Anthologies are collections of writings published in a book or journal. The writings center around a similar theme, time or subject matter. Oftentimes, this involves various authors. However, collections of poems or short stories by the same author are also anthologies. How you cite an anthology in MLA style depends on whether you are referencing the whole anthology or a single entry in it.
Types of Anthologies
Short stories are collected in an anthology. For example, consider this book on Chicano/Latino writings:
The Chicano/Latino Literary Prize: An Anthology of Prize-Winning Fiction, Poetry, and Drama Paperback – May 31, 2008
By Stephanie Fetta. (Editor) This landmark collection of prize-winning fiction, poetry, and drama paints a historical and aesthetic panorama of Chicana/o and Latina/o letters over a twenty-five-year period beginning in 1974 and ending in 1999.
Works by a single author are often collected in an anthology too.
The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe Paperback – September 12, 1975
by Edgar Allan Poe (Author).
Citing Anthologies
If you are citing the whole anthology, use the editor(s) name in place of the author. When this is the case, also indicate they are an editor by adding ed. after the name.
Example:
Carretta, Vincent, ed. Unchained Voices: An Anthology of Black Authors in the English-Speaking World of the Eighteenth Century. University Press of Kentucky, 2013.
Mazer, Anne, ed. America Street: A Multicultural Anthology of Stories. Turtleback Books, 1993.
Typically, you will be citing one selection out of the collection rather than the whole anthology. Format those citations as follows:
Example:
Last name, First name. “Title of Essay.” Title of Collection, edited by Editor’s Name(s), Publisher, Year, Page range of entry.
Hughes, Langston. “The All-American Slurp.” America Street: A Multicultural Anthology of Stories, edited by Anne Mazer, Turtleback Books. 1993. pp. 18-25.
There may not be an editor if the anthology consists of a single author’s works. So, use the author’s name as you normally would for other books.
Example
Angelou, Maya. “Amazing Peace.” Maya Angelou: The Complete Poetry. Random House, 2015. Google Books. pp. 283-285
Nesting MLA Containers
If the work you are citing in your MLA paper was previously published on its own, you’ll need to add that publication information too. You do this by nesting the containers. There are nine core elements to a citation. Elements 3 to 9 are considered a container.
The first two elements will stay the same
- Author.
- Title of source.
The remaining 7 elements can be repeated at the end of the first container. This is how you account for additional publication information.
Container One Example:
- Title of container,
- Other contributors,
- Version,
- Number,
- Publisher,
- Publication date,
- Location
Container Two Example:
- Title of container,
- Other contributors,
- Version,
- Number,
- Publisher,
- Publication date,
- Location
Anthologies Are Still Books
Creating citations for anthologies in MLA works cited pages follows the same basic format as books. Use the container system with its core elements. This gives you an easy way to place the data in the correct order. Also, don’t forget to punctuate as noted!