Portrait of English lyrical poet and critic Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

(1772 - 1834)

Kingsley Amis

(1922 - 1995)

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

Frederick Douglass

(c. 1818 - 1895)

Photograph of American comedian and film star Harpo Marx.

Harpo Marx

(1888 - 1964)

Photograph of American novelist Jack London.

Jack London

(1876 - 1916)

William Biddulph

Black and white photograph of Russian author Leo Tolstoy.

Leo Tolstoy

(1828 - 1910)

Quintus Curtius Rufus

(c. 41 - c. 79)

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

W.B. Yeats

(1865 - 1939)

Photograph of literary agent and author Bill Clegg.

Bill Clegg

Portrait of English physician John Elliotson.

John Elliotson

(1791 - 1868)

Photograph of American novelist and short story writer Stephen Crane.

Stephen Crane

(1871 - 1900)

Ernest Hemingway standing between two large hanging fish

Ernest Hemingway

(1899 - 1961)

Photograph of Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann.

Albert Hofmann

(1906 - 2008)

Photograph of American writer William S. Burroughs.

William S. Burroughs

(1914 - 1997)

Black and white photograph of German writer Hermann Hesse.

Hermann Hesse

(1877 - 1962)

Depiction of Plymouth colony governor William Bradford.

William Bradford

(1590 - 1657)

Photograph of Charles Baudelaire

Charles Baudelaire

(1821 - 1867)

Image of Japanese poet Ōtomo Tabito with horse.

Ōtomo Tabito

(665 - 731)

Portrait of French writer Stendhal.

Stendhal

(1783 - 1842)

Photograph of American author Jacqueline Susann.

Jacqueline Susann

(1921 - 1974)

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

John Addington Symonds

(1840 - 1893)

Dorothy Parker working at her typewriter.

Dorothy Parker

(1893 - 1967)

Photograph of German writer Patrick Süskind.

Patrick Süskind

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

Honoré de Balzac

(1799 - 1850)

Black and white image of American writer Herman Melville.

Herman Melville

(1819 - 1891)

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

Marguerite Duras

(1914 - 1996)

Depiction of Greek lyric poet Sappho.

Sappho

(c. 610 BC - c. 570 BC)

Photograph of American writer William T. Vollmann.

William T. Vollmann

Photograph of American clinical psychologist and writer Kay Redfield Jamison.

Kay Redfield Jamison

Photograph of American humorist and author David Sedaris.

David Sedaris

Photograph of German literary critic Walter Benjamin.

Walter Benjamin

(1892 - 1940)

Image of Japanese poet and essayist Yoshida Kenko.

Yoshida Kenko

(c. 1283 - c. 1351)

Photograph of journalist, author, and professor Michael Pollan.

Michael Pollan

Photograph of American jazz musician Art Pepper with saxophone.

Art Pepper

(1925 - 1982)

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

Charles Mackay

(1814 - 1889)

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

Sylvia Plath

(1932 - 1963)

Depiction of German abbess and mystic St. Hildegard.

Hildegard of Bingen

(1098 - 1179)

Andy Warhol

(1928 - 1987)

German socialist philosopher Friedrich Engels.

Friedrich Engels

(1820 - 1895)

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

F. Scott Fitzgerald

(1896 - 1940)

Image of American lawyer and autobiographer Richard Henry Dana Jr.

Richard Henry Dana Jr.

(1815 - 1882)

Theognis

(c. 570 BC - c. 490 BC)

Portrait bust of Greek historian Xenophon.

Xenophon

(c. 430 BC - c. 351 BC)

Portrait of Scottish biographer and diarist James Boswell.

James Boswell

(1740 - 1795)

Photograph of journalist Nick Reding.

Nick Reding

Portrait bust of Greek lyric poet Archilochus.

Archilochus

(c. 740 BC - 680 BC)

James Joyce

(1882 - 1941)

Photograph of American writer Francine Prose.

Francine Prose

Photograph of British writer Roald Dahl.

Roald Dahl

(1916 - 1990)

Photograph of American author Dennis Covington.

Dennis Covington

Portrait of English poet John Keats.

John Keats

(1795 - 1821)

William Langland

(c. 1325 - c. 1390)

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

Seneca the Younger

(4 BC - 65)

Portrait of Chinese scholar and official Lin Zexu.

Lin Zexu

(1785 - 1850)

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

Sven Birkerts

Photograph of American poet Countee Cullen.

Countee Cullen

(1903 - 1946)

Depiction of chief of the Miami tribe Little Turtle.

Little Turtle

(c. 1752 - 1812)

Joan Didion

(1934 - 2021)

Color portrait of the Italian writer and libertine Giacomo Casanova.

Giacomo Casanova

(1725 - 1798)

Painting of François Rabelais.

François Rabelais

(1494 - 1553)

Rebecca Lemon

Photograph of American writer Denis Johnson.

Denis Johnson

(1949 - 2017)

Photograph of American novelist and poet Jack Kerouac.

Jack Kerouac

(1922 - 1969)

Depiction of Greek philosopher Plato.

Plato

(c. 427 BC - c. 347 BC)

Chinese poet Li Bai seated.

Li Bai

(701 - 762)

Lewis Lapham at his desk

Lewis H. Lapham

(1935 - 2024)

Engraving of Pliny the Elder.

Pliny the Elder

(23 - 79)

Photograph of American feminist and author Anne Roiphe.

Anne Roiphe

Photograph of Irish playwright and novelist Frank O'Connor.

Frank O’Connor

(1903 - 1966)

Portrait of King James I.

James I

(1566 - 1625)

Depiction of Persian mathematician and poet Omar Khayyam.

Omar Khayyam

(1048 - 1131)

Photograph of American novelist and screenwriter Raymond Chandler.

Raymond Chandler

(1888 - 1959)

Photograph of President Abraham Lincoln sitting in a chair.

Abraham Lincoln

(1809 - 1865)

Color portrait of German theologian and reformer Martin Luther.

Martin Luther

(1483 - 1546)

Painted portrait of English poet John Milton.

John Milton

(1608 - 1674)

Portrait of English essayist and critic Thomas De Quincey.

Thomas De Quincey

(1785 - 1859)

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)

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

Oliver Goldsmith

(1730 - 1774)

Photograph of American professional baseball player Dock Ellis.

Dock Ellis

(1945 - 2008)

Photograph of journalist and author Fitz Hugh Ludlow.

Fitz Hugh Ludlow

(1836 - 1870)