UVM Libraries Research Guides: English & American Literature: Starting Points: Literature

Literary

Oxford Bibliographies. American Literature This link opens in a new window
This resource is an authoritative guide to the current scholarship (in all formats) on American literature from the last 500 years, with original introductory and commentary text followed by an annotated list of cited works. To see the list of entries by broad topic (e.g., time period; Themes, Groups, and Historical Events), in the left sidebar, click "Learn more about this subject."
Oxford Bibliographies. British and Irish Literature This link opens in a new window
This resource is an authoritative guide to the current scholarship (in all formats) on British and Irish literature from the early and medieval period to the present, with original introductory and commentary text followed by an annotated list of cited works. To see the list of entries by broad topic (e.g., time period; Themes, Forms, and Genres), in the left sidebar, click "Learn more about this subject."
Masterplots This link opens in a new window
This resource contains full-text summaries and critical evaluations of selected books, plays, stories, and poems in literature worldwide from all eras.

Oxford Encyclopedia of American Literature
Covers American literature, from the European discovery of America to the present, with essays on the most-studied American authors, literary masterworks, and genres or movements.
Oxford Encyclopedia of British Literature
Covers the history of British literature from the seventh century to the present, with biographical essays on major authors and topical essays analyzing significant themes, movements, genres, and institutions.

Literary Encyclopedia This link opens in a new window
This peer-reviewed online encyclopedia provides authoritative background and short criticism on world literature and cultural history. The work includes authored essays, chronologies, critical bibliographies, and more. It is continuously updated.
This encyclopedia is consciously adding essays on writers of more marginalized cultural identities, e.g., Caribbean Black British, British Asian, African American, Asian American, First Nations /Indigenous US-American (and Canadian), etc.
Oxford African American Studies Center This link opens in a new window
Portal to full-text information (biographies, encyclopedias, companions, primary sources), images and maps about African Americans, African American life and culture, and Africa and the diaspora. This resource has over 600 subject entries on literature- and language-related topics.

Native American Literatures by Kathy J. Whitson
Call Number: Howe Library Reference (1st Floor) ; PS153.I52 W47 1999
Publication Date: 1999
The earliest Native American writers wrote tribal histories or autobiographical accounts. Today, Native American writing is steeped in the oral traditions of many peoples and reflects a facility with language that is equally at home in prose or poetry. Native American Literatures is a sourcebook that can enhance any reader's appreciation of both the writers and their works. Cross referencing allows readers to move easily among the listings, guiding them to other examples of an author's works and from character to character within a given novel.
Encyclopedia of Post-Colonial Literatures in English
Call Number: Howe Library Reference (1st Floor) ; PR9080.A52 E53 2005
Publication Date: 2005
Covers major regions, authors, themes, and genres of literatures in English outside Great Britain and the United States.
Books and Beyond
Call Number: Howe Library Reference (1st Floor) ; PS374.P63 B66 2008
Publication Date: 2008
Collection of literature reviews on @70 literary genres (e.g. chick lit, coming of age, zines, etc.) with a focus on literature from 1980-present. Each review essay has a list of representative titles in that genre, along with a list of suggested readings.

The Oxford Companion to American Literature
Call Number: ONLINE or PRINT: Howe Library Reference (1st Floor) ; PS21 .H3 1995
Includes entries for authors, works, characters, literary prizes, movements, critical theories, periods, groups, historical figures and foreign writers important to American literature, critics, theaters, periodicals, terminology, places, prosody, and allusions. Entries emphasize information rather than critical evaluation.
The Oxford Companion to English Literature
Call Number: ONLINE or PRINT: Howe Library Reference (1st Floor) ; PR19 .O94 2009
Includes entries for authors, works, characters, literary prizes, movements, critical theories, periods, groups, historical figures and foreign writers important to English literature, critics, theaters, periodicals, terminology, places, prosody, and allusions. Entries emphasize information rather than critical evaluation.
The Concise Oxford Companion to Irish Literature
Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature
Call Number: ONLINE or PRINT: Howe Library Reference (1st Floor) ; PS8015 .O93 1997
Oxford Companion to Twentieth-Century Literature in English
Call Number: ONLINE or PRINT: Howe Library Reference (1st Floor) ; PR471 .O94 1996
Oxford Companion to Crime and Mystery Writing

Oxford Reference This link opens in a new window
This resource provides access to an extensive set of dictionaries and encyclopedias from Oxford University Press, spanning a variety of different subject areas.
Oxford Handbooks Online This link opens in a new window
This resource is a multidisciplinary collection of books that provide scholarly surveys of original research in a particular subject area. Essays from scholars in the discipline give critical examinations of the progress and direction of debates, as well as a foundation for future research. When viewing the list of search results, check the box next to “Unlocked” (green padlock) in the left sidebar to limit results to content provided by UVM.

Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable
Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, 19th ed
Call Number: Howe Library Reference (1st Floor) ; PN43 .B65 2012
Classic source to find the meaning and origin of words and phrases in literature, folklore, mythology.
Benet's Reader's Encyclopedia
Call Number: Howe Library Reference (1st Floor) ; PN41 .B4 2008
Covers world literature through brief entries about writers, plots, characters, literary schools, myths and legends, music, and film. Not as comprehensive as Oxford companions, but broader in its coverage of ancillary fields such as history, mythology, and art.
Cambridge Guide to Women's Writing in English
Call Number: Howe Library Reference (1st Floor) ; PR111 .C36 1999
Feminist Companion to Literature in English
Call Number: Howe Library Reference (1st Floor) ; PR111 .F45 1990
This work describes the lives and work of female literary figures.

Masterplots This link opens in a new window
This resource contains full-text summaries and critical evaluations of selected books, plays, stories, and poems in literature worldwide from all eras.