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Literatures in English: Caribbean Region

This page lists sources that cover multiple periods, genres, and/or nationalities. See additional resources in the "Historical Literary Period" and "Geographical Region" pages.

Dictionaries, Encyclopedias, Companions, Biography, Etc.

Dance, Daryl Cumber. Fifty Caribbean Writers: A Bio-Bibliographical and Critical Sourcebook. NY: Greenwood Press, 1986. Geisel Reference PR 9205 .A52 F54 1986; also in stacks.

Encyclopedia of Latin Americn and Caribbean Literature. Ed. Daniel Balderston and Mike Gonzalez. NY: Routledge, 2004. Geisel Reference PQ 7081 .A1 E558 2004

Herdeck, Donald E. et al., eds. Caribbean Writers: A Bio-Bibliographical-Critical Encyclopedia. Washington DC: Three Continents, 1979. Geisel Reference PR 9210.5 .C37; also in stacks.

The Routledge Companion to Anglophone Caribbean Literature. Ed. Michael Bucknor and Alison Donnell. NY: Routledge, 2011.

Useful Websites

Digital LIbrary of the Caribbean (dLOC). This website privides (mostly) bibliographic records for materials held at several dozen research libraries, both in the Caribbean region itself, and in a few U.S. libraries (especially from the state of Florida). Not many of these records lead to full texts. There isn't a great emphasis on strictly literary materials, but the site is very useful for identifying primary and secondary sources on the history, economy, geography, politics, and culture of the region. It includes a particularly strong sub-section on voodoo.

Guide to Research

Christenberry, H. Faye, Angela Courtney, Liorah Golomb, and Melissa S. Vasn Vuuren. Literary Research and Postcolonial Literatures in English: Strategies and Sources. (Literary Research: Strategies and Sources, no. 11). Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2012. Geisel stacks PN 73 .C47 2012

Bibliographies of Secondary Sources

Allis, Jeannette B. West Indian Literature: An Index to Criticism, 1930-1975. Boston: G.K. Hall, 1981. Geisel Reference PR 9210 .A38

"Select Bibliography of the Literature of the English-Speaking West Indies [1986- ]." Appears irregularly in the Journal of West Indian Literature.

Hallewell, L. "English-Speaking Caribbean Literature." In Latin America and the Caribbean: A Critical Guide to Research Sources. Ed. Paula H. Covington. NY: Greenwood, 1992. Reference F 1408 .L3225 1992; also in stacks.

Paravisini-Gebert, Lizaabeth and Olga Torres-Seda. Caribbean Women Novelists: An Annotated Critical Bibliography. Westport CT: Greenwood, 1993. Geisel Reference PN 849 .C32 C634 1993

Williams, Emily Allen. Anglophone Caribbean Poetry, 1970-2001: An Annotated Bibliography. Westport, Ct.: Greenwood Press, 2002. Reference PR 9205.2 .W45 2002 Lists primary and secondary sources.

Bibliographies and Indexes of Primary Sources

Berrian, Brenda F. and Aart Broek. Bibliography of Women Writers from the Caribbean, 1831-1986. Washington: Three Continents, 1989. Geisel Referece PN 849 .C3 B46 1989

Fenwick, M. J. Writers of the Caribbean and Central America: A Bibliography. NY: Garland, 1992. 2 vols. Geisel stacks PN 849 .C3 F46 1992

Goslinga, Marian. Caribbean Literature: A Bibliography. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow, 1998. Request from SRLF via Melvyl.

Williams, Emily Allen. Anglophone Caribbean Poetry, 1970-2001: An Annotated Bibliography. Westport, Ct.: Greenwood Press, 2002. Geisel Reference PR 9205.2 .W45 2002 Lists primary and secondary sources.

Full Text Collections

Caribbean Literature.  Over 100,000 pages of poetry and fiction in the original languages from the nineteenth century forward.

Black Drama. Not restricted to Caribbean writers, but includes several.

Empire Online. Documents from over two dozen research libraries on the building of the British empire and the reactions, descriptions, and opinions that resulted from it.