Index - from Vanderbilt University.
American and English Literature Internet Resources - from the librarians at Southern CT State Univ.
Contemporary Writers - profiles of UK, Commonwealth, and Republic of Ireland authors from the British Council.
Literature in Latin America - collection of links.
French Literature/Litérature Française - in French.
Opera del Vocabolario Italiana - a full-text source of Italian-language literature in Italian. The works are all out of copyright.
Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary - free dictionary and thesaurus