Twentieth-century authors: Biographic and bibliographic information is just a click away
updated June 22, 2005
by Michelle Mach
Index
Starting points: meta site and directories
Overviews of 20th-century America
Lists of 20th-century works
Area studies and genres
Theory/criticism
Journals and zines
Beyond the books
Mail lists and newsgroups
For students and other researchers interested in 20th-century authors, information on the Internet often enriches (but doesn’t replace) the basics found in traditional resources like Contemporary Authors. While Internet sources may also cover an author’s background, education, publications and awards, they often go one step further to offer unique items that are updated in a timely manner. Frequently, living and popular authors may have their own Web pages with photos and narratives. Other Internet-only finds include author photographs, sound recordings of authors’ readings, announcements about upcoming author appearances, and previews of new works.
This column contains selected Web sites that cover English-language authors who are currently prominent or who flourished sometime in the 20th century.1 The focus is primarily on literary, rather than genre, writing.2 It also concentrates primarily on biographical and bibliographic information, with some information on literary criticism. While some primary texts from the early 20th century are available online, they were considered outside the scope of this column.
Most of the sites included are housed at academic institutions and are maintained by individual professors. In addition to these sources, Web sites of large booksellers often contain valuable information about contemporary authors, especially in the form of brief biographies, interviews, and book reviews. Newspapers and book publishers also sometimes preview opening chapters of recently published works.
Starting points: meta sites and directories
• Literary History. Launched in 1998, this site boasts more than 7,000 reliable, scholarly citations for English and American authors. It was named one of 25 “Best of Reference 2003” by New York Public Library. Site owner, Jan Pridmore, has a Master of Arts in English from Boston State College. Access: http://www.literaryhistory.com/20thC/Modernists.htm.
• Literary Resources on the Net. The site, maintained by English Professor Jack Lynch of Rutgers University, offers both keyword searching and category browsing of annotated resources. The category “Twentieth Century British, Irish, and Commonwealth” includes links to relevant journals and sites, with emphasis on resources for individual major authors. Access: http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Lit/.
• Nebraska Writers and Beyond. This site, which is published by the Nebraska Center for Writers at Creighton University, is quite extensive, although it does not include genre writers. It has a useful list of bibliographies and directories of writers online, including directories of writers from other states and links of interest to students of genre, gender, and cultural studies. Access: http://mockingbird.creighton.edu/ncw/writers.htm.
• Open Directory (20th Century American Literature). This volunteer-based site offers briefly annotated links for a wide range of authors. Other relevant categories in the literature directory include “Authors” and “Periods and Movements.” Access: http://dmoz.org/Arts/Literature/World_Literature/American/20th_Century/.
• Voice of the Shuttle (VoS). Since 1994 VoS has provided broad and deep coverage of humanities resources, including literature: authors, works, projects, course syllabi, criticism and critics, journals, mail lists and newsgroups, and conferences and calls for papers. Twentieth-century information can be found in the literature and literary theory sections. Users may browse the briefly annotated listings by category or search the site by keyword. VoS, long considered the premier starting place for humanities research on the Internet, is maintained by Professor Alan Liu and his team at the University of California-Santa Barbara. Access: http://vos.ucsb.edu/ (click on “Literature”).
Overviews of 20th-century America
• American Cultural History: The Twentieth Century. This Web site, created by Kingswood College Library in Texas, has quick facts about the decade, links to art and architecture, books and literature, fashion and fads, education, historic events and technology, music, persons and personalities, and theater and film. The books and literature section includes “Books that Define the Time” (Sister Carrie) and “Books Covering the Period” (Annals of History). Access: http://kclibrary.nhmccd.edu/decades.html.
• American Writers. Home of the permanent archives for the C-SPAN "American Writers II," the 20th Century TV program that originally aired in 2002. Access to the 22 authors from the 20th century is by name, work, or place. Special features include video clips, teacher resources, and original author portraits by artist Chas Fagan, as well as biographical and bibliographical information on the authors. Access: http://www.americanwriters.org/.
• An Outline of American Literature. This book-like Web site was originally written by Kathryn Van Spanckeren, professor of English at the University of Tampa, and published by the U.S. Information Agency. It is an overview of the entire span of American literature, and includes four chapters about 20th-century literature: “The Rise of Realism: 1860–1914,” “Modernism and Experimentation: 1914–1945,” “American Poetry Since 1945: Realism and Experimentation,” and “American Prose Since 1945: Realism and Experimentation.” Each section skims its designated period of American literature and also includes some information about popular genre writers of the time. A newer section, “Key Sites on American Literature,” provides annotated links to related sites. Access: http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/oal/oaltoc.htm.
• Norton Anthology of English Literature. A companion site to the print anthology, this site contains four essays on topics related to 20th-century literature (such as “The Meaning of the Milennenium”), suggested discussion topics, and an online quiz. Access: http://www.wwnorton.com/nael/20century/welcome.htm.
• PAL: Perspectives in American Literature. Created by Professor Paul P. Reuben of California State University- Stanislaus, PAL is arranged like a textbook and contains chapters on early and late 20th-century American drama and Harlem Renaissance. More than 370 authors are included in the site. Twenty-one appendices primarily cover topic areas like “American Wit and Humor” and “Nature, Ecocriticism, and Ecofeminism.” Each chapter contains an introduction of significant events and author bibliographies. Some author entries include photos. Access: http://www.csustan.edu/ENGLISH/reuben/home.html.
Lists of 20th-century works
In addition to the lists below, a search on Google for “best books of the century” turns up numerous lists from bookstores, public libraries, magazines, book publishers, and individuals.
• The 100 Best Characters in Fiction Since 1900. The now defunct Book magazine created this list in its March/April 2002 issue with the help of authors, editors, and other “book experts” (names are listed on the site). The NPR show, Talk of the Nation, hosted a discussion of the list. Access: http://www.npr.org/programs/totn/features/2002/mar/020319.characters.html.
• The 150 Best English Language Novels of the 20th Century. Consolidates four lists: Harvard Bookstore’s Top 100 Recommended Titles, Koen Book Distributor’s Top 100 Books of the Past Century, Library Journal’s 150 20th Century Most Influential Fiction, and the much publicized Modern Library’s 100 Best Novels list. It is maintained by Friendswood (Texas) Public Library. Access: http://www.friendswood.lib.tx.us/bookinfo/frpubtop150.htm.
•African American Literature Book Club (AALBC) - Best of the 20th Century. As a reaction to the Modern Library List, nearly 4,000 sites visitors selected the top 100 titles by African American writers. Access: http://aalbc.com/books/thebesttitles.htm.
• Bestseller Lists 1900–1995. This Web site by Cader Books contains a record of Publisher’s Weekly’s top ten best novels for nearly the entire century. Access: http://www.caderbooks.com/bestintro.html.
• Feminista 100 Great 20th Century Works of Fiction by Women. This list was created in response to the Modern Library’s list to remedy the small number of women novelists included. Access: http://www.feminista.com/archives/v2n3/100.html.
• Literary Prizes, Awards, etc. Created by the Canterbury Public Library in New Zealand, this page has information on more than 40 international adult and children’s literature prizes. Access: http://library.christchurch.org.nz/LiteraryPrizes/.
• Nobel Prizes. This site has varying amounts of information on winners of the Nobel Prize in Literature. Entries for each Nobel Laureate include a brief biography and photo. Some entries also include links to other resources, articles written by Nobel Laureates, excerpts of work, interviews, acceptance speeches or lectures (in video and text), and color graphics of the awards. An educational section also includes games and sound recordings. Access: http://www.nobel.se/literature/.
Area studies and genres
• A Celebration of Women Writers: 1901-2000. An extensive alphabetical list of 20th century women writers. Some listings are linked to biographical or bibliographic resources, or full-text selected works. Access: http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/_generate/1901-2000.html.
• Contemporary Postcolonial and Postimperial Literature in English. This project was created by George P. Landow, professor of English and Art History, Brown University; Shaw Professor of English and Digital Culture (Computer Science), National University of Singapore. The site has sections on the literature of Africa, Australia, Canada, Caribbean, Indian Subcontinent, New Zealand, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. It also has separate sections on postcolonial theory and authors, which contains biographies, style guides, and bibliographies. Access: http://www.postcolonialweb.org/.
• Electronic Poetry Center (EPC). Housed at the University of Buffalo and authored by the Department of English, the Faculty of Arts and Letters and the University Library System at SUNY, EPC is a fabulous poetry resource. EPC has links to electronic poetry magazines, authors’ pages, a list of poetry presses, an excellent poetry Web guide, visual poetry files, and lists of past and upcoming poetry conferences. It also contains RealAudio files of the Case Award-winning LINEbreak radio program consisting of interviews and readings by novelists and screenwriters. Access: http://epc.buffalo.edu/. 3
• Internet Public Library (IPL): Native American Authors. This resource allows users to browse by author, title, or tribe. Each author entry contains a very brief biography and bibliography. Some entries contain additional information, such as links to outside resources. Access: http://www.ipl.org/div/natam/.
• Post WWII American Literature and Culture Database: Genres. This University of California-Berkeley, English Department’s site includes sections on bibliographies, post modernism, science fiction, punk and hardcore, generation X, feminism, queer, multiculturalism, and popular culture. Access: http://english.berkeley.edu/postwar/genres.html.
• OzLit—Authors List. Although commercially oriented, Mareya and Peter Schmidt’s OzLit is a valuable resource for those interested in Australian literature. Biographies and bibliographies are accessible through its authors list page. Access: http://home.vicnet.net.au/~ozlit/writlist.html.
• Voices from the Gaps: Women Writers of Color. Organized by name, birthplace, racial/ethnic background, and significant dates. Each entry includes a brief biography, related links, and a bibliography of selected works by and about the author. Most entries also include a photo of the author and a graphic from one book cover. The site is produced by the University of Minnesota’s Department of English and Program in American Studies. Access: http://voices.cla.umn.edu/.
Theory/criticism
• Internet Public Library (IPL)—Online Literary Criticism. Containing more than 2,400 critical and biographical Web sites about authors and their works, IPL can be browsed by author, title, nationality, and literary period. It also links to Online Literary Criticism Guide and Literary Criticism Pathfinder, which guides students in accessing the most authoritative and critical resources available on the Internet. Access: http://www.ipl.org/ref/litcrit/.
• Literary Resources - Theory. Part of Jack Lynch’s Literary Resources on the Net, this section includes annotated links to major sites, related journals, and individual theorists. Access: http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Lit/theory.html.
• Voice of the Shuttle (VoS): Theory. Part of Alan Liu’s VoS, this section covers general theory resources (early to mid 20th-century and contemporary), including subsections such as Deconstruction and Feminist Theory. It also has links to journals, zines, mail lists, newsgroups, course syllabi, conferences, and calls for papers. Access: http://vos.ucsb.edu/ (click on “Literary Theory”).
Journals and zines
Much original writing on the Web can only be found in nonacademic electronic magazines, frequently called zines. While we are not including any individual zines, we have included a resource that provides access to and short annotations about them.
• Beatrice. An electronic magazine focusing on fiction and nonfiction authors, Beatrice has interviews going back to 1996 with such writers as Bharati Mukhrjee, George Plimpton, and Linda Barnes. A related blog includes chatty commentary about current events in publishing. Access: http://www.beatrice.com/interviews/.
• Blue Moon Review. This was the “first electronic quarterly online to focus exclusively on literary work” and contains interviews, fiction, poetry and creative nonfiction, along with a small press preview section. Access: http://www.thebluemoon.com/.
• LitLine. Created by Greg Maier, LitLine links to literary journals, many zines, small presses, and literary organizations. It is searchable, and may be useful for less well-known contemporary authors. Access: http://www.litline.org/.
• Ruminator Review. The online version of this independent book review magazine began in 1986. Originally published as the Hungry Mind Review, it publishes reviews for fiction, children’s literature, nonfiction, and essays. Access: http://www.ruminator.com/.
• Salon Magazine. Self-described as the “best reader party on the Internet,” Salon has interviews going back to 1995, which include conversations with authors such as Salman Rushdie, Andrea Barrett, and Dorothy Allison. Access: http://www.salon.com/books/.
Beyond the books
For those who want to contact, meet, or see their favorite authors.
• Authors on the Highway. Search for author readings, signings, and appearances by event location (bookstore, city, state) or work (title, author, publisher) on this site created by Publisher’s Weekly. Access: http://www.publishersweekly.com/index.asp?layout=authorsMain.
• Book TV. Watch videos of nonfiction authors talking about their works, primarily in the areas of biography, business, history, and children’s literature on this site. Recent authors have included Anna Quindlen, Stephen Ambrose, and Simon Winchester on this site produced by C-SPAN. Access: http://www.booktv.org/booknotes/.
• Directory of American Poets and Writers. This searchable directory of contact information for more than 5,000 American poets and fiction writers is published by the Poets & Writers organization. Access: http://www.pw.org/directry.htm.
• Wired for Books. Maintained by Ohio University, this site contains uncut, behind-the-scene author interviews conducted by Don Swain, host of the former CBS show, Book Beat. Audio interviews are typically 30 to 45 minutes long and include a wide range of authors such as Amy Tan, Louis L’Amour, Anthony Burgess, and Doris Lessing. Access: http://wiredforbooks.org.
Mail lists and newsgroups
Mail lists
Professor Jack Lynch at Rutgers University maintains an extensive list of literature-related e-mail lists nicely categorized by subject or area focus, including one directory of 20th-century lists. Lists focus either on a broad area of literature or on a single author. Subscription information for individual lists is available on the site. Access: http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Lit/Lists/.
A sample of available mailing lists:
• AFAM-L on African American literature.
• AMLIT on American literature.
• CANLIT-L on Canadian literature (bilingual list).
• MODERN_POETS-L on poets, with a focus on those who worked from the 1900s through the 1940s.
• VWOOLF on author Virginia Woolf.
Newsgroups
Search engines Google and Yahoo both offer popular group forums for discussion. Browse or search for a suitable group.
• Google groups offers several options -- browsing broad subject area ("society and humanities"), browsing by usenet designation (newsgroups beginning with "alt"), and keyword searching. The search results include related groups at the top, followed by individual postings. Access: http://groups.google.com/ .
• Yahoo offers more than 800 groups on individual authors, as well as numerous groups focused by genre, time period, or other criteria. Membership of individual groups ranges from a handful of participants to thousands. The list of groups is easy to search or browse. Access: http://groups.yahoo.com/.
Notes
1. For information on foreign language writers, see Rob Withers, “Foreign language, literature, and culture," C&RL News 60 (May 1999): 361–364, 410.
2. For one example of a genre-specific guide, see Wendi Arant and Hal W. Hall, “Science fiction and fantasy: A guide to resources on the Web," C&RL News 63 (October 2002): 652-5.
3. For a more in-depth look at e-poetry sites, see Cynthia D. Shirkey, “E-poetry: Digital frontiers for an evolving art form,” C&RL News 64 (April 2003): 249-51.
Michelle Mach is digital projects librarian at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. If there is a site that you'd like to see added to this Internet Resources listing, e-mail the author at: mach_mj@yahoo.com.
Broken links? Let us know. E-mail jstahler@ala.org.