This research guide is an introduction to resources available through Western Libraries on literatures written in the English language from countries and regions other than the United States. Included are literatures from Africa, Australia, Canada, the Caribbean, India and some Asian countries, Ireland, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, and the United Kingdom.
This guide is by no means a comprehensive list, but rather a tool to begin further inquiry and research. The focus is on reference sources, seminal works, recently published materials, and evaluated web resources. To aid in further research, the guide also provides sections on how to search the library catalog and how to locate journal articles. Annotated citations are provided for selected reference sources, audio/visual materials, and web resources. For library materials, the Library of Congress call number is listed after the basic citation information. Be sure to check the Western Libraries Online Catalog for the location and availability of materials in the guide. This is a work in progress. Comments and contributions are welcome.
GETTING STARTED with Reference Sources To begin your library research, consult reference sources for a general overview or summary of your topic. You can test your main concepts or keywords. If you haven't decided on a point of view, an overview will help you focus your research and provide a context. It often includes a list of books and articles for further reading.
A reference book, such as an encyclopedia or dictionary, provides:
A brief overview of the topic
Significant names and dates associated with the topic
Terminology specific to the topic
Related subjects and terms which might be used when searching for books and articles
Other sources where more information might be found
SELECTED REFERENCE SOURCES: The reference sources listed in this section focus on English-language and world literature in general. Sections include Biographical Sources, Dictionaries & Encyclopedias, Literary History & Criticism, Literary Research & Bibliographies, and Plot Summaries. For resources about national and regional literatures, go to World Literatures in English: Specific Countries and Regions.
The Cambridge guide to literature in English • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PR85 .C29 2006
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NOTE: A reference guide to literature in English produced by various English-speaking cultures. The entries are alphabetical dealing with authors, major individual works and with genres, movements, groups, schools, critical concepts and terms.
Contemporary Authors • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference Z1010 .C65
Contemporary Authors is a comprehensive source of biographical information on over 100,000 modern novelists, playwrights, poets, scriptwriters, non-fiction writers and journalists.
NOTE: This biographical source covers over 300 contemporary dramatists writing in English. Each author’s entry contains a brief biography, a complete list of works published or produced, a critical essay, and occasional commentary from the dramatist.
NOTE: Alphabetically arranged entries of living English-language novelists include brief biographical information, a bibliography of the author's publications, and a signed critical essay.
Cyclopedia of world authors / Magill, Frank Northen, 1907- • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PN451 .M36 1974
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Dictionary of children's fiction from Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, and selected African countries : books of recognized merit / Helbig, Alethea. • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PR9084 .H45 1992
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NOTE: Bio-bibliographies of Commonwealth authors of children's stories written in English. Includes index.
NOTE: Multi-volume series focusing on a specific period, genre, or literary movement. Major biographical and critical essays are presented for the most important figures of each era. Lists major works, career highlights, and bibliographies on each author.
A dictionary of literature in the English language from 1940 to 1970 : complete with alphabetical title-author index and a geographical-chronological index to authors being a sequel to A dictionary of literature in the English language from Chaucer to 194 / Myers, Robin. • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PR471 .M92
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Encyclopedia of post-colonial literatures in English • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PR9080.A52 E53 1994
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NOTE: About 1,600 entries document the nineteenth and twentieth-century English language literature of the former British Commonwealth and the Philippines. Alphabetical entries cover biographies, critical and comparative commentary, literary genres, countries, and major subjects such as feminism and cultural journalism. Table of contents and index are detailed.
Encyclopedia of world literature in the 20th century • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PN771 .E5 1999
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NOTE: Biography, literary criticism, national literatures, and literary movements are covered in this four volume set.
The Feminist companion to literature in English : women writers from the Middle Ages to the present / Blain, Virginia, 1945- • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PR111 .B57 1990
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International companion encyclopedia of children's literature • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PN1008.5 .I57 1996
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International who's who of authors and writers • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PN451 .A92
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Interviews with writers of the post-colonial world / Jussawalla, Feroza F., 1953- • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PR9080 .J87 1992
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Middle English Compendium The Middle English Compendium has been designed to offer easy access to and interconnectivity between three major Middle English electronic resources: an electronic version of the Middle English Dictionary, a HyperBibliography of Middle English prose and verse, based on the MED bibliographies, and a Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse, as well as links to an associated network of electronic resources.
Middle English dictionary • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PE679 .M54
• Check Catalog Welcome to the electronic Middle English Dictionary. The print MED, completed in 2001, has been described as "the greatest achievement in medieval scholarship in America." Its 15,000 pages offer a comprehensive analysis of lexicon and usage for the period 1100-1500, based on the analysis of a collection of over three million citation slips, the largest collection of this kind available. This electronic version of the MED preserves all the details of the print MED, but goes far beyond this, by converting its contents into an enormous database, searchable in ways impossible within any print dictionary.
Modern Commonwealth literature • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PR9080 .M6
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The Oxford companion to English literature • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PR19 .D73 2000
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NOTE: Entries of English authors, literary works and literary societies which have historical or present importance. Includes many modern authors.
The Oxford companion to English literature [electronic resource] • Location: Online • Check Catalog "This text has now been revised again to incorporate the latest developments, for instance the current success of children's and crossover literature, such as that of J. K. Rowling and Philip Pullman. However, the Companion also remains faithful to Sir Paul Harvey's original vision of an authoritative work placing English literature in its widest context. No other volume offers such extensive exploration of the classical roots of English literature and the European authors and works that influenced its development." "The appendices have also been updated: the winners of the major literary awards, and the chronology - spanning a thousand years of English literature from Beowulf to Small Island. Informed by the latest scholarly thinking, and comprehensively cross-referenced to guide the reader to topics of related interest, the revised 6th edition reaffirms the pre-eminence of the Companion as the best available single-volume guide to English literature."--BOOK JACKET
The Oxford companion to twentieth-century poetry in English • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PR601 .O94 1996
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The Oxford encyclopedia of British literature • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PR19 .O95 2006 v.1-5
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Oxford English Dictionary Online • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PE 1625 .O87 1992
• Check Catalog The Oxford English Dictionary (2nd edition)is the accepted authority on the evolution of the English language over the last millennium. It is an unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of over half a million words, both present and past. It traces the usage of words through 2.5 million quotations from a wide range of international English language sources, from classic literature and specialist periodicals to film scripts and cookery books. Site License.
The Oxford guide to world English / McArthur, Tom. • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PE2751 .M385 2002
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NOTE: Attempts "to provide as comprehensive and accurate a description as possible of English as a world (or global or international or universal) language today - beauty spots, warts, and all." Organized thematically, continent by continent, including Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia, Australasia, Oceania and Antarctica.
The Penguin companion to English literature • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PN41 .P43 v.3
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NOTE: A dictionary covering British and Irish Literature, and Commonwealth literature in English.
Reader's guide to literature in English • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PR85 .R33 1996
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Thinkers of the twentieth century • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference CT120 .T45 1987
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Twentieth-century author biographies master index : a consolidated index to more than 170,000 biographical sketches concerning modern day authors as they appear in a selection of the principal biographical dictionaries devoted to authors, poets, journalis • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PN451 .T88
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Who's who in contemporary world theatre • Location: Wilson 3W -Books-Oversize PN2035 .W485 2002
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World authors, 1950-1970;;a companion volume to Twentieth century authors / Wakeman, John. • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PN451 .W3
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NOTE: This series offers biographical and critical essays on authors who became prominent during each time period. Covers mostly North American and European but some non-Western writers are also included.
Contemporary literary criticism • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PN771 .C62 Title Index
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NOTE: Presents significant passages from the published criticism of work by well-known authors -- novelists, short story writers, poets, playwrights -- now living or died since 1960. The critical evaluation spans from the beginning of the author's career to the most current. In each entry an introductory essay is followed by a list of the author's principle works, criticism and further readings.
Nineteenth-century literature criticism • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PN761 .N5 Title Index
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NOTE: Overview of an author's work or starting in-depth research on international authors who died between 1800 and 1899. Format is biographical sketch and accomplishments of the subject, lists of principal works, essays arranged in chronological order.
Literary criticism index / Weiner, Alan R., 1938- • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PN523 .W38 1984
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Moulton's library of literary criticism of English and American authors through the beginning of the twentieth century / Moulton, Charles Wells, 1859-1913. • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PR83 .M73 1966
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Twentieth-century literary criticism • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PN771 .T8 Title Index
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NOTE: Serves as an introduction to authors who died between 1900 and 1960 and to the most significant interpretations of these authors' works. Presents a survey of an author's career or an individual work of literature and provides the user with interpretation and assessments.
Literary Research & Bibliographies
Author newsletters and journals : an international annotated bibliography of serial publications concerned with the life and works of individual authors / Patterson, Margaret C. • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PN4836 .P4
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NOTE: From the Gale Information Guide Library, the American literature, English literature, and world literatures in English information guide series. Includes illustrations and an index.
The Cambridge bibliography of English literature • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PR85 .W382 1999
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NOTE: Revised edition of New Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature, 1969-1977. Volume 4 covers 1800-1900 and includes an index.
The Cambridge guide to literature in English • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PR85 .C29 1992
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NOTE: A reference guide to literature in English produced by various English-speaking cultures. The entries are alphabetical dealing with authors, major individual works and with genres, movements, groups, schools, critical concepts and terms.
Children's book prizes : an evaluation and history of major awards for children's books in the English-speaking world / Allen, Ruth, 1949- • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference Z1037.A2 A42 1998
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Commonwealth literature periodicals : a bibliography, including periodicals of former Commonwealth countries, with locations in the United Kingdom / Warwick, Ronald. • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PR9080 .W37
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Literary research guide : an annotated listing of reference sources in English literary studies • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PR83 .H37 2002
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NOTE: Comprehensive guide of reference sources essential to the study of literature.
The new guide to modern world literature / Seymour-Smith, Martin. • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PN771 .S4 1985
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NOTE: Thirty-three chapters devoted to literature of countries, national or ethnic groups. Discusses fiction, poetry, drama with each writer discussed individually. Based on 20th century themes. No substitute for the Encyclopedia of World Literature in the 20th Century (Ref. PN 771 E5 1999) or for more specialized reference sources on individual authors, but a convenient one-volume source providing entertainment and information.
The York companion to themes and motifs of world literature : mythology, history, and folklore / Elkhadem, Saad. • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PN43 .E4 1981
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Plot Summaries
The Crown guide to the world's great plays, from ancient Greece to modern times / Shipley, Joseph Twadell, 1893- • Location: Wilson 3W -Books PN6112.5 .S45 1984
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Masterplots : 2010 plot stories & essay reviews from the world's fine literature / Magill, Frank Northen, 1907- • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PN44 .M33 1976
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Find Books and more in our Library Use the Library Catalog to locate materials within our collection. The Library Catalog provides location, call number and bibliographic information for the books, journals, newspapers, selected government documents, microforms and other media, as well as online or electronic resources owned or accessed by the Western Libraries.
Books Books are the most comprehensive and easiest to obtain sources of information. In the WWU Library Catalog, look up any books cited in your overview. To find additional materials, search by clicking on the subject headings listed in the record. Also, browse on the bookshelves in relevant call number areas.
Broaden Your Search This guide points to just a selection of sources on world literatures in English. To locate more materials, search the Western Libraries Online Catalog using Keywords and Subject headings.
Keyword searching Select Keyword search from the Online Catalog. Break down your search by key concepts. For example, the Keyword search Australia and poetry will retrieve the following book:
Leonard, John, ed. Australian verse : an Oxford anthology. Melbourne : Oxford University Press, 1998. Call # PR9615.25 .A88 1998
Use broader terms to expand your search. For example, the keyword search Commonwealth and literature will find books on English language literatures in countries that were part of the British Empire. Try narrower terms to focus your search, depending on your topic. For example, try the keyword search Africa and women and authors.
Subject searching Our library uses the Library of Congress classification system to assign call numbers to books, periodicals, videos and other materials. This system uses letters and numbers to sort materials into subject areas. Here are some suggested subject headings to use in searching the online catalog for materials that focus on world literature in the English language. For subject headings to use for individual national and regional literatures, see also specific country/region links under World Literatures in English: Specific Countries and Regions.
Subject headings may be subdivided chronologically or by discipline. Examples: English literature - 19th Century, Commonwealth literature English - History and Criticism
Subheading examples: Commonwealth literature English - Dictionaries |
Commonwealth literature English - History and criticism |
Commonwealth literature English - Women authors |
English fiction - 20th century |
English literature - Developing countries |
English literature - 19th Century |
English literature - Minority authors |
English speaking countries |
Literature, comparative - Afrikaans and English
Some related subjects: Authors, Commonwealth |
Authors - English |
Children's literature, Commonwealth (English) |
Colonies in literature |
Commonwealth drama (English) |
Commonwealth fiction (English) |
Decolonization in literature |
Immigrants' writings - English |
Postcolonialism in literature
Recommended Indexes Primary indexes and databases to use for research on World Literatures in English
Arts and Humanities Citation Index (Web of Science) • Dates covered: 1990-current
Arts & Humanities Citation Index is a multidisciplinary database covering the journal literature of the arts and humanities, including archaeology, architecture, art, Asian studies, classics, dance, film, folklore, history, language, linguistics, literature, music, philosophy, poetry, religion and theatre. It indexes over 1000 of the leading arts and humanities journals as well as selected science and social science journals. Because the database includes the article's bibliography or cited reference list, you can also search the database for articles that cite a known author or older article. Consortium (12 Libraries) Shares 15 Users.
British Humanities Index • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference AI 3 .B7
• Dates covered: 1963-current
An index to over 320 British jounals and newspapers, covering all areas of the humanities - arts, history, economics, philosophy, politics and society.
Film Literature Index Online • Dates covered: 1976-2001
Film Literature Index is a subject index to 150 film and television periodicals from 30 countries cover-to-cover and 200 other periodicals selectively for articles on film and television. Periodicals range from the scholarly to the popular. More than 2,000 subject headings provide detailed analysis of the articles. The print version is available in the Reference Collection on Haggard 2 PN1993 .F62)and covers the years 1973-2004.
Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts • Dates covered: 1973-current
LLBA indexes and abstracts journal articles, book chapters and dissertations in all aspects of the study of language including phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics. Complete coverage is also given to various fields of linguistics including descriptive, historical, comparative, theoretical and geographical linguistics. Site License.
MLA (Modern Language Association) Bibliography • Dates covered: 1926-current
Produced by the Modern Language Association, this database covers literature, languages, linguistics, folklore, journalism, communications, film, media, and theater and indexes journal articles, books and book chapters, dissertations, and bibliographies from 1926 to the current year. 3 Simultaneous Users.
Play Index Online Play index provides the publishing information needed to locate a play in the variety of ways it is available: published as a separate title or in an anthology or collection. Included are links to Web sites that can contain full text, criticism, and other useful information. Search over 30,000 plays written from Antiquity to the present and published from 1949 to the present. Play Index Online is searchable by title, author, subject, style, genre, and cast type. Consortium: 8 libraries Share 12 Simultaneous Users.
Project Muse (Citation Only) Project Muse provides online, worldwide, access to the indexing of over 100 scholarly journal in the arts and humanities, social sciences, and mathematics.
Other Useful Indexes
Abstracts of English Studies • Location: Wilson 5 East PE25 .A16
• Dates covered: 1958-1990
• Check Catalog "No longer published, but for 1958-1990 indexes and abstracts about 750 journals for articles in English-language literature of all periods."
Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PR1 .M63
• Dates covered: 1920-
Lists monographs, periodical articles, criticial editions of literary works, book reviews, and collections of essays and doctoral dissertations published anywhere in the world. Current year is in Reference, Haggard 2. Back volumes are on Wilson 3 West: PR 1 .M63
Bibliographic Index • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference Z1002 .B594
• Dates covered: 1977-current
A subject index to bibliographies published separately or appearing as parts of books, pamphlets, and periodicals.
CPI.Q (Canadian Periodicals Index) • Dates covered: 1988-current
Contains full-text or abstracts from more than 400 Canadian and international publications, and the full-text of selected sections of The Globe and Mail newspaper. Also available in print, Reference AI3.C243. 2 Simultaneous Users.
Ethnic Newswatch and ENW: a History • Dates covered: 1990-current
Ethnic NewsWatch is an interdisciplinary, bilingual (English and Spanish) and comprehensive full text database of the newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press. Designed to provide the "other side of the story," ENW titles offer additional viewpoints from those proffered by the mainstream press. Coverage begins in 1990. Included is Ethnic NewsWatch: a History, with retrospective coverage from 1960-1989. 2 Simultaneous Users.
Historical Abstracts • Dates covered: 1954-current
• Check Catalog Historical Abstracts Includes abstracts and citations of books, journal articles, books, and dissertations on world history from 1450 to the present, excluding the United States and Canada. Political, diplomatic, economic, religious, social, cultural, and intellectual history, as well as the history of science, technology, and medicine are represented. 6 Simultaneous Users.
Nineteenth Century Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference A 13 .N714 1944
• Dates covered: 1890-1899
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Poole's Index to Periodical Literature • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference AI 3 P7
• Dates covered: 1802-1907
• Check Catalog Indexes titles and subjects from 500 American and English periodicals published from 1802-1881.
ProQuest Research Library Provides access to academic quality journals; many include full-text and images. Site License. [Resource no longer available]
Readers' Guide Retrospective • Dates covered: 1890-1982
Readers' Guide Retrospective, produced by The H. W. Wilson Company, is a database containing comprehensive indexing of the most popular general-interest periodicals published in the United States and reflects the history of 20th century America. Coverage is currently 1890-1982. 2 Simultaneous Users.
Journals on World Literatures in English The following selected periodicals cover world literature in English in general and from multiple countries and traditions. They are available from Western Libraries; some offer full text online. For journals relevant to individual national or regional literatures, go to the country and region guides linked under Literature in English from Specific Countries and Regions.
Contemporary Postcolonial and Postimperial Literature in English "A collection of materials on recent postcolonial and postimperial literature in English." Compiled by George P. Landow, Professor of English and Art History, Brown University; Shaw Professor of English and Digital Culture (Computer Science), National University of Singapore. Includes information on related religious and political issues. Details literature of the period in Africa, Australia, India, Singapore, New Zealand, Canada, Caribbean, and the United Kingdom.
English Literature Resources on the World Wide Web "The English Literature resources website was created and is maintained by the Research Librarian for English at Adelaide University, Alan Keig. I select and annotate those web sources that seem to me to be particularly useful to us here at Adelaide University." The site includes links to web resources on African and Australian literature, and to periods and genres of British literature.
Librarians' Index to the Internet - Literature by Place "The Librarians' Index to the Internet is a searchable, annotated subject directory of more than 6,600 Internet resources selected and evaluated by librarians." Maintained by the Berkeley Digital Library SunSITE. Coverage includes Australian, British, Canadian, Caribbean, and Irish literatures.
Literary Resources on the Net Maintained by Jack Lynch, Assistant Professor of English at Rutgers University. Presents links to online English literature resources by period and genre, including Twentieth-Century British and Irish, Women's Literature and Feminism, Ethnicities & Nationalities, and Other National Literatures. Provides a simple single-word search engine to the site.
Portals to the World "Links to electronic resources selected by Library of Congress subject experts. Portals to the World contain selective links providing authoritative, in-depth information about the nations and other areas of the world. They are arranged by country or area with the links for each sorted into a wide range of broad categories. The links were selected by Area Specialists and other Library staff using Library of Congress selection criteria. When completed, the project will include all the nations of the world." Categories include literature and culture.
Voice of the Shuttle : Literature (in English) Extensive site created and maintained by Alan Liu and a development team at the University of California, Santa Barbara English Department. "Might be the most comprehensive Humanities resource." Literature (in English) includes works written in English taught in departments of English and American literature. Some authors are also cross-listed under separate national, regional, or ethnic categories (e.g., "Irish," "Australian," "Afro-American") on the Other Literatures Written in English and Minority Literatures pages."
Voice of the Shuttle : Other Literatures in English Includes general resources in Anglophone and postcolonial literatures, as well as special sections for Africa, Australia and New Zealand, Canada, Caribbean, Ireland, Scotland, Subcontinental (South Asian), and Wales.
World Literatures in English From Fu Jen Catholic University, Taipei, Taiwan, Department of English. Covers general concepts, cultural and historical backgrounds, and regional literatures from India and Pakistan, South Africa, the Caribbean Area and Canada.
Guide to Literary Collections, History and Criticism This companion guide lists overview sources that focus more generally on literatures in English from countries of the Commonwealth, former colonies of the British Empire, and the developing countries of the world. Included are selected seminal and recent works. Most of these materials may be checked-out for use outside the library. For resources about national and regional literatures, go to the guide World Literatures in English: Specific Countries and Regions.
Guides to World Literatures in English: Specific Countries and Regions These guides focus on countries or regions where some of the literature has been, or continues to be, written originally in the English language. Represented are countries of the Commonwealth, former colonies of the British Empire, and developing countries of the world, including
Each country or region guide points to materials available through Western Libraries, including pertinent reference sources, periodicals, selected seminal works and recent titles, and evaluated web resources. Annotated citations are provided for selected reference sources, audio/visual materials and web sites. Be sure to check the Western Libraries Online Catalog for location and availability of materials. To aid in locating more resources, each guide lists relevant Library of Congress subject headings to use in searching the Western Libraries Online Catalog and Summit catalog.
Obtaining More Materials If the item you need is not available through Western Libraries, try the following options:
Summit Summit is the combined library catalog of Pacific Northwest academic libraries. Use Summit to locate and request materials like books and videos which are not available from Western Libraries. To access Summit, search our library catalog first, then choose the option to “Repeat search in Summit”. To learn more, go to the Summit information page.
Jeanne Armstrong Reference and Instruction
Deptartments and Programs: American Cultural Studies, Anthropology, English, International Studies,Sociology and Women Studies
Office: Haggard Hall 227
Phone: 360-650-7667
Email: Jeanne Armstrong
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