Poems, plays, short stories, essays & speeches

LitFinder

Online index to poems, plays, short stories, essays, and speeches in anthologies and literary reviews. Best for poetry; ok for other types of literature . Includes full text for many works.

OSU & Summit (OR & WA libraries) catalogs

If you know the poet, author, or playwright: you can loook for their collected works with an author search. Some of the records will have tables of contents that identify individual works. The print indexes described below may be less time-consuming and more fruitful, however. If you're not in Corvallis, most libraries will have copies of these, especially academic libraries.

If you only have a title: sometimes you can do a websearch and find the title of an anthology or collection that includes the individual work. You can then look up the anthology's title in the catalogs.

Google Books

Sometimes you can find the title of an anthology that includes the poem, play or essay in Google Books.

Indexes & Databases

Indexes tell you where you can find copies of individual works. You then use the OSU Catalog or Summit catalog to find a copy of the anthology or periodical that includes the work you need.

Poems:

  • Columbia Granger's Index to Poetry. Reference PN 4321 .G8 & PN4321 .G81
  • Academic Search Premiere. Includes citations to poetry published in lperiodicals (some full text). Not as comprehensive as LitFinder and Columbia Granger's (see above).
  • Arts & Humanities Citation Index. Citations to poetry published in humanities periodicals.

Short stories:

Short Story Index. Reference PN3373 .S561

Academic Search Premiere. Includes citations to poetry published in periodicals (some full text). Not as comprehensive as LitFinder and Columbia Granger's (see above).

Arts & Humanities Citation Index. Citations to poetry published in humanities periodicals.

Plays:

Ottemiller's Index to Plays in Collections PN 1655 .K391 4th floor

Chicorel theater index to plays in anthologies, periodicals, discs and tapes. PN 1655 .C431 4th floor

Index to plays in periodicals. Reference PN 1655 .K391

Play Index PN 1655.P51 4th floor

Essays:

Essay and General Literature Index. 1900-1994 (print only): Reference AI3 .E7

Online: 1985-present.

Speeches:

American Rhetoric. http://www.americanrhetoric.com/

Full text, audio and video (streaming) versions of public speeches, sermons, legal proceedings, lectures, debates, interviews, etc.

Speech Index. Reference AI 3 .S8

Index to American Women Speakers. Reference PS 400 .M3; PS 408 .M31