LibGuides: American Literature: Encyclopedias & Dictionaries

Encyclopedias & Other Reference Resources

Foley Library has many reference resources--specialized encyclopedias, dictionaries & bibliographies--devoted to the topics of American literature, history, and culture. These resources provide background information on authors, literary movements and important events in American history. Articles contain bibliographies which help identify additional information. Use the appropriate call number (PS for literature, E for history) to locate print encyclopedias in Reference.

Oxford Encyclopedia of American Literature
This award-winning Encyclopedia surveys American literature in 350 essays from leading scholars, covering American literary history from the 1600s to the present day. The Encyclopedia includes essays on poets, playwrights, essayists, and novelists, as well as major works and essays on literary movements, periods, and themes. The Encyclopedia's articles offer historical perspective and social context.
Oxford Companion to American Literature
350 essays from leading scholars, encompassing the range and depth of American literary history from the 1600s to the present day. Includes essays on poets, playwrights, essayists, and novelists, as well as major works and essays on literary movements, periods, and themes.
Encyclopedia of Literary Modernism
This single volume text provides accessible quick reference to authors and movements normally associated with the literary modernist movement.

The Cambridge History of American Literature by Sacvan Bercovitch (Editor, Contribution by); Cyrus R. Patell (Editor)
Call Number: PS92 . C34 1994
ISBN: 9780521301053
Publication Date: 1994
8 volumes of The Cambridge History of American Literature was originally published in 1997, and covers the colonial and early national periods and discusses the work of a diverse assemblage of authors, from Renaissance explorers and Puritan theocrats to Revolutionary pamphleteers and poets and novelists of the new republic. Addressing those characteristics that render the texts distinctively American while placing the literature in an international perspective, the contributors offer a compelling new evaluation of both the literary importance of early American history and the historical value of early American literature.