Skip to Main Content

Hispanic American Literature

Gitenstein Library resources and beyond

Reference Shelf

Go-to library databases for obtaining biographical and bibliographical information about Hispanic American authors:

Bibliography:

Bio-bibliography:

The following titles provide credible background information about Hispanic American authors. Some offer lists (bibliographies) of authors' primary works and scholarly criticisms about those works.

Dictionary of Literary Biography (DLB):

DLB is available online from the library's Literature Resource Center (LRC) database. Employ the appropriate title (see below) or conduct a Person Search (e.g., Graciela Limón) across all of LRC. Click Biographies from the gray bar at the top of the author's page. Sort results by date, Newest at the top of the list. If desired, Filter Your Results by selecting the box next to "Dictionary of Literary Biography" under the Publication Title tab. The titles below, although dated, are useful for obtaining background information about your chosen author or identifying an author to research.

Notable Latino Writers:

"Surveys approximately 125 major U.S. Latino writers and world Spanish-language writers translated into English who have contributed to the rich heritage of Latino and Hispanic literature."

A companion is a "a handbook intended to be used in connection with the study of a particular subject or field" (ODLIS). Companions typically provide introductory essays and topic overviews.

Companions:

Handbook:

An encyclopedia is "a book or numbered set of books containing authoritative summary information about a variety of topics in the form of short essays, usually arranged alphabetically by headword or classified in some manner. An entry may be signed or unsigned, with or without illustration or a list of references for further reading" (ODLIS).

Dictionary:

Encyclopedias: