Library Research Guides: History of Polish literature: Introduction

Former Senior Reference Assistant

Email Me

General Surveys and Reference Sources

In Polish:

Bursztyn, Maria, and Katarzyna Radzymińska. Słownik Encyklopedyczny. Wrocław: Wydawn. Europa, 2000. (PG7007 .B87 2000)

Krzyżanowski, Julian. Dzieje Literatury Polskiej: Od Początków Do Czasów Najnowszych. Warszawa: Państwowe Wydawn. Naukowe, 1969. (PG7012 .K935)

Piechota, Marek, Marek Pytasz, and Piotr Wilczek. Słownik Literatury Polskiej. Katowice: Videograf II, 2006. (PG7007 .S5818 2006)

In English translation:

Borkowska, Grażyna. Ten Centuries of Polish Literature. Warszawa: Stowarzyszenie "Pro Cultura Litteraria" , 2004. (PG7015 .T46 2004)

Carpenter, Bogdana. Monumenta Polonica: the First Four Centuries of Polish Poetry: a Bilingual Anthology. Ann Arbor: Michigan Slavic Publications, 1989. (PG13 .M59 no.31)

Coleman, Marion Moore. Polish Literature In English Translation: a Bibliography. Cheshire, Conn.: Cherry Hill Books, 1963. (Z2528.T7 C68 Slav Ref. [5th floor])

Czerwiński, E. J. Dictionary of Polish Literature. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1994. (PG7007 .D5 1994 Reference Dept.)

Krzyżanowski, Julian. A History of Polish Literature. Warszawa: PWN-Polish Scientific Publishers, 1978. (PG7012 .K7713 1978)

Kridl, Manfred. A Survey of Polish Literature and Culture. 's-Gravenhage: Mouton, 1956. (PG7012 .K713 1956)

Miłosz, Czesław. The History of Polish Literature. New York: Macmillan, 1969. (PG7012 .M65)

Peterkiewicz, Jerzy, and Burns Singer. Five Centuries of Polish Poetry, 1450-1950: an Anthology. London: Secker & Warburg, 1960. (PG7133 .P61)

Strzetelski, Jerzy. An Outline of Polish Literature. Kraków: Uniwersytet Jagielloński, 1974. (PG7014 .S77 1974 ALF)

IUCAT Search

Databases of Interest at IU

American Bibliography of Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies (ABSEEES)
- This link opens in a new window
Provides information on East-Central Europe, Russia, Soviet Union and the former Soviet republics, with a collection of indexed sources published in the United States, Canada and some European countries.
This database is the online version of The American Bibliography of Slavic and East European Studies (ABSEES), which started in 1956 at Indiana University, Bloomington, and continued until 1994, when it completely went online. Its chronological scope is limited, going back to 1989.
Central and Eastern European Online Library
- This link opens in a new window
Full-text access to journals of the social sciences and humanities on Central and Eastern European countries.
Dictionary of Literary Biography (Gale Literature)
- This link opens in a new window
Complete text of Gale's DLB series. The DLB covers a wide variety of literary topics, periods, and genres, and includes entries on authors, historians, journalists, screenwriters, publishers, and playwrights. Although international in scope, it tends to concentrate on American and British literature.
Each entry begins with the list of an author's works, followed by fairly detailed biographical information concentrating on the author's career. Some entries are about 2,000 to 5,000 words; some can run more than 10 pages (up to 15,000 words). They all include illustrations, photographs of the authors, their families and places where they lived, manuscripts in facsimile, or dust jackets. The entry ends with listings of letters, bibliographies, biographies and references.
European Bibliography of Slavic and East European Studies (EBSEES)
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive index to European scholarship in Slavic and East European studies
MLA International Bibliography
- This link opens in a new window
The MLA Bibliography indexes material in modern languages, literature, linguistics and folklore.
It contains references to scholarly research in more than 3000 journals and series, in monographs, chapters of books, working papers, dissertations, proceedings, Festschriften and bibliographies.

Digital Resources for Polish Literary Study

Culture.pl Literatura
The official site of Polish Culture can be read in Polish, Russian, and English.
Digital Repository of the Institute of Literary Research/Instytut Badań Literackich PAN
The Instytut Badań Literackich's digital collection is in cooperation with the general Federation of Polish Digital Libraries. Both are excellent sources for digitized content for all disciplines. From the main page, a number of indices can be accessed, browsed, and searched.
Polona - The National Library of Poland
Digital exhibits include: Cyprian Kamil Norwid, Adam Mickiewicz, Boleslaw Prus, Aleksander Fredro, Zbigniew Herbert, Juliusz Slowacki, Krzysztof Kamil Baczynski, Jan Kochanowski, Stefan Zeromski, etc. There are thematic exhibits on satire, Shakespeare in Poland, Jewish literature, etc.
Staropolska online
"STAROPOLSKA is an academic and educational project concerned with early modern Polish literature in the aspect of the broad European heritage. The main part of the project comprises an e-library of classical Polish writings and a collection of scholarly studies of the subject.
Virtual Library of Polish Literature
Part of UNESCO's Publica series.