Reference Encyclopedias and Dictionaries
Use reference books to find background information on the writer you are reading and studying. The articles in reference books often list additional books and articles selected to provide further information and other perspectives.
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Dictionary of Literary Biography Complete OnlineCall Number: Uris Library Reference PS 129 .D55 (Willis Room)Detroit: Gale Research, 1978- . 385 volumes to date.
(Online access is Cornell only.)
Provides nearly 12,000 biographical and critical essays on the lives, works, and careers of the world's most influential literary figures from all eras and genres. -
Encyclopedia of Latin American and Caribbean Literature, 1900-2003Call Number: Olin Library Reference PQ 7081 .A1 .E558 2004Edited by Daniel Balderston and Mike Gonzalez. New York Routledge, 2004.
A companion volume to the next title focused specifically on writers, novelists, poets, playwrights, critics, and journalists. Solid bibliographies of further reading with each entry. -
Encyclopedia of Latin American History and CultureCall Number: Olin Library Reference F 1406 .E53 2008Edited by Verity Smith. 2nd edition. 6 volumes. Detroit: Scribners, 2008.
(Online access is Cornell only.)
A comprehensive, multidisciplinary view of Latin American history and culture from prehistoric times to the present. Covers cultural issues and includes numerous biographical profiles of important figures in politics, letters and the arts. -
Encyclopedia of Latin American LiteratureCall Number: Olin Library Reference PQ 7081 .A1 E56x 1997 +Edited by Verity Smith. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn, 1997.
Entries on writers, works, and topics relating to the literature of Latin America, including survey articles on individual countries. Each entry consists of a signed critical overview of the writer's literary work written by an expert in the field; a brief biographical sketch, a select list of the writer's works, a list of further reading, and in some cases, one or more essays on individual literary works. -
Latin American WritersCall Number: Uris Library Reference PQ 7081 .A1 L37 1989 (Willis Room)Carlos A. Solé, editor in chief. New York: Scribners, 1989.
A collection of excellent bio-critical essays on Latin American writers by scholars from the U.S., Latin America, and Europe. It includes over 176 chroniclers, novelists, poets, journalists, and playwrights from the 16th century to the present in a 3-volume set. Entries are arranged chronologically by writer's date of birth. -
Literature Resource Center(Cornell only)
A complete literature database combining biographical, bibliographical, and contextual information on authors and their works. -
Oxford Language Dictionaries Online(Cornell only)
An authoritative online bilingual dictionary for Spanish and English (as well as Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Russian).
