LibGuides: A Literature Research Guide: An Author's Life

Find Biographies or Autobiographies

To search the library collection for books about an author's life, do a keyword search on the author's name and the word biography.

For example:

Herman Melville biography

Flannery O'Connor homes and haunts

Mark Twain childhood and youth

Films on Demand Streaming Video Collection

From Films for the Humanities and Sciences, the Films on Demand streaming video collection includes titles concerning individual authors and literary history.

Biographies of Poets

Provides thoughtful overviews of a poet's work and life.

Dictionary of Literary Biography

In depth biographical profiles of world authors with images and some primary sources.

Other Online Biographical Sources

Literature Online(LION) This link opens in a new window
Literature Online provides biographical overviews of an author's life and work and includes an analysis of the major biographical sources for an author.
Oxford Reference Online This link opens in a new window
Oxford Reference Online includes 26 reference books concerning literature. Use the search box at the top right to see all entries for a particular author.
Literature Criticism Online This link opens in a new window
Literature Criticism Online provides extensive biographical profiles of authors as well as collections of original reviews and analysis of their work by notable critics.
MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new window
MLA International includes journal articles, books, and dissertations in literature, folklore, and the dramatic arts. To focus on biographical information, add the word "biography" or "autobiography" to a search on the author's name.
Project MUSE This link opens in a new window
Project Muse includes articles from scholarly journals in the humanities. To focus on biographical information, add the word "biography" or "autobiography" to a search on the author's name.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
JSTOR is a scholarly journal archive. To focus on articles with biographical information, add the word "biography" or "autobiography" to a search on the author's name.
JSTOR has provided complimentary access during Covid to JSTOR Archives & Primary Source Collections until June 30, 2021.

The Paris Review Interviews

Interviews with important modern and contemporary authors

Writers on Writing

Mexican Writers on Writing
Call Number: PQ7236.5.A98 M49 2007
Edited by Margaret Sayers Peden
Chinese Writers on Writing
Call Number: PL2516.5.A87 C45 2010
Edited by Edward Hirsch and Arthur Sze
Hebrew Writers on Writing
Call Number: PJ5059.E1 H43 2008
Edited by Edward Hirsch and Peter Cole
Irish Writers on Writing
Call Number: PR8718 .I75 2007
Edited by Eavan Boland
Polish Writers on Writing
Call Number: PG7053.A89 P65 2007
Edited by Edward Hirsch and Adam Zagajewski
Romanian Writers on Writing
Call Number: PC803 .R66 2011
Edited by Norman Manea and Edward Hirsch