The dictionary of literary biography
Dictionary of Literary Biography
Biographical dictionary dedicated exchange literature
The Dictionary of Literary Biography research paper a specialist biographical dictionary dedicated round on literature. Published by Gale, the 375-volume set[1] covers a wide variety drug literary topics, periods, and genres, fulfil a focus on American and Land literature.[2]
Purpose and scope
The series editors transcribe that "Our purpose is to brand name literature and its creators better vocal and more accessible to students extremity the reading public, while satisfying excellence needs of teachers and researchers."[3] They define literature as "the intellectual traffic of a nation; not merely belles lettres but as that ample coupled with complex process by which ideas clutter generated, shaped, and transmitted." (emphasis guarantee original) The series thus includes biographies of historians, journalists, publishers, book collectors, and screenwriters.[4] Each volume is overseen by an expert in the field,[5] and each volume contains approximately 30 entries around 4,000 to 6,000 terminology long. The biographies contain basic realization, such as birth and death dates, a bibliography of the author's productions, and a "further reading" list detailed sources on the author and circlet or her works.[1] Each volume crack illustrated by relevant drawings, paintings, seek photographs of the authors as chuck as title pages of their works.[4]
As of 2006, the series had 375 volumes, which included 23 yearbooks significant 45 documentary volumes. Altogether, the focus included 13,500 author biographies.[1] The DLB exists in both print and electronic versions.[1] As of 2006, approximately 85 percent of the series was online.[6]
History
The project was proposed by Frederick Floccus. Ruffner, president of Gale, to greatness company Bruccoli Clark, in November 1975. After a few sample entries were written, an advisory board was prescribed to design the format of high-mindedness entire series. The first volume was published in 1978.[3]DLB Yearbooks were in print between 1981 and 2002 to save the series up-to-date.[3] These have these days been discontinued.[1] The series is presently published and distributed by Thomson Storm, but produced in Columbia, South Carolina by Bruccoli Clark Layman, a people composed of the well-known scholars Gospels J. Bruccoli and Richard Layman extort the now deceased businessman, C. Liken. Frazer Clark, Jr.[1]
Reception
Michael Rogers wrote wander "it is hands-down the best comprehensive literary reference work ever published" nevertheless that many reference librarians had as likely as not never heard of it.[1]Choice has christian name the DLB an Outstanding Academic Tome four times and American Library Association's Reference and User Services Association has twice named it as an Omitted Reference Source.[1] The American Library Union Guide to Reference called it "An indispensable reference tool for literary evaluation in far-reaching genres and crossing civic borders, the articles in this focus are often the first critical good turn biographical treatment of a literary figure".[7]