Ovid

(43 BC - c. 17)

Chinese tea writer Lu Yu.

Lu Yu

(733 - 804)

British traveler Charles M. Doughty.

Charles M. Doughty

(1843 - 1926)

Image of Chinese Song Dynasty poet Mei Yaochen.

Mei Yaochen

(1002 - 1060)

Photograph of Vladimir Nabokov

Vladimir Nabokov

(1899 - 1977)

Portrait of Sister Juana Inés de la Cruz in a nun's habit.

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz

(c. 1651 - 1695)

Lewis Lapham at his desk

Lewis H. Lapham

Czech writer Bohumil Hrabal.

Bohumil Hrabal

(1914 - 1997)

Sufi mystic and poet Rumi.

Rumi

(c. 1207 - 1273)

American author Tom Robbins.

Tom Robbins

Photograph of Marcel Proust looking pensive.

Marcel Proust

(1871 - 1922)

Portrait bust of presumed author of the Iliad and the Odyssey Homer.

Homer

(c. 800 BC - 725 BC)

Chinua Achebe

(1930 - 2013)

American rock musician Ted Nugent.

Ted Nugent

Comedian, actor, and writer Patton Oswalt.

Patton Oswalt

Welsh clergyman and historian Gerald of Wales.

Gerald of Wales

(c. 1146 - c. 1223)

Image of Japanese haiku poet Matsuo Bashō.

Matsuo Basho

(1644 - 1694)

French author Émile Zola.

Émile Zola

(1840 - 1902)

Greek physician, writer, and philosopher Galen.

Galen

(129 - c. 216)

Dio Cassius

(c. 150 - 235)

Painting of humanist and scholar Erasmus.

Erasmus

(1466 - 1536)

Australian poet and essayist Les Murray.

Les Murray

(1938 - 2019)

Color photograph of American writer Annie Dillard.

Annie Dillard

Laura Ingalls Wilder

(1867 - 1957)

Henry David Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau

(1817 - 1862)

British explorer John Smith.

John Smith

(c. 1580 - 1631)

Photograph of Charles Baudelaire

Charles Baudelaire

(1821 - 1867)

Hanna Lévy-Hass

(1913 - 2001)

Photograph of American novelist Willa Cather.

Willa Cather

(1873 - 1947)

American poet Allen Ginsberg.

Allen Ginsberg

(1926 - 1997)

Harper Lee

(1926 - 2016)

American cook and author Julia Child.

Julia Child

(1912 - 2004)

English novelist, essayist, and critic George Orwell.

George Orwell

(1903 - 1950)

Roman emperor Julian.

Julian

(332 - 363)

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

Frederick Douglass

(c. 1818 - 1895)

Saint Augustine (detail), by Philippe de Champaigne, c. 1645.

Saint Augustine

(354 - 430)

Black and white image of Greek biographer and writer Plutarch.

Plutarch

(46 - c. 120)

Photograph of German literary critic Walter Benjamin.

Walter Benjamin

(1892 - 1940)

Indian actress and food writer Madhur Jaffrey.

Madhur Jaffrey

American author, music journalist, and cultural critic Greil Marcus.

Greil Marcus

Photograph of American food writer M.F.K. Fisher with cat.

M.F.K. Fisher

(1908 - 1992)

Photograph of American writer Ralph Ellison.

Ralph Ellison

(1914 - 1994)

Painting of Benjamin Franklin reading a batch of papers next to a classical bust.

Benjamin Franklin

(1706 - 1790)

Irish author Marguerite Gardiner, Countess of Blessington.

Marguerite Gardiner

(1789 - 1849)

Poet, essayist, and editor Ray Gonzalez.

Ray Gonzalez

John Wecker

(1528 - 1586)

American poet William Carlos Williams.

William Carlos Williams

(1883 - 1963)

English author Evelyn Waugh.

Evelyn Waugh

(1903 - 1966)

Scottish novelist Tobias Smollett.

Tobias Smollett

(1721 - 1771)

American journalist Hunter S. Thompson.

Hunter S. Thompson

(1937 - 2005)

Spanish soldier and author Bernal Díaz del Castillo.

Bernal Díaz del Castillo

(c. 1495 - 1584)

Oil painting portrair Michel de Montaigne in red robes and white collar

Michel de Montaigne

(1533 - 1592)

Novelist and psychiatrist Daniel Mason.

Daniel Mason

English novelist and writer Frances Trollope.

Frances Trollope

(1779 - 1863)

English animal rights advocate Donald Watson.

Donald Watson

(1910 - 2005)

American journalist Barbara Demick.

Barbara Demick

French Benedictine monk Antoine Augustin Calmet.

Antoine Augustin Calmet

(1672 - 1757)

American musician Duke Ellington.

Duke Ellington

(1899 - 1974)

American historian Francis Parkman.

Francis Parkman

(1823 - 1893)

American novelist Upton Sinclair.

Upton Sinclair

(1878 - 1968)

Photograph of English novelist Charles Dickens.

Charles Dickens

(1812 - 1870)

French author Anthelme Brillat-Savarin.

Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

(1755 - 1826)

photograph of David Foster Wallace speaking at a podium

David Foster Wallace

(1962 - 2008)

American chef, author, and television personality Anthony Bourdain.

Anthony Bourdain

(1956 - 2018)

British suffragette activist, writer, and speaker Constance Lytton.

Constance Lytton

(1869 - 1923)

Italian artist and author Giorgio Vasari.

Giorgio Vasari

(1511 - 1574)

French author Alexandre Dumas.

Alexandre Dumas

(1802 - 1870)

Black and white engraving of Roman author Petronius.

Gaius Petronius Arbiter

(c. 27 - 66)

Chinese diplomat, general and scholar Chen Jitong.

Chen Jitong

(1851 - 1907)

American journalist and author Paul Roberts.

Paul Roberts

English novelist Henry Fielding.

Henry Fielding

(1707 - 1754)

English novelist, historian, traveler, and the author Jason Goodwin.

Jason Goodwin

American food writer Ruth Reichl.

Ruth Reichl

Painted portrait of English poet John Milton.

John Milton

(1608 - 1674)

Statue of the Persian poet Ferdowsi.

Ferdowsi

(c. 935 - c. 1020)

Jonathan Swift

Jonathan Swift

(1667 - 1745)

Portrait bust of Greek historian Xenophon.

Xenophon

(c. 430 BC - c. 351 BC)

Engraving of Roman poet Horace.

Horace

(65 BC - 8 BC)

American author Alice B. Toklas.

Alice B. Toklas

(1877 - 1967)

Writer and editor Scott Korb.

Scott Korb

Black and white photograph of Mencken looking over his shoulder at the camera

H.L. Mencken

(1880 - 1956)

Juvenal

(c. 60 - c. 130)

Photograph of American editor Brent Cunningham.

Brent Cunningham

American professor and journalist Deborah Blum.

Deborah Blum

Neoplatonist Greek philosopher Porphyry.

Porphyry

(c. 234 - c. 305)

Piers Paul Read

British author Hilaire Belloc.

Hilaire Belloc

(1870 - 1953)

Calvin Trillin standing in front of a refrigerator in a black and white photograph

Calvin Trillin

Photograph of journalist, author, and professor Michael Pollan.

Michael Pollan