ENGL 170 The Practice of Criticism

Literary Criticism

What is the difference between a book review and scholarly criticism?

A book review is defined as,
"...A descriptive, evaluative account and discussion of a book. A book review is a form of criticism, which is (or is generally thought should be) a process that weighs, judges, and evaluates. The primary purpose of a book review is to consider faults and excellencies and then to render careful judgment. Among types of reviews are (1) a reportorial method in which a book is presented as an item of news; (2) reportorial and critical commentary that explains, interprets, and judges a book in terms of its purpose, scope, and style; (3) the "springboard review" in which a reviewer uses a given book as a convenient starting point (or excuse) from which he launches into a critical essay that covers much more (and much less) than the specific book being considered...". Source: The Dictionary of Literary Terms (1972)

Scholarly literary criticism is defined as,
"...Literary criticism can be published as journal articles or full-length book.  In general, it is the peer-reviewed work of  scholars who discuss a particular text or texts, including fiction, poetry, plays, films, and other works.  A work of literary criticism differs from a book review in that it is typically a more in-depth critique of a work, and it's most often intended for an academic audience."
Source: Literary Criticism Resources, Duke University Libraries http://http://www.lib.duke.edu/reference/subjects/litcrit.htm.

Sources of Literary Criticism

Books
Essays in critical anthologies
Journal articles
Websites
Interviews in journals and from websites

Tools to find sources for your paper

Catalogs to find books and essay anthologies (examples: GLOCAT, WorldCat)
Databases to find journal articles and interviews (examples: MLA Bibliography, JSTOR, ProQuest)
Search engines and web portals to find websites and author interviews (examples: Voice of the Shuttle, Google)

Jamaica Kincaid

Subject Headings

Kincaid, Jamaica

Kincaid, Jamaica -- Criticism and interpretation

Mothers and daughters -- Antigua and Barbuda -- Antigua -- History -- Sources

Literature and society -- Antigua and Barbuda -- Antigua -- Sources

Teenage girls -- Antigua and Barbuda -- Antigua -- History -- Sources

Women and literature -- Antigua and Barbuda -- Antigua -- Sources

Using Google or web portals

Try searching by author’s name:
EXAMPLE: “jamaica kincaid” and criticism

Or, search on the work:
EXAMPLE: “annie john” and criticism

Try searching by critic’s name
EXAMPLE: “giovanna covi” and criticism

Elizabeth Wong

Subject Headings

Wong, Elizabeth, 1958-

African Americans -- Relations with Korean Americans -- Drama

Asian American Women in literature

American drama -- 20th century

American drama -- minority authors

United States -- Race relations -- Drama

Using Google or web portals

Use a precise search -- you will be better off if you can make your search more specific, with a lot of synonyms…
(playwrights or dramatists) and (asian american or korean american) and (criticism or critiques)
race relations or ethnic relations or minorities