James Joyce

(1882 - 1941)

Photograph of American writer William S. Burroughs.

William S. Burroughs

(1914 - 1997)

Portrait of French writer Stendhal.

Stendhal

(1783 - 1842)

Lewis Lapham at his desk

Lewis H. Lapham

Black and white photograph of American poet and novelist Sylvia Plath.

Sylvia Plath

(1932 - 1963)

Photograph of literary agent and author Bill Clegg.

Bill Clegg

Photograph of American humorist and author David Sedaris.

David Sedaris

Portrait bust of Greek lyric poet Archilochus.

Archilochus

(c. 740 BC - 680 BC)

Depiction of Plymouth colony governor William Bradford.

William Bradford

(1590 - 1657)

William Biddulph

Photograph of Irish playwright and novelist Frank O'Connor.

Frank O’Connor

(1903 - 1966)

Portrait of English essayist and critic Thomas De Quincey.

Thomas De Quincey

(1785 - 1859)

Photograph of African American abolitionist and U.S. diplomat Frederick Douglass.

Frederick Douglass

(c. 1818 - 1895)

Ernest Hemingway standing between two large hanging fish

Ernest Hemingway

(1899 - 1961)

Photograph of German literary critic Walter Benjamin.

Walter Benjamin

(1892 - 1940)

Painting of François Rabelais.

François Rabelais

(1494 - 1553)

Photograph of journalist and author Fitz Hugh Ludlow.

Fitz Hugh Ludlow

(1836 - 1870)

Photograph of Charles Baudelaire

Charles Baudelaire

(1821 - 1867)

Black and white image of Roman philosopher and statesman Seneca the Younger.

Seneca the Younger

(4 BC - 65)

Photograph of American poet Countee Cullen.

Countee Cullen

(1903 - 1946)

Portrait of King James I.

James I

(1566 - 1625)

Color portrait of German theologian and reformer Martin Luther.

Martin Luther

(1483 - 1546)

Photograph of American comedian and film star Harpo Marx.

Harpo Marx

(1888 - 1964)

Photograph of English essayist, poet, and biographer John Addington Symonds.

John Addington Symonds

(1840 - 1893)

Photograph of American novelist and short story writer Stephen Crane.

Stephen Crane

(1871 - 1900)

Portrait of Scottish biographer and diarist James Boswell.

James Boswell

(1740 - 1795)

German socialist philosopher Friedrich Engels.

Friedrich Engels

(1820 - 1895)

Photograph of American writer Francine Prose.

Francine Prose

Black and white photograph of Russian author Leo Tolstoy.

Leo Tolstoy

(1828 - 1910)

Chinese poet Li Bai seated.

Li Bai

(701 - 762)

Photograph of American feminist and author Anne Roiphe.

Anne Roiphe

Black and white image of American writer Herman Melville.

Herman Melville

(1819 - 1891)

Photograph of American novelist Jack London.

Jack London

(1876 - 1916)

Kingsley Amis

(1922 - 1995)

Portrait of English poet John Keats.

John Keats

(1795 - 1821)

Portrait of Chinese scholar and official Lin Zexu.

Lin Zexu

(1785 - 1850)

Photograph of American clinical psychologist and writer Kay Redfield Jamison.

Kay Redfield Jamison

Photograph of American author Jacqueline Susann.

Jacqueline Susann

(1921 - 1974)

Photograph of American professional baseball player Dock Ellis.

Dock Ellis

(1945 - 2008)

Photograph of journalist Nick Reding.

Nick Reding

Joan Didion

(1934 - 2021)

Color portrait of the Italian writer and libertine Giacomo Casanova.

Giacomo Casanova

(1725 - 1798)

Photograph of American author Dennis Covington.

Dennis Covington

Image of Japanese poet Ōtomo Tabito with horse.

Ōtomo Tabito

(665 - 731)

Image of Scottish poet, journalist, and author Charles Mackay.

Charles Mackay

(1814 - 1889)

Photograph of British writer Roald Dahl.

Roald Dahl

(1916 - 1990)

Image of Japanese poet and essayist Yoshida Kenko.

Yoshida Kenko

(c. 1283 - c. 1351)

Black and white photograph of German writer Hermann Hesse.

Hermann Hesse

(1877 - 1962)

Dorothy Parker working at her typewriter.

Dorothy Parker

(1893 - 1967)

Photograph of President Abraham Lincoln sitting in a chair.

Abraham Lincoln

(1809 - 1865)

Photograph of Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann.

Albert Hofmann

(1906 - 2008)

Theognis

(c. 570 BC - c. 490 BC)

Depiction of German abbess and mystic St. Hildegard.

Hildegard of Bingen

(1098 - 1179)

Photograph of American jazz musician Art Pepper with saxophone.

Art Pepper

(1925 - 1982)

Depiction of Greek lyric poet Sappho.

Sappho

(c. 610 BC - c. 570 BC)

Andy Warhol

(1928 - 1987)

Photograph of American novelist and screenwriter Raymond Chandler.

Raymond Chandler

(1888 - 1959)

Frontispiece for 1612-13 King James Bible.

The Bible

Black and white photograph of Emily Dickinson sitting next to a desk.

Emily Dickinson

(1830 - 1886)

Photograph of American writer William T. Vollmann.

William T. Vollmann

Engraving of Pliny the Elder.

Pliny the Elder

(23 - 79)

Painted portrait of English poet John Milton.

John Milton

(1608 - 1674)

Photograph of journalist, author, and professor Michael Pollan.

Michael Pollan

Depiction of Greek philosopher Plato.

Plato

(c. 427 BC - c. 347 BC)

William Langland

(c. 1325 - c. 1390)

Portrait of English lyrical poet and critic Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

(1772 - 1834)

Photograph of American writer Denis Johnson.

Denis Johnson

(1949 - 2017)

Photograph of American novelist and poet Jack Kerouac.

Jack Kerouac

(1922 - 1969)

Portrait of Anglo-Irish essayist, poet, novelist, and dramatist Oliver Goldsmith.

Oliver Goldsmith

(1730 - 1774)

Portrait of English physician John Elliotson.

John Elliotson

(1791 - 1868)

Quintus Curtius Rufus

(c. 41 - c. 79)

Depiction of Persian mathematician and poet Omar Khayyam.

Omar Khayyam

(1048 - 1131)

Depiction of chief of the Miami tribe Little Turtle.

Little Turtle

(c. 1752 - 1812)

Photograph of German writer Patrick Süskind.

Patrick Süskind

Black and white photograph of Irish poet and writer W. B. Yeats.

W.B. Yeats

(1865 - 1939)

Image of French writer Honoré de Balzac with hand on chest.

Honoré de Balzac

(1799 - 1850)

Black and white photograph of a young F. Scott Fitzgerald sitting at a desk.

F. Scott Fitzgerald

(1896 - 1940)

Portrait bust of Greek historian Xenophon.

Xenophon

(c. 430 BC - c. 351 BC)

Black and white photograph of French writer and film director Marguerite Duras.

Marguerite Duras

(1914 - 1996)

Image of American lawyer and autobiographer Richard Henry Dana Jr.

Richard Henry Dana Jr.

(1815 - 1882)

Rebecca Lemon

Black and white photograph of Sven Birkerts sitting in front of a bookshelf.

Sven Birkerts