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Books, Literature, and Poetry

Book Reviews | General Literature Resources | Criticism & Research
Drama | Poetry | Writer's Corner

Book Reviews

  • Amazon.com
     

  • Barnes & Noble
    The online bookstore giants' Web sites are great resources for book information. Search over a million titles, and skim descriptions, book reviews, bestseller lists and reader commentary. At Barnes and Noble you can also sign up for free online courses.

  • BookFinder from 13th Generation Media
    Search this database for used, rare, and out-of-print books.

  • Black Issues Book Review
    Reviews fiction, nonfiction, poetry and children's books of interest to African American readers and others. Articles include occasional author interviews.

  • Bookspot
    Reviews, lists, reading suggestions, and great resources for book discussions.

  • Review Sources
    An extensive list of other magazines and newspapers with book reviews online, including Chicago SunTimes, Chicago Tribune, Salon, and Village Voice and many more.

General Literature Resources

Criticism & Research

We strongly encourage you to call or visit the library for literary criticism and research. Most of the best resources are not online. However, an Internet search is a useful stage of research. Below we list library databases that can be accessed from home, followed by some good Internet sites. You may also want to query a good search engine.

  • American Authors on the Web by Mitsuharu Matsuoka.
    A compilation of sites on American authors of all types and time periods. Under "General Resources" there's find links to web pages on various topics such as Native American literature, Beat poetry, and more.

  • ClassicNotes and SparkNotes
    Similar to Cliffs Notes study guides, these sites offer analysis and plot summaries for a variety of plays, novels, and poetry, from classical to modern.

  • Gale Literary Index
    You can't access the essays online, but this index covers hundreds of reference books owned by the library. Do a simple author or title search here, then visit the library to read or copy the articles. A real time-saver.

  • GLBTQ Literature
    The Literature section of the online Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Culture offers dozens of articles on a variety of literary topics.

  • Literary Movements by Donna M. Campbell.
    Offers a valuable study of American literary movements from pre 1620 to 1920. Contains writers' biographies, examples of their work, and a timeline to help put the work in perspective with political and social history.

  • Literary Resources on the Net
    An excellent collection of annotated links to scholarly Web sites. Especially good for English-language literature and for classical and medieval literature.

  • Online Literary Criticism Collection by the Internet Public Library.
    Outstanding site! Contains criticism on authors from Shakespeare to Stephen King. Offers Pathfinders for helping students find information. The Literature Reference section has online texts, mythology, citing electronic resources, and other useful things. By going to IPL Reference Center, you can also gain access to information on Business, Arts, Health, and other topics.

Drama

  • Soliloquy
    Site of local theatre bookstore. Can search by author and title. Includes many plays not listed in Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

  • Inter-Play
    An index by author and title to plays in collections, anthologies, and periodicals. Includes many plays not cited in the standard printed play indexes.

  • Mr. William Shakespeare and the Internet
    This site attempts to be a comprehensive annotated guide to the scholarly Shakespeare resources available on the Internet.

  • playdatabase.com
    Search this database for plays and monologues.

  • Small-Cast One-Act Guide Online
    The name is self-explanatory. Can search by author, title, and cast size/gender.

Poetry

  • Alabama Poetry Society news on events, poets, and contests for and by Alabama poets.  Poetry style tips and links to published Alabama poets can be found here.

  • Electronic Poetry Center by State U of New York at Buffalo.
    The Author section includes examples of poets' work (not just poetry), biographies and author homepages when available. There are also extensive links to magazines, presses and more.

  • Internet Poetry Archive by U of North Carolina Press.
    Includes the work of living poets from around the world. The goal of the project is to make poetry accessible to new audiences and to provide new ways of presenting and studying these poets and their texts.

  • National Poetry Month--Celebrate Poetry! by Books.com
    The Academy of American Poets (an organization devoted to American poets at all stages of their careers) coordinates National Poetry Month activities every year in an effort to spotlight poetry and its vital place in American culture.

  • Poetry Society of America
    Information about poetry conferences and festivals, journals and literary magazines, poetry publishers, and MFA programs in poetry, as well as the monthly PSA calendar and their extensive awards program.

  • Poet Laureate of the U.S.

  • Representative Poetry Online
    The online version of a college textbook, this site offers thousands of classic poems in English, accessible by author, title, timeline, etc.

  • Sonnet Central
    Surf for sonnets! This site offers a collection of sonnets by authors from all over the world. Also provides information on the sonnet form and tips for writing sonnets.

Writer's Corner

  • Association of Authors' Representatives 
    A great source of information on literary agents, including questions to ask before signing and links to related sites.

  • Dr. Grammar
    The Frequently Asked Questions cover dozens of common questions like "lay or lie" and "who or whom." Many useful links as well.

  • Guide to Grammar and Writing
    A well-organized index of grammar topics. Also in the index under "Format Requirements" are suggestions on how a research paper should look and a link to the section on how to follow the MLA Guidelines.

  • The Guide to Writers Conferences by ShawGuides.
    Information on national and international conferences, seminars and writing residences. Search by date, country or focus.

  • International Writing Centers Association
    Several useful features--a list of online articles, e-mail discussion groups and help with grammar. Geared for those teaching writing, this site also has information for the writing student.

  • Preditors & Editors
    This site provides background information on agents and authors' experiences with them. It also lists contests, awards, and definitions of publishing terms, provides sample letters and contains other useful information.

  • Writer's Guidelines by Writer's Digest.
    Includes the submission guidelines of numerous book and magazine editors.

 
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"The common stock of intellectual enjoyment should not be difficult of access because of the economic position of him who would approach it".  Jane Addams