Home: Literary Criticism

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Writing and Citing

Finding Biographical Information on Authors

Information about the life of a literary author can be enormously helpful in providing you with insight into the writing of the author. Also, it is often a good way to gain information about the historical time period in which the author lived.

Dictionary of Literary Biography
This set of reference books is often the most efficient place to find a scholarly biography of a literary author. It provides in-depth information on the life of each author, including information that helps you connect the author's life and writings.
D.H. Hill Reference Collection PN451 .D54 (Learning Commons)
-- Note: To find a particular author, use look in the Cumulative Index at the end of the last volume of the set

Literary Reference Center Plus
Search for author's name. Then click on 'Biography' tab.

Finding Books About Your Author

Use the NCSU Libraries Catalog to find books about the life of your author. Here's a sample search - click for demo.

1) Type Eudora Welty in Search for words: (Anywhere) box

2) Look at the Refine Your Search box on the left, and find the Genre section. Click on Biography

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