POETRY: REFERENCE SOURCES
Purpose: to help students find, use and evaluate a variety of informational resources, using technology via full text journals, world wide web links, community resources, interlibrary loan, and shared union catalog (MELCat). This list of sources is not exhaustive; it is intended to lead the beginning researcher to the most important reference sources available for the study of poetry. Please consult a Reference Librarian for additional suggestions.
ENCYCLOPEDIAS
The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-Century Poetry in English. Ed. by Ian Hamilton. New York : Oxford University Press, 1996.
(Reference 808.3 OX2 1996, also available online to the GRCC community.)
Consider this an alphabetical ?map of modern poetry in English?from 1900 to [1996] and covers topics, movements, magazines, and genres as well as individual poets, dead and alive.?
New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics. Ed. by Alex Preminger. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton Univ. Press, 1993.
(Reference 808.1 N42 1993)
The best source available for alphabetically organized entries about terms and concepts in history, theory, and criticism of poetry and poetics from earliest times to present. Information on individual poets is not available.
Benet's Reader's Encyclopedia. By Bruce Murphy. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1987-2002.
(Reference 803 B435 1987-2002)
A handy one-volume reference to identification of writers, summaries of specific works, and definitions of literary terms. Covers all periods of world literature. Useful for tracking down literary allusions.
SPECIALIZED DICTIONARIES
The Columbia Granger's Dictionary of Poetry Quotations. Ed. by Edith P. Hazen. New York, Columbia University Press, 1992.
(Reference 808.882 C723 1992)
Use this volume to locate quotations and first lines in poems. Cited anthologies will lead you to the complete poems. Use the Subject and Keyword Indexes to find your quotation.
Columbia Granger's Index to Poetry in Anthologies. Collected and Selected
Works. New York: Columbia Univ., 1997- (Reference 808.8 G765 1997)
Easiest access to entries is through title, first line, author, and subject indexes
Oxford English Dictionary (OED).
(Reference 423 OX2 1989)
This 23 volume dictionary is useful for tracing word history and historical usage at different periods. Quotations illustrate usage.
The Poet's Dictionary: a handbook of prosody and poetic devices. by William Packard. New York : Harper & Row, c1989.
(Reference 808.1 P125p 1989)
Look here for definitions of commonly used terms (e.g. ?anaphora?, ?free verse?, ?music poem?, ?simile?) describing poetry and poetics.
Dictionary of Mythology, Folklore, and Symbols. By Gertrude Jobes. New York: Scarecrow, 1962.
(Reference 398.03 J576d )
A 3-volume dictionary of terms relating to myth, folklore, folk sayings, and symbols of all countries and times.
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Contemporary Poets (6th ed.). Ed. by Thomas Riggs. Detroit, MI: St. James Press, 1996.
(Reference 821.91 C767 2001)
This excellent one volume source provides brief entries on poets which include a list of publications, brief biographies, and critical excerpts. Check the older edition as well.
Dictionary of Literary Biography. Detroit: Gale Research Co., 1978-
(Reference 928 D561)
This 287 multi-volume work provides biographies and bibliographies. Check the last volume for an index to the whole set.
Contemporary Authors (Three series: First, Revised, and Second Revised). Detroit: Gale Research Co., 1981-
(Reference 928.1 C767, also available online to the GRCC community.)
The online version offers biographical information about contemporary authors and lists their works. When using the print version, look for the separate paperback index to the set.
YODA: the Library Catalog
Books about an individual poet can be found by doing a subject search using the poet's name as a subject heading. For example, type Dickinson, Emily and find several books about Emily Dickinson.
Biography and Genealogy Master Index.
(Reference 920.073 AB87 1995)
An excellent place to begin a search for biographical information. This indexes over 500 biographical dictionaries.
CRITICISM
Contemporary Literary Criticism (CLC) (Reference 809 C869)
Twentieth Century Literary Criticism (TCLC) (Reference 808.8 T918)
Poetry Criticism (Reference 808.81 P752cr)
Ed. by Robyn V. Young. Detroit: Gale Research, 1991. These series contain excerpts from criticism of the works of novelists, poets, playwrights, and other creative writers from respective time periods. Use the cumulative index in the back of the last volume to locate appropriate entries.
Critical Survey of Poetry (2nd revised ed.). Ed. by Philip K. Jason. New Jersey: Salem Press, 2003. 8 vols.
(Reference 821.009 C869 2003)
Poetry Explication: a checklist of interpretations since 1925 of British and American poems past and present. By Joseph Kuntz and Nancy Martinez. Boston: G.K. Hall, 1980.
(Reference 016.821 K963p 1980)
This volume is organized by author and then by individual work. Under the name of a poem find citations to periodical articles and book chapters. Refer to the front of the book for a list of abbreviations.
Guide to American Poetry Explication. Ed. by James Ruppert. Boston: G.K. Hall, 1989. 2 vols
(Reference 016.811 G941)
Guide to British Poetry Explication. Ed. by Nancy C. Martinez and Joseph G.R. Martinez. Boston: G.K. Hall, 1991. 2 vols. (Reference 016.821 M366g)
Both volumes above are organized by author and then by individual work. Under the name of a poem find citations to periodical articles and book chapters. Refer to the front of the book for lists of abbreviations.
CATALOG
YODA: the Library Catalog - use to locate books, audio-visual materials, etc. in the GRCC Library.
The following list contains example of subject headings relevant to Literary Criticism for use in YODA.
(Poet's Name) - Criticism and Interpretation
(Poet's Name) - Style [or technique]
American Poetry - 20th Century - History and Criticism
English Poetry - Early Modern, 1500-1700 - History and Criticism
Poetry, Medieval - History and Criticism
Poetry, Ancient - History and Criticism
Poets, English - 19th Century - History and Criticism
Poetry Collections
Spanish poetry
African-Americans - Poetry
Children's Poetry
Epic Poetry - History and Criticism
Love Poetry
Multiculturalism - Poetry
Sonnets
Women Poets
WEB SITES
Audible Poetry Links - includes poetry readings from a variety of poets.
David Cope Biography is located at the Museum of American Poetics. This site contains a biography as well as photographs, an interview, some of Cope's poems, a video of a reading and a bibliography of Cope's works.
David Cope's works at University of Michigan. This link will take you to the University of Michigan Library Catalog, Mirlyn. Select Library Catalog. Then a keyword search of David Cope Papers will bring up the record for this collection. David Cope's personal papers are housed at his alma mater, the University of Michigan, in the Special Collections Library. This collection contains his correspondence, his work as an author and editor-publisher, materials from his teaching activities, honors, awards, and photographs.
Journal articles and online databases
American poetry review (0360-3709)
from 01/01/1993 to present in Expanded Academic ASAP and General Reference Center Gold
from 01/01/1995 to present in Periodical Abstracts and Wilson Select Full Text Plus
Poetry Reference book listing at the GRCC Library
CITATION STYLE SOURCES FOR RESEARCH PAPERS
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. New York: Modern Language Association of America.
(Reference and Circulation 808.027 M582, an online resource is available.)
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA).
(Reference and Circulation 808.06615 P96, an online resource is available.)
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