New York State Library | Internet Bibliographies

Selected Language and Literature Web Sites

General | Book Reviews | Censorship | Children | Collecting | Electronic Texts | ESL | Language | Literary Terms | Media | Multicultural| New York State | Organizations | Publishing | Theory | Translation | Writing

Last reviewed: January 12, 2001

General

About.com: Authors
Biographical and bibliographic information on authors past and present. Includes links to the Web sites of specific authors and information on publishers, awards, and literary organizations. Accessible and informative to the student and general reader.
http://authors.about.com/

The English Server
This University of Washington site (formerly at Carnegie Mellon) offers access to texts in the arts and humanities, publishes several online journals, and provides links to sites of interest to students and scholars in the humanities and social sciences. A well-designed academic forum.
http://www.eserver.org/

Literary Resources on the Net
A selection of scholarly and pedagogical sites. Includes links of special interest to faculty and graduate students: calls for papers, conferences, literary mailing lists, online syllabi, writing resources, and employment opportunities.
http://newark.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Lit

Victorian Web Sites
Extensive links to sites relating to Victorian literature and society.
http://www.lang.nagoya-u.ac.jp/~matsuoka/Victorian.html

Voice of the Shuttle
The site for literary and cultural studies: a scholarly, multidisciplinary, and comprehensive guide to humanities research on the Web.
http://vos.ucsb.edu/

Book Reviews

AcqWeb's Directory of Book Reviews on the Web
Excellent selection of book review sites.

Amazon.com
In addition to bibliographic and price information about books, this site includes selected reviews from published sources and Amazon customers. For reviews of books published in the United Kingdom, see Amazon.co.uk.
http://www.amazon.com/

New York Review of Books
Full text of selected articles from the current issue, plus a full-text archive of reviews and articles that have appeared in this influential journal since November 1996. Provides an index of contents from 1993 to date. Site has an excellent search engine.
http://www.nybooks.com/nyrev/

New York Times Books
The database contains the full text of more than 50,000 book reviews that have appeared in the New York Times since 1980. The site also gives the full text of the daily book review and selected reviews from the most recent issue of the paper's Sunday Book Review. Other features include author interviews, first chapters of new books, audio of literary readings, bestseller lists, and book forums. Service is free, but first-time visitors must register.
http://nytimes.com/books/home/

Censorship

Banned Books On-Line
Provides access to the full text of many banned books, information on the history of censorship, and links to organizations concerned with freedom of speech issues.
http://digital.library.upenn.edu/books/banned-books.html

Index on Censorship
Forum for discussion and information on free speech issues around the world.
http://www.indexoncensorship.org/

Children

Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Site
Book reviews, recommended books, and advice on integrating books into subject curricula. Of special interest to teachers.
http://www.carolhurst.com/

The Children's Literature Web Guide
Includes electronic texts of classic works and also stories and reviews written by children and young adults. Provides lists of recommended books, information on authors, book reviews, advice on writing for children, discussion groups, and well-chosen links to other Web sites.
http://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/

Collecting

About.com: Book Collecting
Topics of interest to bibliophiles: auctions, appraisals, how-to advice, preservation, rare and out-of-print book dealers, mailing lists, and organizations. Includes links to book search sites such as AddAll.com, Bibliofind, BookFinder, Advanced Book Exchange,and Alibris.
http://collectbooks.about.com/

Electronic Texts: Selected Sites

The sites listed below are but a small sample of the e-text resources on the World Wide Web. They have been selected because of the quality of their content and their value to students of English and other literatures.

Academy of American Poets
Poems, biographies, exhibits, readings, calendar of events, and discussion forums.
http://www.poets.org/index.cfm

African American Women Writers of the 19th Century
Texts of prose and poetry written by African American Women in the 19th century.
http://digital.nypl.org/schomburg/writers_aa19/

American Verse Project
A full-text archive of volumes of American poetry published prior to 1920.
http://www.hti.umich.edu/english/amverse/

British Women Romantic Poets, 1789-1832
Texts of poetry written by British and Irish women from the beginning of the French Revolution to the passage of the Reform Act.
http://www.lib.ucdavis.edu/English/BWRP/

Caņaveral: Links to Literature Sites
Links to language and literature sites in Spanish.
http://www.hispanicmusic.com/themes/links/linksliterature.htm

Complete Works of William Shakespeare
The Bard in full.
http://tech-two.mit.edu/Shakespeare/works.html

Digital Dante
Columbia University's multimedia site for the study of The Divine Comedy.
http://dante.ilt.columbia.edu/

Eighteenth-Century E-Texts
E-texts of literature from Milton through Byron, plus links to major e-text sites.
http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/18th/etext.html

Electronic Poetry Center
A SUNY at Buffalo multimedia site of interest to poets and students of poetry. Numerous links to small press publications.
http://epc.buffalo.edu/

Favorite Poem Project
The Web site of Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky's imaginative project to compile a "turn-of-the-millennium archive" of Americans "saying poems they love." The full text of some of these poems are online.
http://www.bu.edu/favoritepoem/

Gallica Classique
This Bibliothèque national de France site provides access to more than a thousand classic texts of French literature. For more French texts, see ABU: la Bibliothèque Universelle.
http://gallica.bnf.fr/classique/

The Labyrinth
Georgetown University's model site for medieval studies: e-texts, multidisciplinary scholarship, images, discussion forums, and numerous links.
http://www.georgetown.edu/labyrinth/

Luminarium
E-texts relating to the medieval period, the renaissance, and the 17th century. A visually arresting, multimedia site.
http://www.luminarium.org/lumina.htm

The Modern English Collection
E-texts of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama, letters, newspapers, manuscripts, and illustrations from 1500 to the present.
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/modeng/modeng0.browse.html

On-Line Books Page
Includes the full text of more than 10,000 books, a guide to foreign language texts on the Web, and a directory of sites devoted to specific subjects, groups, and genres.
http://digital.library.upenn.edu/books/

Perseus Project
A Tufts University site devoted to classical studies: e-texts of Greek and Roman writers, language aids, images, an online newsletter, and other resources on the art, architecture, and archeology of the ancient world.
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/

The Poetry Archives
E-texts of poems by British and American poets.
http://www.emule.com/poetry/

Representative Poetry Online
A well-edited, online survey of representative poetry by British and American poets.
http://www.library.utoronto.ca/utel/rp/intro.html

Selected Internet Resources for Electronic Texts in the Humanities
A list of e-text sites compiled by staff of the New York Public Library.
http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/grd/intguides/etext.html

World eBook Library
Links to e-books, text search, poetry, and reference sites; includes public domain sources of e-texts.
http://www.netlibrary.net/


ESL (English As a Second Language)

Learn English On The Internet
Selected links compiled by the Mohawk Valley Library Association that are useful to individuals who are learning English as a second language or have limited proficiency in the English language. Also of interest to TESOL and literacy instructors.
http://www.mvla.org/outreach/learnenglish.html

Language

Foreign Language Resources on the Web
An eclectic selection of sites useful to students, teachers, translators, and travelers.
http://www.itp.berkeley.edu/~thorne/HumanResources.html

Human-Languages Page
Extensive list of language-related resources: dictionaries, courses, software, professional organizations, employment opportunities, and translation services.
http://www.june29.com/HLP/

Literary Terms

Glossaries, Concordances, Quotations
Useful links to works that define literary and rhetorical terms. Also contains links to significant concordances and Bartlett's Familiar Quotations.
http://www.nt1.nagasaki-gaigo.ac.jp/ishikawa/amlit/general/references.htm

Media

Arts Journal
Similar to Philosophy & Literature, with an emphasis on the visual and performing arts.
http://www.artsjournal.com

Philosophy & Literature - arts, ideas, debate
Stimulating selection of links to full-text articles on culture and society in leading journals and newspapers here and abroad. Strong emphasis on literature and the arts. Content changes daily. Includes a full-text archive.
http://www.cybereditions.com/aldaily/

Poynter.org
The aim of this site is to provide "everything you need to be a better journalist." Features a link to Romenesko's MediaNews.
http://www.poynter.org/

Multicultural

Minority Literature/Multicultural Resources
Links to general sites dealing with minority literatures and multicultural issues. Also includes links to African-American, Asian-American, Jewish-American, and Latino/Latina sites.
http://www.nt1.nagasaki-gaigo.ac.jp/ishikawa/amlit/general/minority.htm

New York State

New York State Council on the Arts
This State agency funds and supports the activities of nonprofit arts and cultural organizations in New York State. It supports NYS Lit Tree and other programs that promote Literature.
http://www.nysca.org/

New York State Writers Institute
Founded by author William Kennedy, the New York State Writers Institute sponsors readings, performances, workshops, and conferences that bring outstanding poets, novelists, dramatists, and nonfiction writers from around the world to the Capital District. The Writers Institute also selects the State Author and the State Poet. The Edith Wharton Citation of Merit for State Author and The Walt Whitman Citation of Merit for State Poet are awarded biennially in a ceremony that is co-sponsored by the New York State Library. Check the Institute's Web site for calendar, programs, and publications.
http://www.albany.edu/writers-inst/

Organizations

The Modern Language Association
Web site includes a catalog of MLA publications, job listings, tips on citing Web publications, MLA reports, a list of MLA committees and commissions, and information on the 2000 annual convention, including calls for papers and proposed sessions.
http://www.mla.org/

PEN American Center
Writers organization that works "to advance literature, to promote a culture of reading, and to defend free expression." The American affiliate of International P.E.N.
http://www.pen.org/

Publishing

BookWire
Industry news, book reviews, and directories of publishers and literary agents.
http://bookwire.com/ See also Media.

Theory

Voice of the Shuttle: Literary Theory Page
Extensive links to sites relating to literary and aesthetic theory from the classical to the contemporary period.
http://vos.ucsb.edu/shuttle/theory.html

Translation

The Translator's Home Companion
Useful site for translators, interpreters, students of foreign languages, and those in need of translation services. Includes links to grammars and dictionaries (general and specialized) in many languages, directories of translators, translation services and professional organizations, information on translation software, and educational resources and conferences.
http://www.lai.com/lai/companion.html

A Handbook for Literary Translators
The full text of the PEN American Center's succinct and informative guide for literary translators. Discusses the rights and responsibilities of translators, copyright issues, relations with publishers, and contracts.
http://www.pen.org/translation/handbook1999.html

Writing

Poets and Writers
Information on writing conferences, programs, grants, and publishing opportunities.
http://www.pw.org/

Research-It!
Helpful site that includes an English-language dictionary and thesaurus (Merriam Webster), and computing (FOLDOC), rhyming (RhymeZone), pronouncing (CMU Pronouncing Dictionary), and legal (Law.com) dictionaries. Also offers a translator (LOGOS).
http://www.itools.com/research-it/

Resources for Writers and Writing Instructors
Provides links to style guides, grammars, dictionaries, glossaries, programs, and instructional materials helpful to writers.
http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing/links.html

The UIUC Writer's Workshop List of the Best Web Sites for Writers
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's selective guide to Internet sites offering writing critiques, style guides and self-help materials, resources for business and technical writers, and also writing teachers and ESL and TESOL students and instructors.
http://www.english.uiuc.edu/cws/wworkshop/ww_sites.html

The Writing Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
This clear, well-organized site includes online "Handouts" on common writing tasks: resumes and cover letters, memos, abstracts, reports, critiques, citations, and graduate school application essays.
http://www.rpi.edu/dept/web/writingcenter/