English 486: The Little Magazine in America

Little Magazines

Kenyon has an extensive collection of little magazines, most of which are housed in the bound periodicals section on the first floor of Chalmers. In this area, you'll find all of the following, as well as other significant titles:

  • Kenyon Review
  • Edinburgh Review
  • Quarterly Review
  • Partisan Review
  • Poetry

Periodicals are shelved alphabetically by title. These volumes do not circulate but may be used in the library.

In addition to publications of historical interest, you can also find current little magazines in the current periodicals collection on the third floor. Titles include The Virginia Quarterly Review, The Sewanee Review, and The Georgia Review.

Some volumes, particularly the earlier publications like the Edinburgh Review and the Quarterly Review, are quite fragile. If you encounter a delicate volume that needs to be repaired--if the cover falls off, if pages fall out, or if there is other distressing damage--please take it to the circulation desk.

To determine if Kenyon holds volumes of a particular publication, search in CONSORT. Typically a journal title search will suffice, although if you search by title, or by the title as a keyword phrase (putting the title in quotation marks), you may also find related secondary literature, anthologies, etc. (Title and keyword searches work best for distinctive titles--for example, a keyword search for "poetry" is nightmarish).

Additionally, some little magazines are available electronically through American Periodicals Series. Use APS to peruse publications like The Dial, which Kenyon doesn't hold in print.

Little Magazine Indexes and Directories

To locate an author's contributions to little magazines, consult a print index in the reference collection on the second floor:

  • Comprehensive Index to English-Language Little Magazines 1890-1970: Ref PN4836 .S23 1976
  • Index to American Little Magazines 1900-1919: Ref AI3 .I54 1900-19
  • Index to Little Magazines (1920-1967): Ref AI3 .I54
  • Index of American Periodical Verse (1971-2005): Ref PN1022 .I47

Some publications have their own indexes:

  • Kenyon Review Index: 25 Year Cumulative Compilation, 1939-1963: Ref PN4900 .K46 Index 1964
  • Partisan Review: Cumulative Index, volumes 1-66, 1934-1999: Ref HX1 .P3 INDEX v.1-66
  • The Dial: An Author Index (at Denison and Wooster)

For profiles of today's little magazines and small presses:

  • International Directory of Little Magazines and Small Presses (2007-08): Ref Z6944.L5 D5

The Kenyon Review Archives

The Greenslade Special Collections and Archives, located on the first floor of the library, houses the Kenyon Review archives. The collection includes correspondence between authors and editors, manuscripts, and other illuminating primary source material.

Finding Books

To find secondary literature about little magazines and related subjects, begin with the annotated bibliography available on the English 486 Moodle site. You can also search CONSORT or OhioLINK. Try using a keyword search, or, for more precise results, use a subject heading search. When you find a relevant book, click on the subject heading links at the bottom of the record to see similar items. Some examples of subject heading searches:

If Kenyon doesn't have a copy of the book you need, you can request it from CONSORT or OhioLINK.

Additionally, you can use WorldCat to search library catalogs from elsewhere in the U.S. and around the world, and then place an interlibrary loan request. These requests take longer to fulfill than CONSORT or OhioLINK requests, so plan ahead to allow ample time for the materials to reach Gambier.

Finding Articles

Modern Languages Association Bibliography (MLA)
Citations to scholarly work in literature, linguistics, and folklore worldwide. Sources include journal and book articles, dissertations, monographs, and series.

JSTOR
Provides access to the full content of a variety of scholarly journals, which may be browsed or searched.

For additional resources, consult the English Language and Literature subject guide.

Finding Background Information

Reference tools like encyclopedias, dictionaries, and handbooks can provide a wealth of background information on people, places, events, and ideas. Some resources that may help you in your research are housed in the reference collection on the second floor, including the following:

  • Cambridge History of Literary Criticism: Ref PN86 .C27 1989
  • Encyclopedia of Literary Modernism: Ref PN56.M54 E53 2003
  • The American Renaissance in New England: Ref PS243 .A544 2001
  • British Literary Magazines, 1698-1788 (vol. 1) and 1789-1836 (vol. 2): Ref PN5124 .L6 B74 1983

Selected Internet Sites