James L. Harner

“ American Novel Explication indexes books and articles, primarily in English, that explicate (i.e., interpret “the significance and meaning” of) novels by United States and English- and French-Canadian writers. Entries are organized alphabetically by novelist and then by novel; entries for parts of books are keyed to a list at the back. Indexed by novelists and titles of novel. Although lacking a sufficient explanation of the criteria governing selection, American Novel Explication is useful for its indexing of single-author monographs. ”

“ An encyclopedia for the student of the cultures of the United States. Ranging across folk, vernacular, elite, regional, sectarian, and mass cultures, the entries (which range from 500 to 5,000 words and which are, for the most part, written by established scholars) use an interdisciplinary approach to a topic and its relation to American culture in encompassing such areas as communication, economics, ethnicity, the arts, gender, national identity, the environment, religion, and technology—in short, virtually any area of interest to the discipline of American studies. ”

“ Two indexes: scholars; titles (with numbers referring to pages rather than entries) . The lack of a subject index is inexcusable, especially since so many of the books (each of which is listed in only one section) cover several topics. The volumes for journal articles and books published outside the United States never appeared. Although divisions vary considerably in quality and authoritativeness (with many lacking a clear focus and effective organization) , the work offers the most extensive general guide to books through 1988 on several aspects of American culture. ”

“ An appendix lists the principal biographies of 135 authors. Two indexes: subjects; names. Many divisions would benefit from more refined classification or organization; some annotations have not been revised to reflect changes in scope or organization of serial publications or revised editions; and a few outdated works or superseded editions should be excised. Especially valuable for its interdisciplinary scope, this onetime standard guide to reference works and scholarship essential to research in American literature is now in need of wholesale revision and updating. ”

“ The criteria governing selection of dramatists and studies are inexcusably vague (“those that most effectively use explication as a critical tool, those that seem to us most essential to scholars as well as students in the field, and those that might be difficult to find in existing bibliographies”) , and most of the entries have been gleaned from readily available sources (although the Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature [G340] is conspicuously absent from the list of indexes consulted) . ”

“ Entries are accompanied by full descriptive annotations. Although many works are given multiple entries, users should consult the index to locate all studies of a writer or type of verse. An asterisk marks the few works not seen. The index of persons and selected topics is difficult to use because of the abbreviations identifying the section in which an entry appears. Despite the omission of bibliographies and general literary histories, Seventeenth-Century American Poetry is an essential compilation for identifying scholarship on early American verse. ”

“ Each entry provides author, title, institution, year, degree, and department; occasionally a note identifies authors or works discussed. Since a thesis or dissertation is listed only once, the lack of cross-references and an index seriously mars the usability of the work. Although not comprehensive—especially in its coverage of foreign theses and dissertations on Twain—Southern Literary Culture is valuable for its extensive coverage, especially of studies written in a variety of departments other than English. ”

“ Additional surveys appear in the ongoing Resources for American Literary Study “Prospects” essays (some of which are revised in these volumes) . Two indexes in vol. 1: persons; subjects. A single index of persons and titles in vol. 2. Written for the most part by seasoned scholars, these essays offer invaluable guides for graduate students searching for dissertation topics and for junior faculty members ready to move beyond a dissertation; as a whole Prospects for the Study of American Literature serves as an admirable model for more such collections on American and British writers. ”

“ The lack of cross-references and subject indexing means that researchers looking for studies on a writer must skim the divisions on general works and special topics. Although several authors are more fully covered in separate author bibliographies, Bibliographical Guide to the Study of Western American Literature is the essential starting point for research on the region. ”

“ Although still emphasizing popular Broadway theater (through early 2003) in entries on plays, musicals, actors, actresses, producers, directors, designers, other notable theatrical people, theaters, organizations, and periodicals, the 3rd edition extends its reach outside New York City to include regional theatrical companies and historic theater buildings, admits more off-Broadway and regional works, adds people from the earlier days of American theater, but shortens many entries from the 2nd edition (1999; 735 pp.) to make room for the new ones. ”

“ Two indexes: persons (regrettably not indexing references to writers in divisions other than that for individual authors) ; titles of works cited. Poor and inconsistent organization, incomplete cross-references, and inadequate indexing mean that users searching for single-author studies must skim all entries. These shortcomings, together with the lack of clarity about criteria governing the selection of both primary and secondary works and the exclusion of most foreign scholarship, render Harlem Renaissance much less useful and accessible than it should be. ”

“ Each entry concludes with a list of sources that typically locates manuscript and archival material. A classified list of occupations, avocations, groups, and interests concludes each Dictionary. Entrants are indexed in Biography and Genealogy Master Index (J565) . Although there are some notable omissions, Notable American Women is the most authoritative biographical dictionary of American women (many of whom receive their first and only scholarly discussion here) and a valuable source for literary scholars because of its inclusion of so many authors. ”

“ The annotations offer a clear description of scope and (usually) a succinct evaluation of a work’s utility or quality. The introduction provides an overview of the bibliography of contemporary poetry. Although the first division includes some works that hardly qualify as bibliographies and although access is hampered by the lack of a subject index or cross-references to multiple-author bibliographies, McPheron includes a number of works not indexed in the standard serial bibliographies and indexes in section G and is the essential guide to bibliographies of contemporary poets. ”

“ Entries are organized in four classified divisions: aids to research (with sections for bibliographies, guides to library collections, other reference works, and periodicals) ; background studies (with highly selective lists of autobiographies and collections of essays; slave narratives; studies of historical, social, and intellectual backgrounds; and works on art, journalism, music, and theater) ; literary history and criticism (with sections for anthologies, general studies, drama, fiction, poetry, and folklore) ”

“ An indispensable, but frequently overlooked, source for identifying authors and titles, the Dictionary Catalog is especially valuable for the detailed subject access it offers to works relating to all aspects of African American culture. The CD-ROM (Black Studies on Disc, 1995–2004) includes the Dictionary Catalog, supplements, and Index to Black Periodicals (Q3740) ; however the data is difficult to extract because the primitive search interface offers limited search and export options. ”

“ A collection of separately authored profiles of 168 of the most important American magazines that print a significant amount of literature (including criticism) or are otherwise important in literary history. The essays, organized by periodical title, typically discuss publishing history, audience, and significant literary content, and conclude with a list of studies, indexes, reprints, and a few locations, as well as details of publishing history (including title changes, numbering and dating of volumes and issues, frequency, publishers, and editors) . ”

“ Except for writers known only by pseudonyms, coverage is limited to individuals definitely identified as Native Americans and to writings composed by the authors themselves. Each volume is made up of three parts: writers of established identity, writers known only by pseudonyms, and biographical notices. Under an author, entries are listed by publication date (a practice that needlessly separates later editions, reprints, and revisions from an original edition or version) . ”

“ A database that indexes the content of about 500 humanities and social science periodicals on Latin Americans and Hispanics in the United States, with coverage extending to all areas except the hard sciences and technology. Records can be searched by keyword, document author, title, subject (based on a thesaurus) , and journal; searches can be limited by date and language and to articles with full-text links or about United States Hispanics only; in addition, searchers can elect to exclude book reviews. ”

“ Guides to Scholarship and Criticism There is no adequate bibliography devoted to studies of African American drama. Esther Spring Arata and Nicholas John Rotoli, Black American Playwrights, 1800 to the Present: A Bibliography (Metuchen: Scarecrow, 1976; 295 pp.) , and Arata, More Black American Playwrights: A Bibliography (1978; 321 pp.) , are too error-ridden, poorly organized, incomplete, and inconsistent to recommend to researchers. French et al., Afro-American Poetry and Drama (Q3845) , is so selective that it is barely a place to begin research. ”

“ A series of selective, usually evaluative bibliographical essays organized in four extensively classified divisions: general resources and reference works, general literature (with subdivisions for periods, background studies, American language, folk literature, Indian lore and antiquities, and popular literature) , movements and influences, and 239 individual authors (covering primary works, editions, biographies, criticism, bibliographies, and public collections of manuscripts) . Throughout, the emphasis is on guiding readers to the best editions and studies ”

“ Because of the depth of coverage and multiple points of access, the database is a key resource for the study of twentieth-century American fiction—one that makes possible a multitude of subject and genre studies. ”

“ The approximately 9,400 entries—most accompanied by extensive descriptive annotations that typically cite related works—are classified in 32 chapters covering all aspects of history; culture; the humanities; the arts; and social, natural, and physical sciences. The best approach to the contents is through the extensive index of persons, titles, and subjects. Although dated, this study remains the fullest general guide to works essential for investigating life and thought before 1965 in the United States. ”

“ The judicious selectivity, extensive coverage and quality of entries, and efficient cross-referencing and indexing give Oxford Companion to Women’s Writing pride of place among the dictionaries of women writers in the United States. ”

“ Each subset allows searchers to combine a variety of fields and limit searches; for example, the Advanced Search screen for searching plays has fields for full text keyword, title, availability of full text, unpublished plays, date of composition, playwright, gender, nationality, race, translator, lyricist, composer, librettist, author of book for a musical, conceiver, all contributors, publication date, year of first production, medium, genre, original language, setting, performers, character names, theater, production company, subject, and record code ”

“ Although many libraries were unable to provide a thorough description of their holdings, Women’s History Sources is the essential guide to a wealth of little-known material, a decent portion of which is of literary interest. ”

“ As of early 2013, the database included data on more than 30,000 plays. Coverage of the United States is far more extensive than that for Canada and the rest of North America. Users can browse indexes of people, theaters, acting companies, “resources” (i.e., images) , plays, productions, dates, reference works (an uncritical listing of separate chapters or entries from reference works, with hundreds of lines beginning “Chapter” or “Entry”) , places, and subjects; several of the preceding include subindexes and sort options, but the only way to search is through a Web browser’s search function. ”

“ A collection of essays, on authors, movements, genres, and topics, that makes a concerted effort to include African American literature and emphasizes twentieth-century writers. Unfortunately the essays exclude references to scholarship, a deficiency not compensated for by M. Thomas Inge’s brief appendix surveying anthologies, reference sources, surveys, bibliographies, literary histories, and general critical studies (pp. 589–99) . ”