Comparative Literature: Encyclopedic Resources for National & Regional Literatures

Tommy Nixon
Humanities Reference Librarian
tommy_nixon@unc.edu
919.962.1151

This Library of Congress classification system holds true for any library in the world using the LC system. For example, Romance language dictionaries will always be classed in the PCs, while English language dictionaries will always be classed in the PEs. General literature will be in the PNs, Romance language literartures in the PQs, British literature in the PRs & American literature in the PSs.

Use this Map to find books in Davis Reference.

Use this Location Guide to find books in Davis.

Through the Carolina BLU Delivery Service, you can request to have books and articles available at any of the UNC-CH campus libraries, as well as books and articles requested through interlibrary loan, delivered to the campus library most convenient to you.

Encyclopedic reference sources can provide overview & context for a variety of specialized topics, and generally also provide an initial bibliography. Literary reference sources may be organized in a variety of ways, e.g., by genre or gender, by national literature or regional literature, by period or genre (or both) within a national literature or multinational literatures.
These listings are highly selective, espescially for Western European, American, & Latin American literatures. Browse the Library of Congress Classification areas for individual literatures in the Reference Dept. to identify additional resources.
Increasingly, reference sources are availabvle online. Consult Oxford Reference Online Premium for a variety of e-reference sources (not restricted to literature).

The Oxford classical dictionary [electronic resource] . Edited by Simon Hornblower and Antony Spawforth. Oxford ;New York : Oxford University Press, 2003.
The standard one-volume guide to all aspects of the classical world.
Davis Reference Desk DE5 .O9 2003

The Cambridge dictionary of classical civilization . Edited by Graham Shipley ... [et al.] Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2006.
Davis Reference DE5 .C28 2006

Paulys Real-encyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft. Neue Bearbeitung begonnen von Georg Wissowa, fortgeführt von Wilhelm Kroll und Karl Mittelhaus, unter Mitwirkung zahlreicher Fachgenossen, herausgegeben von Konrat Ziegler. München, A. Druckenmüller, 1894-1972.
The standard & most authoritative encyclopedia for the classical world, issued in many volumes & supplements. Often referred to as "Pauly's" or less frequently as "Pauly-Wissowa." Sometimes abbreviated as "RE." Pauly's is succeeded by (but not superseded by) the Neue Pauly below.
Davis Reference DE5 .P33

Der neue Pauly : Enzyklopädie der Antike. Herausgegeben von Hubert Cancik und Helmuth Schneider. Stuttgart : J.B. Metzler, c1996-
The "New Pauly" & successor to Paulys (above), now being translated into English as Brill's New Pauly (below).
Davis Reference DE5 .N48 1996

Brill's New Pauly : encyclopaedia of the ancient world. Antiquity . Edited by Hubert Cancik and Helmut Schneider. Leiden : Brill, 2002-
The English translation of the Neue Pauly is issued in two series, "Antiquity" and "Classical Tradition" (below).
Davis Reference DE5 .N3813 2002

Brill's New Pauly : encyclopaedia of the ancient world. Classical tradition . Edited by Manfred Landfester in cooperation with Hubert Cancik and Helmuth Schneider ; English edition, managing editor, Francis G. Gentry. Leiden ;Boston : Brill, 2006-
Davis Reference DE5 .N3913 2006

Civilization of the ancient Mediterranean : Greece and Rome . 3 vols. Edited by Michael Grant and Rachel Kitzinger. New York : Scribner's, c1988.
Davis Reference DE59 .C55 1988

The dictionary of classical mythology . By Pierre Grimal. New York : Blackwell, 1985.
Davis Reference BL715 .G713 1985

The Cambridge ancient history. 14vols. London, Cambridge University Press, 1970-2005.
Davis Reference D57 .C252

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Reference guide to Russian literature. Editor, Neil Cornwell ; associate editor, Nicole Christian. London ;Chicago : Fitzroy Dearborn, c1998
Davis Reference PG2940 .R44 1998

Russian women writers. 2 vols. Christine D. Tomei, editor. New York : Garland Publishing, 1999.
Davis Reference PG3203.W64 R868 1999

The Cambridge history of Russian literature. Edited by Charles A. Moser. Cambridge ;New York : Cambridge University Press, 1992.
Davis Reference PG2951 .C36 1992

A history of women's writing in Russia [electronic resource] Edited by Adele Marie Barker and Jehanne M Gheith. Cambridge, UK : Cambridge University Press, 2002.
Davis PG2997 .H56 2002

Handbook of Russian literature. edited by Victor Terras. New Haven : Yale University Press, c1985.
Davis Reference PG2940 .H29 1985

Dictionary of Polish literature. Edited by E.J. Czerwinski. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 1994.
Davis Reference PG7007 .D5 1994

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Dictionary of Oriental literatures. 3 vols. General editor, Jaroslav Prušek. London : Allen and Unwin, 1974.
Davis Reference PJ31 .D5 1974

Encyclopedia of Arabic literature. Edited by Julie Scott Meisami and Paul Starkey. London ;New York : Routledge, 1998.
Davis Reference PJ7510 .E53 1998

Middle Eastern literatures and their times. Joyce Moss. Detroit : Thomson Gale, 2004.
Davis Reference PJ307 .M67 2004

Encyclopaedic dictionary of Pâli literature. 2 vols. Edited by N.K Singh, B. Baruah. Delhi : Global Vision Pub. House, 2003.
Davis Reference PK4501.A3 E53 2003

Handbook of twentieth-century literatures of India. [electronic resource]Edited by Nalini Natarajan ; Emmanuel S. Nelson, advisory editor. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 1996.
Davis Reference PK5416 .H27 1996

Dictionary of Indo-Persian literature. Nabi Hadi, foreword by Kapila Vatsyayan. New Delhi : Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts ; Abhinav Publications, 1995.
Davis Reference PK6427.6.I5 D53 1995

The Columbia Companion to modern East Asian literature. general editor, Joshua Mostow ; associate editors, Kirk A. Denton, Bruce Fulton, Sharalyn Orbaugh. New York : Columbia University Press, c2003.
Davis Reference PL493 .C55 2003

The Indiana companion to traditional Chinese literature. 2 vols. William H. Nienhauser, Jr., editor and compiler. Bloomington : Indiana University Press, c1986-
Davis Reference Z3108.L5 I53 1986

Modern Japanese writers. Jay Rubin, editor. New York : Charles Scribner's Sons, 2001.
Davis Reference PL723 .M563 2001

Japanese women writers : a bio-critical sourcebook. Edited by Chieko I. Mulhern. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 1994.
Davis Reference PL725 .J37 1994

The Princeton companion to classical Japanese literature. by Earl Miner, Hiroko Odagiri, and Robert E. Morrell. Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, c1985.
Davis Reference PL726.1 .M495 1985

Who's who in Korean literature. By The Korean Culture & Arts Foundation. Elizabeth, N. J : Hollym International Corp., 1996.
Davis Reference PL957.7 .H36 1996

Encyclopedia of African literature. Edited by Simon Gikandi. London ;New York : Routledge, 2003.
Davis Reference PL8010 .E63 2003

The companion to African literatures. Editors, Douglas Killam, Ruth Rowe. Bloomington : Indiana University Press ;Oxford : James Currey, 2000.
Davis Reference PR9340 .C65 2000

Postcolonial African writers : a bio-bibliographical critical sourcebook[electronic resource]. Edited by Pushpa Naidu Parekh and Siga Fatima Jagne ; foreword by Carole Boyce Davies. Westport, Conn : Greenwood Press, 1998.
Davis Reference PL8010 .P585 1998

African writers. 2 vols. C. Brian Cox, editor. New York : Charles Scribner's Sons, c1997
Davis Reference Row 4 PL8010 .A453 1997

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The New Oxford companion to literature in French. Edited by Peter France. Oxford [England] : Clarendon Press ;New York : Oxford University Press, 1995.
Davis Reference Desk PQ41 .N486 1995

Dictionnaire des lettres françaises. Publié sous la direction du cardinal Georges Grente. [Paris] : Fayard, [1994-
Davis Reference PQ41 .D5 1984

Dictionnaire des littératures de langue française . 3 vols. J.-P. de Beaumarchais, Daniel Couty, Alain Rey. Paris : Bordas, c1984.
Davis Reference PQ41 .B4 1984

Guide to French literature : beginnings to 1789. Anthony Levi. Detroit : St. James Press, c1994.
Davis Reference PQ41 .L484 1994

Guide to French literature : 1789 to the present. Anthony Levi. Chicago : St. James Press, c1992.
Davis Reference PQ41 .L485 1992

Dictionary of modern French literature : from the age of reason through realism . Sandra W. Dolbow. New York : Greenwood Press, 1986.
Davis Reference PQ41 .D65 1986

French women writers : a bio-bibliographical source book. Edited by Eva Martin Sartori and Dorothy Wynne Zimmerman. New York : Greenwood Press, 1991.
Davis Reference PQ149 .F73 1991

The feminist encyclopedia of French literature [electronic resource]. Eva Martin Sartori, editor-in-chief ; editors, Eva Martin Sartori ... [et al]. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 1999.
Davis Reference PQ149 .F47 1999

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The Oxford companion to Italian literature. Edited by Peter Hainsworth and David Robey. Oxford ;New York : Oxford University Press, 2002.
Davis Reference Desk PQ4006 .O84 2002

Dizionario critico della letteratura italiana. 4 vols. Diretto da Vittore Branca, con la collaborazione di Armando Balduino, Manlio Pastore Stocchi, Marco Pecoraro. Torino : Unione tipografico-editrice torinese, c1986.
Davis Reference PQ4057 .D59 1986

Dizionario generale degli autori italiani contemporanei ... 2 vols. Firenze, Vallecchi, 1974.
Davis Reference PQ4113 .D58

Encyclopedia of Italian literary studies. 2 vols. Gaetana Marrone, general editor; Paolo Puppa, Luca Somigli, editors. New York : Routledge, c2007.
This represents an important encyclopedia of Italian literature, treating authors, movements, etc.
Davis Reference PQ4006 .E536 2007

Dictionary of Italian literature. Peter Bondanella and Julia Conaway Bondanella, editors-in-chief ; Jody Robin Shiffman, associate editor. Rev. ed. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 1996.
Davis Reference PQ4006 .D45 1996

The feminist encyclopedia of Italian literature. Edited by Rinaldina Russell. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 1997.
Davis Reference PQ4063 .F45 1997

Italian women writers : a bio-bibliographical sourcebook. Edited by Rinaldina Russell. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 1994.
Davis Reference PQ4063 .I88 1994

Guida allo studio della letteratura italiana. A cura di Emilio Pasquini. Bologna : Il mulino, 1997.
Davis Reference PQ4013 .G85 1997

Enciclopedia dantesca. 5 vols. + Suppl. Roma, Institvto della Enciclopedia italiana, [1970-
Davis Reference PQ4333 .E5

The Dante encyclopedia. Editor, Richard Lansing ; associate editors, Teodolinda Barolini ... [et al.] ; advisors, Steven Botterill ... [et al.]. New York : Garland Pub., 2000.
Davis Reference PQ4333 .D36 2000

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Sources for Latin American literature are regional only in this guide. Browse literature of Spanish America (PQ7081-PQ8560) for individual country guides.

Spanish and Portuguese literatures and their times : (The Iberian peninsula). Joyce Moss. Detroit : Gale Group, c2002. World Literature and its Times, v. 5.
Davis Reference PQ6041 .M67 2002

The Oxford companion to Spanish literature. Edited by Philip Ward. Oxford : Clarendon Press, 1978.
Davis Reference Desk PQ6006 .O93

The Cambridge history of Spanish literature. Edited by David T. Gies. Cambridge, UK ;New York : Cambridge University Press, 2004.
Davis Reference PQ6033 .C36 2004

Cronología de la literatura española. Madrid : Cátedra, c1991-
Davis Reference PQ6038 .V56 1991

Historia y crítica de la literatura española. 9 vols. Barcelona : Editorial Crítica, c1980-
Davis Reference PQ6032 .H57 1980

Spanish dramatists of the Golden Age : a bio-bibliographical sourcebook. Edited by Mary Parker. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 1998.
Davis Reference PQ6051 .S63 1998

Spanish women writers : a bio-bibliographical source book. Edited by Linda Gould Levine, Ellen Engelson Marson, and Gloria Feiman Waldman. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 1993.
Davis Reference PQ6055 .S63 1993

The feminist encyclopedia of Spanish literature. 2 vols. Edited by Janet Pérez and Maureen Ihrie. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 2002.
Davis Reference PQ6055 .F46 2002

The Cervantes encyclopedia. 2 vols. Howard Mancing. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 2004.
Davis Reference PQ6337 .A2 2004

Gran enciclopedia cervantina. 5 vols. [Carlos Alvar, director]. Alcalá de Henares (Madrid) : Centro de Estudios Cervantinos ;Madrid, España : Editorial Castalia, [2005- ]
Davis PQ6337 .A4 2005

The Cambridge history of Latin American literature. 3 vols.  Edited by Roberto González Echevarría and Enrique Pupo-Walker. Cambridge ;New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 1996.
Davis Reference PQ7081.A1 C35 1996

Diccionario de autores latinoamericanos. César Aira. Buenos Aires, Argentina : Emecé, 2001.
Davis Reference PQ7081.3 .A35 2001

Encyclopedia of Latin American literature[electronic resource]. Verity Smith, editor. London ;Chicago : Fitzroy Dearborn, c1997.
Davis Reference PQ7081.A1 E56 1997

Literary cultures of Latin America : a comparative history. 3 vols. Mario J. Valdés and Djelal Kadir, editors. New York, N.Y. : Oxford University Press, 2004.
Provides substantive essays.
Davis Reference PQ7081.A1 L525 2004

Latin American women writers : an encyclopedia. María Claudia André, Eva Paulino Bueno, editors. New York : Routledge, 2008.
Davis Reference PQ7081.3 .L37 2008

Latin American literature and its times. Joyce Moss, Lorraine Valestuk. Detroit : Gale Group, c1999.
Davis Reference PQ7081 .M625 1999

Encyclopedia of Latin American theater. Edited by Eladio Cortés and Mirta Barrea-Marlys. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 2003.
Davis Reference PQ7082.D7 E63 2003

Nueva historia de la literatura hispanoamericana. Giuseppe Bellini. Madrid : Editorial Castalia, c1997.
Davis Reference PQ7081 .B353 1997

Dictionary of Brazilian literature. Irwin Stern, editor-in-chief. New York : Greenwood Press, 1988.
Davis Reference PQ9506 .D53 1988

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There is a wealth of reference materials for British literature. What is listed here is a mere sample, so browse the PRs, the DAs (British History) and Z2000s (bibliography of Britain, etc.) for additional resources.

The Oxford companion to English literature. Edited by Margaret Drabble. 6th ed., rev. Oxford ;New York : Oxford University, 2006.
A standard quick reference source, authoritatively edited.
Davis Reference Desk PR19 .O94 2006

The Oxford encyclopedia of British literature. 5 vols. David Scott Kastan, editor in chief. Oxford ;New York : Oxford University Press, 2006.
Includes entries on movements, themes, societies, etc., in addition to authors.
Davis Reference PR19 .O95 2006

The Oxford chronology of English literature. 2 vols. Edited by Michael Cox. Oxford ;New York : Oxford University Press, 2002.
A very detailed chronology.
Davis Reference PR87 .O98 2002

A literary gazetteer of England. By Lois H. Fisher. New York : McGraw-Hill, c1980.
Provides historical information on 1,200 English localities with literary associations. Includes an index for literary authors. See also the Oxford Illustrated Literary Guide.
Davis Reference PR109 .F5

The Feminist companion to literature in English : women writers from the Middle Ages to the present. [editors], Virginia Blain, Patricia Clements, Isobel Grundy. New Haven : Yale University Press, 1990.
Davis Reference PR111 .F465 1990

Encyclopedia of post-colonial literatures in English. 3 vols. E dited by Eugene Benson and L.W. Conolly. 2nd ed. London ;New York : Routledge, 2005.
First edition of the Encyclopedia is available electronically.
Davis Reference PR9080.A52 E53 2005

The Oxford companion to Irish literature. Edited by Robert Welch ; Assistant editor, Bruce Stewart. Oxford : Clarendon Press ;New York : Published in the United States by Oxford University Press, 1996.
The Concise Companion is available electronically.
Davis Reference PR8706 .O88 1996

Dictionary of Irish literature. 2 vols. Robert Hogan, editor-in-chief ; associate editors, Zack Bowen ... [et al.]. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 1996.
Davis Reference PR8706 .D5 1996

Encyclopedia of literature in Canada. Edited by William H. New. Toronto : University of Toronto Press, c2002.
Davis Reference PR9180.2 .E538 2002

The Oxford companion to Australian literature. William H. Wilde, Joy Hooton, Barry Andrews. 2nd ed. Melbourne ;New York : Oxford University Press, 1994.
Davis Reference PR9600.2 .W55 1994

The Oxford companion to New Zealand literature. Edited by Roger Robinson, Nelson Wattie. Melbourne ;New York : Oxford University Press, 1998.
Davis Reference PR9620.2 .O94 1998

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There are many more reference works for American literature, so browse the PSs, the Es (American history) and Z1200s (American bibliography) to identify more.

The Oxford encyclopedia of American literature. 4 vols. Jay Parini, editor in chief. Oxford ;New York : Oxford University Press, 2004
Davis Reference PS21 .E537 2004

The Oxford companion to American literature [electronic resource] . James D. Hart ; with revisions and additions by Phillip W. Leininger. New York : Oxford University Press, 1995.
Davis Reference Desk PS21 .H3 1995

The Cambridge history of American literature. 8 vols. General editor, Sacvan Bercovitch ; associated editor, Cyrus R.K. Patell. Cambridge [England] ;New York : Cambridge University Press, 1994-
NB: electronic version available via Bartleby (“c2000”) is actually edition published 1907-1921.
Davis Reference PS92 .C34 1994

The chronology of American literature : America's literary achievements from the colonial era to modern times. Edited by Daniel S. Burt. Boston : Houghton Mifflin, 2004.
Davis Reference PS94 .C48 2004

The Oxford companion to women's writing in the United States. Editors in chief, Cathy N. Davidson, Linda Wagner-Martin ; editors, Elizabeth Ammons ... [et al.]. New York : Oxford University Press, 1995.
Davis Reference PS147 .O94 1995

The Oxford companion to African American literature. Editors, William L. Andrews, Frances Smith Foster, Trudier Harris ; foreword by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. New York : Oxford University Press, 1997.
Davis Reference PS153.N5 O96 1997

The Harlem Renaissance : a Gale critical companion . 3 vols. Janet Witalec, project editor. Detroit : Gale, c2003.
Davis Reference PS153.N5 H245 2003

The Greenwood encyclopedia of American poets and poetry. 5 vols. Jeffrey Gray, editor ; James McCorkle and Mary McAleer Balkun, associate editors. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 2006.
Davis Reference PS303 .G74 2006

The Greenwood encyclopedia of multiethnic American literature. 5 vols. Edited by Emmanuel S. Nelson. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 2005.
Useful for its inclusion of authors that might not be covered in more traditional reference works.
Davis Reference PS153.M56 G74 2005

The beat generation : a Gale critical companion. 3 vols. Lynn M. Zott, project editor ; foreword by Anne Waldman. Detroit : Gale : Thomson/Gale, c2003.
One of several encyclopedic reference sources for the Beats, plus volumes in the DLB.
Davis Reference PS228.B6 B422 2003

The companion to Southern literature : themes, genres, places, people, movements, and motifs. edited By Joseph M. Flora and Lucinda H. MacKethan ; associate editor, Todd Taylor. Baton Rouge : Louisiana State University Press, c2002.
Davis Reference PS261 .C55 2002

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In addition to the PTs, also browse the DDs (German history), & Z2200s (German bibliography)

Encyclopedia of German literature. 2 vols. Matthias Konzett, editor. Chicago : Fitzroy Dearborn, c2000.
Davis Reference PT41 .E63 2000

The Cambridge history of German literature. Edited by Helen Watanabe-O'Kelly. Cambridge ;New York : Cambridge University Press, 1997.
Davis Reference PT91 .C36 1997

A companion to German literature : from 1500 to the present. Eda Sagarra and Peter Skrine. Oxford ;Malden, Mass. : Blackwell Publishers, 1997.
Davis Reference PT236 .S55 1997

The feminist encyclopedia of German literature. Edited by Friederike Eigler and Susanne Kord. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 1997.
Davis Reference PT41 .F46 1997

Deutsches Literatur-Lexikon; biographisch-bibliographisches Handbuch. 28 vols. Begründet von Wilhelm Kosch.
Davis Reference Z2230 .K6 1966

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