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Finding Criticism
Use the techniques described on this page to find literary criticism by using our general search bar, Academic Search Ultimate database, or other literature-centered journals.
With different search strategies, your results might appear the same, but usually they aren't identical. Look carefully!
- Poets & Writers MagazinePoets & Writers Magazine, founded in 1987, is the flagship publication of the largest creative-writers' nonprofit in the U.S. Full-text access from 2009 to the present is available through Augsburg's Expanded Academic database. Put keywords in the “search within publication” search box to get all articles on a particular subject — or, to search a particular issue, go to Advanced Search, scroll down to “More Options,” and enter “poets & writers” and the date.
- Writer's DigestOnline access to articles from this respected writer's journal.
Searching the Catalog
Author as Subject
When you do this search, the books you find will be significantly (if not exclusively) about the author.
- Search for the author's name. This captures everything by and about that author.
- Then limit your search to Subject to find books about that author and their works.
- The updated results list will contain biographies of the author and criticism and interpretation about their works that have been written by other scholars.
Criticism as Keyword
Search for either the author name or the title of the specific work and add the word criticism: kate chopin criticism
With this search, the books might be solely about the author or contain only a single chapter — but it could be the perfect chapter.
Essay and General Literature Index
Find the multivolume Essay and General Literature Index in the Lindell Library Reference section, under the call number AI3 .E752 .
Look here to find:
- essays in books about authors and their works
- essays by subject
Using the Index
To start, choose the volume that includes the year the novel was published, or the year or two after. Well-known authors who enjoy continued criticism may be listed in several volumes, so you may want to check multiple years.
You can search three ways:
By author of interest:
These entries include citations to essays about the author in general or about specific works. If you have a particular novel in mind, always search by the author first.By author of the essay:
See the citations for the essays he or she wrote.By subject:
Find citations to essays on literature and other topics.
Retrieving Essays
Entries include the essay title then, in parentheses, the book title:
Author Last Name, Initial. Title. (In Book's Author, Initial. Book Title).
If you want to read an essay, use the General Search to search for the book title. If we don't have it, we can order it for you.