Subject Guides: Literature: Dictionaries & Encyclopedias

Literature: Dictionaries & Encyclopedias

A guide to literature resources at Grand Valley State University Libraries

Most of our reference resources are electronic and bundled within other, larger sources like Literature Resource Center and Oxford Reference.

Dictionary of Literary Biography This link opens in a new window
The Dictionary of Literary Biography is an encyclopedia of literary figures with strongest coverage of those working in English. Entries interweave author biography with a discussion of their works and include substantial references for further research. The resource also includes entries for notable screenwriters, journalists, publishers and children's authors.
Cambridge Companions This link opens in a new window
The Cambridge Companions is a collection of full-text, scholarly reviewed essay anthologies on a range of topics in literature, the classics, philosophy, culture and religion. The collection is best for searching on particular authors, movements, eras and works.
Literature Resource Center This link opens in a new window
Literature Resource Center includes full text access to a wide range of sources for literary research, including peer-reviewed journal articles, book reviews, biographical and topical overview essays and poetry and short fiction from contemporary literary magazines.
Oxford English Dictionary (OED) This link opens in a new window
The accepted authority on the evolution of the English language over the last millennium. It includes the meaning, history, and pronunciation of over half a million words.
Oxford Reference Online This link opens in a new window
Two million digitized entries across Oxford’s Dictionaries, Companions and Encyclopedias, spanning 25 different subject areas.

Dictionaries and encyclopedias are a great place to start looking for background information about your topic, including:

Subjects: English