Short Story Criticism

Books

To find books of criticism about a short story author, do a subject search for the author's name in the library catalog.  Enter the search, last name first. You may leave out commas and periods:

oconnor flannery
faulkner william
eliot t s

Examine your results for helpful subject subdivisions (subheadings), such as Criticism and Interpretation, Characters, and Style.

Another useful subdivision often used with authors' names is Bibliography or Bio-bibliography.  Books in this category may contain references to other books or articles that include information about the short story you are researching, or about the author's life.

Online periodical indexes

To find critical articles about a short story or its author, try a search for the author name and/or story title in the following databases:

MLA Bibliography. Authoritative index to scholarly research on English, American, and world Literature, languages, and linguistics.

Humanities Full Text. Index to a number of major journals in the humanities, including full-text articles. Great place to search for literature and language, classics, folklore, drama, and the performing arts.

Literary Journals from JSTOR. Complete full-text back runs of many core journals in language and literature. See complete list of titles by subject.

Literature Online (LION). Works of English and American poetry, drama and prose, with many full-text literature journals, and other criticism and reference resources.

For further resources, see a complete list of our online periodical indexes for Literature.

Print resources

There are many specialized indexes in the Reference Collection that can help you locate a short story, or point you to books and critical articles which discuss a short story or the author. Location and call number are listed for each of the following titles:

Short Story Index:
     For stories published prior to 1950, see SSI: An Index to over 60,000 Stories in 4,320 Collections - REF PN3311.B1 S559 1953
     For stories published after 1950, see SSI yearly updates and 5-year cumulations - REF PN3311.B1 S56

Twentieth-century Short Story Explication (includes supplements and an index volume): Criticism published between 1900-1991 about works written since 1800 - REF PN3373.B1 W34 1977
     See also their New Series, 1989-1992 - REF PN3373.B1 W35 1993

Reference Guide to Short Fiction - REF PN3373 .R36 1994

Critical Survey of Short Fiction (multi-volume) - REF PN3321 .C7

American Short Fiction Criticism and Scholarship, 1959-1977: A Checklist - REF Z1231.F4 W43

Dictionary of Literary Biography (DLB)
This ongoing set contains many volumes about American, British and Irish short story writers.  Articles in this academic series include both scholarly criticism and author biographies. - REF PN451 .D5

American Short-Story Writers:
Before 1880 (v.74)
1880-1910 (v.78)
1910-1945, First Series (v.86)
1910-1945, Second Series (v.102)
Since World War II (v.130)
Since World War II, Second Series (v. 218)
Since World War II, Third Series (v. 234)
Since World War II, Fourth Series (v. 244)

British Short-Fiction Writers:
1800-1880 (v.159)
1880-1914, The Romantic Tradition (v.156)
1880-1914, The Realist Tradition (v.135)
1915-1945 (v.162)
1945-1980 (v.139)
British & Irish Short-Fiction Writers, 1945-2000 (v. 319)

Web resources

Literary Criticism Collection
Internet Public Library site provides links to online critical and biographical information about authors and their works -- browseable by author, title, or literary period.

Literary Resources on the Net
Comprehensive, searchable collection of websites related to literature and the humanities. Compiled by Rutgers University Professor Jack Lynch.

Lit Links
Annotated links explain what type of information about a literary work, its author, or period can be found on each site.  Organized alphabetically by author within the genres of critical theory, drama, essays, fiction, and poetry.  Sponsored by Bedford/St. Martin's.

You may also wish to refer to the companion Ramsey Resource guide to Literary Criticism for further information.

Remember, it's not always possible to find critical articles that discuss every short story by every author.  Please feel free to ask for help at the Research Desk.

Originally created by Araby Greene. Last updated 8 November 2007. Comments to the Library Web Team.

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