Research Guides: English Literature Research Guide: American Literature

Scholarship and Databases

These are the most commonly used databases in the study of American literature. This guide is designed to get you started and not meant to be comprehensive. If you have further questions about databases or the research process, be sure to reach out to a librarian with your questions.

JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Access a wide variety of journal articles in the humanities and other disciplines.
Note: You may not be able to access the most current 2–7 years of certain journals—but many of these recent publications are found in Project MUSE.
MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new window
Indexes critical materials on literature, criticism, drama, languages, linguistics, and folklore. Coverage includes journals, series, essay collections, monographs, dissertations, bibliographies, proceedings, and other materials. Produced by the Modern Language Association.
Project MUSE This link opens in a new window
Includes the most recently published output of many major scholarly journals. Covers the fields of literature and criticism, history, cultural studies, education, political science, and more.

Drama and Theater

American Drama This link opens in a new window
Access full-text American dramatic literature from the colonial period to the present.
Black Drama This link opens in a new window
Access plays written from the mid-1800s to the present by authors from North America, English-speaking Africa, the Caribbean, and other African diaspora countries.
North American Indian Drama This link opens in a new window
Contains over 240 plays by 48 playwrights. The collection includes American Indian and First Nation playwrights from groups including Cherokee, Creek, Ojibway, Hawaiian/Samoan, Comanche, Cree, Navaho, and more.
Twentieth-Century Drama This link opens in a new window
Access English-language plays from noted playwrights and dramatists.
Latino Literature This link opens in a new window
Contains a large collection of poetry, fiction, and plays by Chicano, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Dominican, and other Latino authors working in the United States.

Fiction and Poetry

African-American Poetry This link opens in a new window
Collection of poems by African American poets of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
American Poetry This link opens in a new window
Contains over 40,000 poems by more than 200 poets from the Colonial period to the early twentieth century.
Faber Poetry Library This link opens in a new window
Contains the works of 50 poets comprising 140 volumes of poetry. The authors are all part of the Faber Poetry list.
Twentieth-Century African American Poetry This link opens in a new window
Access poetry written by major African American poets of the 20th century.
Twentieth-Century American Poetry This link opens in a new window
Access poetry written by major American poets of the 20th century.
Early American Fiction 1789-1875 This link opens in a new window
Access a variety of first edition texts of American novels published between 1789 and 1875.