Subject Guide for Spanish and Latin American Literature
Contents
- Introduction
- Dictionaries and Encyclopedias
- Historical Surveys
- Author Biographies
- Dictionaries of Literary Criticism and Theory
- Dictionaries of Literary Terms
- Language Dictionaries, Manuals, and Handbooks
- Primary Sources - Locating Literary Texts
- Secondary Sources
- Web Resources
- Contact Information
Introduction
This selective research guide introduces users to the most useful and current
resources pertinent to the study of Spanish and Latin American literature. It
lists print and electronic resources that will help you gather information about
authors and literary theorists and their ideas, locate criticism about a story,
novel, poem or other literary work, and find authors’ works in anthologies,
collections, and periodicals. Other useful materials may be found on the shelf
in the vicinity of the call numbers listed.
Top of Page
Dictionaries and Encyclopedias
The following works do not provide in-depth criticism. However, they are an excellent first stop for research as they can provide important background information about an author, a work of literature, or literary and cultural topics. Articles are written by well-known specialists in the field and include background information on literary terms, genres, and movements. May also contain biographical sketches or essays, as well as bibliographies of each writer's works and of criticism.
Spain
PQ6006 .O95 Ref
Oxford Companion to Spanish LiteraturePN849.S6 D54 1993 Ref
Dictionary of the Literature of the Iberian PeninsulaDP233.5 .E63 1999 Ref
Encyclopedia of Contemporary Spanish CulturePQ6055 F46 2002 Ref
The Feminist Encyclopedia of Spanish Literature
Latin America
PQ7081.A1 E56 1997 Ref
Encyclopedia of Latin American LiteratureF1406 .E515 2000 Ref
Encyclopedia of Contemporary Latin American and Caribbean Cultures
F1406 .E53 1996 Ref
Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture
Historical Surveys
Literary research requires familiarity with the historical and cultural context in which a work was written, as well as knowledge of the history of a particular literature. Consult the following sources for regional and culturally-specific overviews.
LiteratureSpain
DP233.5 .E63 1999 Ref
Encyclopedia of Contemporary Spanish Culture
Latin America
F1406 .E53 1996 Ref
Encyclopedia of Latin American History and CultureF1406 .E515 2000 Ref
Encyclopedia of Contemporary Latin American and Caribbean Cultures
The arrangement of the following works varies. May include essays by country, work, and/or theme.
PQ7081 A1 C35 1996 Ref
The Cambridge History of Latin American Literature. 3 vols.PQ7081.A1 H36 1992 Ref
Handbook of Latin American Literature.PQ7081.A1 H36 1987 Ref
Handbook of Latin American LiteraturePQ7081 M625 1999 Ref
Latin American Literature and its TimesPQ6041 M67 2002 Ref
Spanish and Portuguese Literature and Their TimesE184.S75 H365 1993 Ref
Handbook of Hispanic Cultures in the United States: Literature and Art
Overview essays on Chicano, Cuban American and Puerto Rican literature and art, including such topics as women writers, theatre, cinema, and press. Each essay includes a bibliography.
Author Biographies
Major Spanish and Latin American writers are included in the Contemporary Authors series. To locate citations in this series consult the Contemporary Authors Cumulative Index (PN451 C66 Ref Desk). CA coverage is supplemented and enhanced by the specialized resources listed below. Aside from biographical information these sources also include discussions of each writer's major work, themes, and critical response and provide listings of the author's work and selected critical writings.
Spain
PQ6085 .T88 1991 Ref
Dictionary of Literary Biography: Twentieth-Century Spanish Poets. Volume 108PQ6085 .T88 1994 Ref
Dictionary of Literary Biography: Twentieth-Century Spanish Poets. Volume 134PQ6055 .S63 1993 Ref
Spanish Women Writers: A Bio-bibliographical Source BookPQ6051 .S63 1998 Book Stacks
Spanish Dramatists of the Golden Age: A Bio-bibliographical SourcebookPN849.S6 D54 1993 Ref
Dictionary of the Literature of the Iberian PeninsulaPQ6046 S49 S66 1999 Ref
Spanish Writers on Gay and Lesbian Themes: A Bio-Critical Sourcebook
Latin America
PQ7081.A1 L37 1989 Ref Desk
Latin American Writers
PQ7082.N7 M55 1992 Ref
Dictionary of Literary Biography: Modern Latin-American Fiction Writers. Volume 113PQ7082.N7 M55 1994 Ref
Dictionary of Literary Biography: Modern Latin-American Fiction Writers. Volume 145PQ6085 .T88 1991 Ref
Dictionary of Literary Biography: Twentieth-Century Spanish Poets. Volume 108PQ6085 .T88 1994 Ref
Dictionary of Literary Biography: Twentieth-Century Spanish Poets. Volume 134PQ7081 .S6 1990 Ref and Book Stacks
Spanish American Women Writers: A Bio-Bibliographical Source Book
PQ7082 .D7 H37 2003 Ref
Latin American Dramatists since 1945: A Bio-Bibliographical Guide
PQ7081.3 J49 1997 Ref
Jewish Writers of Latin America: A DictionaryPQ7081.3 F62 1994 Ref
Latin American Writers on Gay and Lesbian Themes: A Bio-Critical SourcebookPQ7081.A1 H573 1994 Ref
Hispanic Literature CriticismPQ7420.2 .K3 1989 Ref
Biographical Dictionary of Hispanic Literature in the United States: The Literature of Puerto Ricans, Cuban Americans, and other Hispanic Writers
Dictionaries of Literary Criticism and Theory
The following titles provide useful summary and survey information about theorists and their works.
Top of PagePN86 E53 1999 Ref
Encyclopedia of Literary Critics and CriticismPN81 E53 1993 Ref
Encyclopedia of Contemporary Literary Theory: Approaches, Scholars, Terms
PN81 J64 1994 Ref
The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and CriticismPN45 C74 1988 Ref
Critical Survey of Literary Theory.PN74 A2 1995 Ref
The A to Z Guide to Modern Literary and Cultural Theorists.PN74 T84 2001 Ref
Twentieth-Century European Cultural Theorists.
Dictionaries of Literary Terms
The works listed below explain concepts and terminology of particular importance to literary study.
Top of PagePN41 D474 Ref
Diccionario de términos e "ismos" literariosPN41 H36 1992 Ref
Dictionary of Concepts in Literary Criticism and Theory
Language Dictionaries, Manuals, and Handbooks
There are dozens of Spanish dictionaries in the Reference collection. For Spanish dictionaries see Reference PC4625 and nearby call numbers; for Spanish-English, English-Spanish see Reference PC4640 and nearby call numbers. Many dictionaries are available for check out at these same call numbers on the 4th floor of Love Library.Top of PagePC4410 .F68 1999 Ref
The Writer's Reference Guide to Spanish
Spanish style guide. Covers punctuation, spelling, and other grammatical issues. Includes a chapter on how to cite books, periodicals and other works in Spanish in your bibliography.
Primary Sources - Locating Literary Texts
Top of PageResearching a writer or literary topic generally requires consulting a literary text. There are various strategies for obtaining these.
First, do an AUTHOR search on the Online Catalog (PAC). The online catalog (PAC) lists books, journal titles, videos, and other items in the San Diego State University Library. You can access the PAC from any computer with Internet access from Infodome. If the SDSU Library does not own the book or it is checked out it may be obtainable from other libraries via Circuit, LINK+, or Interlibrary Loan. Literary texts can also frequently be found on the Web. To ensure authoritative and reliable sources refer to Web Resources. The following sources can be useful for locating poetry, plays, and short stories that have been published in anthologies.PQ7082.P7 S66 1998 Ref
Twentieth-Century Poetry from Spanish America: An Index to Spanish Language and Bilingual Anthologies
PQ6115 .H17 2000 Ref
Index to Twentieth-Century Spanish Plays: In Collections, Anthologies, and Periodicals
PQ7082.D7 H6 Ref
Latin American Play Index
Z1609.L7 C35 1994 Ref
Index to Spanish Language Short Stories in AnthologiesFor works in English translation search the PAC using the subject termsSpanish Literature Translations into English
Latin American Literature Translations into English
Secondary Sources
Finding Books
There are several strategies for locating books about an author or critical commentary on a literary text.The first approach is to do a SUBJECT search on the Online Catalog (PAC) by author (type last name first). This type of search may yield general book-length discussions about the writer and/or about a specific work.Major Spanish and Latin American writers are included in the Gale Literary Criticism series which provides reprints of excerpts of critical commentary that have been published in books and periodicals. To locate citations in this series consult the Contemporary Authors Cumulative Index (PN451 C66 Ref Desk).
Finding Articles
Book reviews appear in periodicals and can be significant sources of critical commentary. Consult Book Review Digest (Z1219 .C96 Ref), Book Review Index (Z1219 .B6 Ref) and similar print sources on Table 10. These indexes are arranged by year. Check for reviews by looking up the author’s name in the volume of the year in which the book was published. If no review is found for that year it may be necessary to search forward 2-3 years to locate a review. Also refer to Book Reviews Periodical Indexes and Databases.
Indexes and databases are finding-aids for the contents of published material (journal articles, conference proceedings, books, book chapters, etc.). They can generally be searched by title, author, keyword, or subject. Use these tools to find citations and/or full text materials on your topic. Unless otherwise noted all of the following databases can be searched remotely from the SDSU Article Databases page.MLA, 1921-
The MLA Bibliography became international in scope in 1956.HAPI Online,1970- Also available as Hispanic American Periodicals Index (F1408 H27 Ref)
An author and subject index to more than 400 periodicals in social science and humanities journals that regularly contain information on Latin America, the United States-Mexico border region, and Hispanics in the United States. Includes criticism, book reviews, original literary works, and links to some full-text articles. English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, and Italian.JSTOR
Provides access to full-text scholarly journals in the humanities, sciences, and social sciences up to last 3-5 years.Academic Search Premier, 1990-
Database with selected full-text articles across a wide range of disciplines.Handbook of Latin American Studies, 1935-present Also in print (F1408 .H252 Ref)
Selective annotated bibliography of scholarly works on Latin America in the humanities and social sciences from the Library of Congress. Includes books, journal articles, book chapters, conference papers, and electronic resources. Electronic version includes contents of future print volumes. Yearly print volumes alternate between the humanities and the social sciences.
Web Resources
Top of PageThe WWW has increasingly become an important source of information for research. To assure reliability and authoritativeness the following websites, with links to literary texts, reviews and essays, and pages devoted to specific authors, are recommended.
LANIC – Literature (University of Texas, Austin)
Voice of the Shuttle – Spanish and Portuguese page (UC Santa Barbara)
Iberian Language and Literature Web (Yale University)
Gateway to Spanish and Portuguese literature resources compiled by the Association of College and Research Librarians' Western European Studies section.
Contact Information
For research assistance in this subject area contact:
or
Cecilia Puerto
619-594-4629
cpuerto@mail.sdsu.eduMartha McPhail
619-594-6736
mmcphail@mail.sdsu.edu
