You will find useful texts for oral interpretation in short stories, novels (fiction), poetry, scenes and plays which can be located in the Las Positas Library by searching the library catalog and print and remote Web databases. You may also find biographies of authors and criticism and interpretation of their works. The types of material that you may find are described in the following pages.
Use the library catalog, searching by the author's name or by the following subject headings:
Short Stories
Short Stories -- American, etc.
Browse the PZ1 section of the book stacks where modern short story anthologies are shelved.
Short Story Index - Ref Z5917.S5.S56: Shelved in the index area in the reference collection. Indexes stories in collections and in magazines. Stories are indexed by author, title, and subject.
Use either EBSCOhost Academic Search Premier, Literature Research Center, or NewsBank,LPC Library electronic print resources in databases, to find short fiction that appeared in periodicals by author. Many short stories by contemporary writers first appear in magazines.
Search by book title or the author's name in the Library Catalog. Browse the PZ3 (fiction)and the PR and PS (literature) sections of the book stacks.
Look up poetry in the library catalog, searching by the name of a specific poet or by the following subject headings:
Poetry--Collections
American Poetry--Collections, etc.
Columbia Granger's Index to Poetry - Ref PN1022 G7: Indexes poems by author, title, subject, first line, and last line.
EBSCOhost Academic Search Premier and Newsbank - LPC Library electronic print resources in databases, index and contain full-text poems that appeared in magazines and newspapers by author. Many poems by contemporary writers first appear in periodicals.
Use the library catalog, search by author or title. The call number dbc (drama book collection) in the library catalog refers to play scripts shelved alphabetically by title in boxes in the Stacks (you may check them out).
Browse the PN2080 call number area for books of monologues such as 100 Monologues: An Audition Sourcebook - PN2080.A13 1989 or Monologues - Women: 50 Speeches from the Contemporary Theatre - PN2080.M56. Also browse the PS625 area for scenes for student actors from American theater.
For collections of plays, browse the PS634 area for Best American Plays and PN6112 area for Theater Yearbook: The Best Plays of..., covering 1975 to the present.
In additon, the following guides index plays in collections:
Play Index - Ref Z5781.P53: Indexes plays by author, title and subject. Has a section on cast analysis.
Actors' Guide to Monologues - Ref PN4321.G86 1974: Indexes monologues.
Actors' Guide to Scenes - Ref PN4321.G78: Indexes scenes in several ways: serious, comic, serio-comic, musical, male and female, and by number of actors required.
Search the library catalog to find an author's name as a subject for books about the writer. You may search an "author's name AND Criticism" or "an author's name AND Criticism and Interpretation" to be even more specific. Or search the library catalog by the following subjects: Drama, Fiction, Poetry, and Short Stories. The following reference books include criticism, interpretation and biographies:
An excellent resource for criticism and interpretation is Literature Resource Center which you will find on the LPC Library Homepage. You may access this electronic print resource on or off campus with your "W" I.D. This database includes many of the Gale print literary reference sets described below.
Contemporary Authors. Detroit : Gale Research, 1962. Ref PS128.C6 Index v.1-186 and index.
Contemporary Authors: New Revision Series. Detroit: Gale Research, 1962. Ref PS128.C6 CANR v. 1-91.
Contemporary Literary Criticism. Detroit: Gale, 1973 - . Ref PN771.C59 v. 1-133 and index.
Literature Criticism from 1400 to 1800: Excerpts from Criticism of the Works of Fifteenth, Sixteenth, Seventeenth, and Eighteenth-Century Novelists, Poets, Playwrights, Philosophers, and Other Creative Writers, from the First Published Critical Appraisals to Current Evaluations. Detroit: Gale, 1984 - . Ref PN86.L53 v.1–21.
Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Detroit: Gale, 1981- . Ref PN761.N56 v.1-38 & index.
Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. Detroit: Gale, 1978 - . Ref PN771.T85 v. 1-98 and index. Nineteenth & early twentieth century.
Drama for Students: Presenting Analysis, Context and Criticism on Commonly Studied Dramas. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Ref PN1701.D73 2001 v.1-10. Each entry contains author biography, plot summary, characters, themes, style, historical context, critical overview, and criticism.
Epics for Students: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Epics. Detroit: Gale, 1997 - . Ref PN56.E65 E67 v.1-2. Each entry includes author biography, plot summary, characters, media adaptations, themes, topics for further study, style, historical context, comparison and contrast, critical overview, criticism, and suggestions for further reading and study.
Novels for Students: Presenting Analysis, Context and Criticism on commonly Studied Novels. Detroit: Gale Research, 1997. Ref PN3385.N68 1997 –2000 v. 1 – 10. Each entry contains author biography, plot summary, characters, themes, style, historical context, critical overview, and criticism.
Poetry for Students : Presenting Analysis, Context and Criticism on Commonly Studied Poetry. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Ref PN1101.P64 2001 v. 1-10. Each entry contains author biography, poem text, poem summary, themes, style, historical context, critical overview, and criticism.
Shakespeare for students. Critical interpretations of: All's Well That Ends Well, Antony and Cleopatra, The Comedy of Errors, Coriolanus, Measure for Measure, Richard II, The Sonnets, The Winter's Tale. Detroit: Gale Group, 2000. Ref PR2987.S469 2000.
Shakespeare for Students: Critical Interpretations of As you Like It, Hamlet, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, The Merchant of Venice, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Othello, and Romeo and Juliet. Detroit : Gale Research, 1992. Ref PR2987.S47 1992.
Shakespeare for Students: Critical Interpretations of Henry IV, Part One, Henry V, King Lear, Much Ado about Nothing, Richard III, The Taming of the Shrew, The Tempest, Twelfth Night. Detroit: Gale Research, 1997. Ref PR2987.S468 1997.
Short Stories for Students: Presenting Analysis, Context and Criticism on Commonly Studied Novels. Detroit: Gale, 1997. Ref PN3373.S56 2000 v.1-9. Each entry contains author biography, plot summary, characters, themes, style, historical context, critical overview, and criticism.
American Nature Writers. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1996. Ref PS163.A6 1996 v. 1- 2. v. 1: Edward Abbey to John McPhee; v. 2: Peter Matthiessen to Western geologists and explorers.
American Women Writers: A Critical Reference Guide from Colonial Times to the Present. New York: Ungar, 1979-1982. Ref PS147.A4 v.1 – 4.
American Writers: A Collection of Literary Biographies. New York, Scribner, 1974-81. Ref PS129.A55 v. 1 – 4, Supplement 1-4, Pt. 1&2. v. 1, Henry Adams to T.S. Eliot; v. 2. Ralph Waldo Emerson to Carson McCullers; v. 3. Archibald MacLeish to George Santayana; v. 4. Isaac Bashevis Singer to Richard Wright; Supplement[s]: 1, pt. 1. Jane Addams to Sidney Lanier. 1, pt. 2. Vachel Lindsay to Elinor Wylie. 2, pt. 2. Robinson Jeffers to Yvor Winters.
Asian American Literature: Reviews and Criticism of Works by American Writers of Asian Descent. Detroit : Gale, 1999. PS153.A84 A82 1999.
Black American Writers Past and Present: A Biographical and Bibliographical Dictionary. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1975. Ref PS153.N5 R87 v.1 – 2.
Black American Writers: Bibliographical Essays. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1978. v. 1: The beginnings through the Harlem Renaissance and Langston Hughes; v. 2: Richard Wright, Ralph Ellison, James Baldwin, and Amiri Baraka. Ref PS153.N5 B55 v. 1 – 2.
British Writers. New York: Scribner’s, 1979 - . Ref PR85.B688 v.1-8 and index.
Chicano Literature: A Reference Guide. Westport, CN: Greenwood Press, 1985. Ref PS153.M4 C46 1985.
Companion To Literary Myths: Heroes and Archetypes. London: Routledge, 1992. Ref PN56.M95 D4813 1992.
Critical Survey of Drama: English Language Series. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Salem Press, 1985. Ref PR623.C75 1985 v. 1- 6. English and American drama and dramatists.
Critical Survey of Poetry: English Language Series. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Salem Press, 1982. Ref PR502.C85 1982 v. 1-8. English and American poetry and poets.
Critical Survey of Short Fiction. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Salem Press, 1981. Ref PN3321.C7 1981 v. 1-7. Author biographies, and history and criticism of short stories.
Cyclopedia of Literary Characters II. Pasadena, CA: Salem Press, 1990. Ref PN44.M43 1990 v.1 – 4. Characters and characteristics in literature; stories, plots, etc.
Encyclopedia of Latin American Literature. London: Fitzroy Dearborn, 1997. Ref PQ7081.A1 E56 1997.
Hispanic Writers: A Selection of Sketches from Contemporary Authors. Detroit: Gale Research, 1991. Ref PQ7081.3.H58 1991. Contains more than four hundred entries on Twentieth-Century Hispanic writers, all originally written or updated for this volume.
Magill's Literary Annual ... : Essay-Reviews of 200 Outstanding Books Published in theUnited States ... , with Annotated Categories Index. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Salem Press, 1974 – 1992. Ref PN44.M35 1974 - PN44.M35 1992.
Magill's Survey of American Literature. New York: Marshall Cavendish, 1991-1994. Ref PS21.M34 1994 v. 1-8
Magill's Survey of World Literature. New York: Marshall Cavendish Corp., 1993-1995. Ref PN523.M29 1993 v. 1 – 8. v. 1: Achebe-Chekhov; v. 2: Christie-Gogel; v. 3: Golding-Kipling; v. 4: Kundera-Osborne; v. 5: Ovid-Sophocles; v. 6: Spark-Zola; v. 7: Abe-MacDiarmid; v. 8: MacNeice-Yourcenar.
Masterplots II. Pasadena: Salem Press, 1994. Ref PN846.M37 1994 v.1-6. American literature and fiction 20th century, stories, plots, history and criticism.
Masterplots II: Poetry Series. Pasadena: Salem Press, 1992. Ref PN1110.5.M37 1992 v. 1 - 6. Poetry theme and motives.
Masterplots: 2010 Plot Stories & Essay Reviews from the World's Fine Literature. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Salem Press, 1976. Ref PN44.M33 1976 v. 1 – 9.
Academic Search Premier (EBSCO) - Electronic print database and index of many full-text articles
America's Newspapers (Newsbank) - Electronic print database and index of full-text articles from: San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury, the New York Times, and many other local, regional, and national newspapers.
Literature Resource Center - Criticism, biographies, work overviews and explications, periodical articles, compare and contrast pages, and author's works.
LitFinder - 125,000 full-text poems, stories, biographies, and best-known speeches; explanations, study guides, a glossary, pictures ...
These are just a few of the collections available. Browse through the books around these on the shelves and you will find many more:
Actor's Book of Contemporary Stage Monologues. PN2080.A284
Afro-American Writing: an Anthology of Prose and Poetry. PS508.W3.A37 1985
Ain’t I A Woman: Book of Women’s Poetry from Around the World. PN6109.9.A36 1993
Best American Plays. PS634. B4
Best American Short Stories. PZ1.B446235
Best Plays of 1995-1996. PN6112.B45 1995/96
A Book of Love Poetry. PN6110.L6 P37 1986
The Burns Mantle Theater Yearbook of the Best Plays of ...: PN6112 B45 1975-76, 1976-77, 1977-78, 1978-79, 1979-80, 1980-81, 1981-82, 1982-83, 1983-84, 1984-85, 1985-86, 1986-87, 1987-88, 1988-89, 1989-90, 1990-91, 1991-92, 1992-93, 1993-94, 1994-95, 1995-96. Contains abridged editions of the ten best plays of each season.
The Charcoal Burner and Other Poems. PL2658.E3.H28
Charlie Chan is Dead: An Anthology of Contemporary Asian American Fiction. PS647.A75.C48 1993
The Forbidden Stitch: An Asian-American Women’s Anthology. PS153.A84. F66 1989
Here is My Kingdom: Hispanic American Literature and Art for Young People. PS508.H57. H47 1994
I Hear My Sisters Saying: Poems by Twentieth Century Women. PS589.I2
Moon Marked and Touched by Sun: Plays by African American Women. PS628.N4.M66 1994
Neon Pow-Wow: New Native American Voices of the Southwest. PS508.I5.N46 1993
Norton Anthology of African American Literature. PS508.N3.N78 1996
Oxford Book of Christmas Poems. PN6110.C5.O94 1988
Oxford Book of War Poetry. PN6110.W28.O93 1984
Portable Beat Reader. PS536.T4 1992
Representative American Speeches. PS668.B3
Twentieth Century Treasury of Sports. PS509.S65.A615 1992
200 Years of Great American Short Stories. PS648.S5.F6
The Vietnam Reader: The Definitive Collection of American Fiction and Nonfiction on the War. DS557.7.V5625 1998
The World’s Best Poetry PN6101.W5 Ser. 1, v. 1-10 and Supplement 1-4: 1. Home and Friendship, 2. Love, 3. Sorrow and Consolation, 4. The Higher Life, 5. Nature, 6. Fancy and Sentiment, 7. Descriptive and Narrative, 8. National Spirit, 9. Tragedy and Humor, 10. Poetical Quotations. Supplement: 1-2. Twentieth Century English and American Verse 1900-1929 and 1930-1950, 4. Minority Poetry of America.
Writing Our Way Home: Contemporary Stories by American Jewish Writers. PS647.J4.O64 1992
Keep printouts of your sources, or write out all pertinent information on author, title, publisher, date, or Internet address to identify where you got the information. Follow the format recommended by your instructor or ask a librarian to show you a "style manual." There are links to these instructions on the LPC Library web page: LPC Library's Citation Style Guides , as well as to the online resource, NoodbleBib, a bibliography composer. Please ask a reference librarian for help!
Library Telephone: 925.424.1150
Library Fax: 925.606.7249