Research Guides: American Literature Research Guide: Academic and Professional Websites

General Websites for American Literature

Periods of American Literature (opens in new window)
From Encyclopedia Britannica.
Books That Shaped America (opens in new window)
From the Library of Congress.
Modern American Poetry (opens in new window)
Modern American Poetry Site includes criticism, excerpts from previously published analyses of poems, biographical information, relevant illustrations, and more.
Poetry Foundation (opens in new window)
The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine, is an independent literary organization committed to a vigorous presence for poetry in our culture.

Multicultural & Diverse American Literature

Voices from the Gaps (opens in new window)
From the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, this resource highlights the works of marginalized artists, predominately women writers of color living and working in North America.
African American Women Writers of the Nineteenth Century (opens in new window)
From the NY Public Library.
African-American Literature (opens in new window)
From the University of South Florida
Native American Literature (opens in new window)
From the Encyclopedia of the Great Plains, published by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Tribal Writers Digital Library (opens in new window)
From the Sequoyah National Research Center. The Project brings the works of Native poets and writers of fiction and other prose to readers worldwide.
American Women's Dime Novel Project (opens in new window)
From George Mason University. Information on the genre of women’s dime novel writing.

Online Collections & Archives

Literary Societies

Literary societies are groups of people interested in the study of a specific literary genre or author. Below are just a few such societies.