James Joyce

(1882 - 1941)

Black and white photograph of Russian author Leo Tolstoy.

Leo Tolstoy

(1828 - 1910)

Portrait of Scottish biographer and diarist James Boswell.

James Boswell

(1740 - 1795)

Frontispiece for 1612-13 King James Bible.

The Bible

Ernest Hemingway standing between two large hanging fish

Ernest Hemingway

(1899 - 1961)

Lewis Lapham at his desk

Lewis H. Lapham

(1935 - 2024)

Portrait of English essayist and critic Thomas De Quincey.

Thomas De Quincey

(1785 - 1859)

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

John Addington Symonds

(1840 - 1893)

Image of American lawyer and autobiographer Richard Henry Dana Jr.

Richard Henry Dana Jr.

(1815 - 1882)

Photograph of German literary critic Walter Benjamin.

Walter Benjamin

(1892 - 1940)

Photograph of American novelist and screenwriter Raymond Chandler.

Raymond Chandler

(1888 - 1959)

Photograph of American writer Francine Prose.

Francine Prose

Photograph of American novelist Jack London.

Jack London

(1876 - 1916)

Photograph of American humorist and author David Sedaris.

David Sedaris

Image of Japanese poet and essayist Yoshida Kenko.

Yoshida Kenko

(c. 1283 - c. 1351)

Photograph of Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann.

Albert Hofmann

(1906 - 2008)

Portrait of King James I.

James I

(1566 - 1625)

Depiction of Greek lyric poet Sappho.

Sappho

(c. 610 BC - c. 570 BC)

William Langland

(c. 1325 - c. 1390)

Joan Didion

(1934 - 2021)

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

Marguerite Duras

(1914 - 1996)

Theognis

(c. 570 BC - c. 490 BC)

Photograph of Charles Baudelaire

Charles Baudelaire

(1821 - 1867)

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

Honoré de Balzac

(1799 - 1850)

Photograph of journalist, author, and professor Michael Pollan.

Michael Pollan

Photograph of journalist Nick Reding.

Nick Reding

Black and white photograph of German writer Hermann Hesse.

Hermann Hesse

(1877 - 1962)

Color portrait of German theologian and reformer Martin Luther.

Martin Luther

(1483 - 1546)

Photograph of American novelist and poet Jack Kerouac.

Jack Kerouac

(1922 - 1969)

German socialist philosopher Friedrich Engels.

Friedrich Engels

(1820 - 1895)

Photograph of American comedian and film star Harpo Marx.

Harpo Marx

(1888 - 1964)

Depiction of Persian mathematician and poet Omar Khayyam.

Omar Khayyam

(1048 - 1131)

Photograph of American novelist and short story writer Stephen Crane.

Stephen Crane

(1871 - 1900)

Painting of François Rabelais.

François Rabelais

(1494 - 1553)

Andy Warhol

(1928 - 1987)

Photograph of American writer Denis Johnson.

Denis Johnson

(1949 - 2017)

William Biddulph

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

W.B. Yeats

(1865 - 1939)

Portrait of English lyrical poet and critic Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

(1772 - 1834)

Portrait of Chinese scholar and official Lin Zexu.

Lin Zexu

(1785 - 1850)

Photograph of Irish playwright and novelist Frank O'Connor.

Frank O’Connor

(1903 - 1966)

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

Seneca the Younger

(4 BC - 65)

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

Emily Dickinson

(1830 - 1886)

Portrait of English poet John Keats.

John Keats

(1795 - 1821)

Chinese poet Li Bai seated.

Li Bai

(701 - 762)

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

Charles Mackay

(1814 - 1889)

Photograph of American author Dennis Covington.

Dennis Covington

Photograph of American feminist and author Anne Roiphe.

Anne Roiphe

Photograph of American writer William T. Vollmann.

William T. Vollmann

Depiction of Greek philosopher Plato.

Plato

(c. 427 BC - c. 347 BC)

Photograph of American poet Countee Cullen.

Countee Cullen

(1903 - 1946)

Black and white image of American writer Herman Melville.

Herman Melville

(1819 - 1891)

Photograph of American author Jacqueline Susann.

Jacqueline Susann

(1921 - 1974)

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

Frederick Douglass

(c. 1818 - 1895)

Quintus Curtius Rufus

(c. 41 - c. 79)

Color portrait of the Italian writer and libertine Giacomo Casanova.

Giacomo Casanova

(1725 - 1798)

Portrait bust of Greek lyric poet Archilochus.

Archilochus

(c. 740 BC - 680 BC)

Portrait of French writer Stendhal.

Stendhal

(1783 - 1842)

Painted portrait of English poet John Milton.

John Milton

(1608 - 1674)

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

Sven Birkerts

Image of Japanese poet Ōtomo Tabito with horse.

Ōtomo Tabito

(665 - 731)

Photograph of German writer Patrick Süskind.

Patrick Süskind

Photograph of American jazz musician Art Pepper with saxophone.

Art Pepper

(1925 - 1982)

Depiction of German abbess and mystic St. Hildegard.

Hildegard of Bingen

(1098 - 1179)

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

F. Scott Fitzgerald

(1896 - 1940)

Portrait of English physician John Elliotson.

John Elliotson

(1791 - 1868)

Photograph of President Abraham Lincoln sitting in a chair.

Abraham Lincoln

(1809 - 1865)

Photograph of American writer William S. Burroughs.

William S. Burroughs

(1914 - 1997)

Depiction of Plymouth colony governor William Bradford.

William Bradford

(1590 - 1657)

Photograph of American clinical psychologist and writer Kay Redfield Jamison.

Kay Redfield Jamison

Rebecca Lemon

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

Sylvia Plath

(1932 - 1963)

Photograph of American professional baseball player Dock Ellis.

Dock Ellis

(1945 - 2008)

Dorothy Parker working at her typewriter.

Dorothy Parker

(1893 - 1967)

Kingsley Amis

(1922 - 1995)

Engraving of Pliny the Elder.

Pliny the Elder

(23 - 79)

Depiction of chief of the Miami tribe Little Turtle.

Little Turtle

(c. 1752 - 1812)

Portrait bust of Greek historian Xenophon.

Xenophon

(c. 430 BC - c. 351 BC)

Photograph of literary agent and author Bill Clegg.

Bill Clegg

Photograph of British writer Roald Dahl.

Roald Dahl

(1916 - 1990)

Photograph of journalist and author Fitz Hugh Ludlow.

Fitz Hugh Ludlow

(1836 - 1870)

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

Oliver Goldsmith

(1730 - 1774)