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

Emily Dickinson

(1830 - 1886)

Theognis

(c. 570 BC - c. 490 BC)

Photograph of journalist, author, and professor Michael Pollan.

Michael Pollan

Photograph of American novelist and poet Jack Kerouac.

Jack Kerouac

(1922 - 1969)

Painted portrait of English poet John Milton.

John Milton

(1608 - 1674)

Photograph of German literary critic Walter Benjamin.

Walter Benjamin

(1892 - 1940)

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 American clinical psychologist and writer Kay Redfield Jamison.

Kay Redfield Jamison

Depiction of chief of the Miami tribe Little Turtle.

Little Turtle

(c. 1752 - 1812)

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

Frederick Douglass

(c. 1818 - 1895)

Photograph of President Abraham Lincoln sitting in a chair.

Abraham Lincoln

(1809 - 1865)

Photograph of American author Dennis Covington.

Dennis Covington

Photograph of American writer William S. Burroughs.

William S. Burroughs

(1914 - 1997)

Andy Warhol

(1928 - 1987)

Portrait bust of Greek lyric poet Archilochus.

Archilochus

(c. 740 BC - 680 BC)

Image of Japanese poet and essayist Yoshida Kenko.

Yoshida Kenko

(c. 1283 - c. 1351)

Portrait of English physician John Elliotson.

John Elliotson

(1791 - 1868)

Photograph of American comedian and film star Harpo Marx.

Harpo Marx

(1888 - 1964)

Depiction of German abbess and mystic St. Hildegard.

Hildegard of Bingen

(1098 - 1179)

Portrait of King James I.

James I

(1566 - 1625)

Photograph of American novelist and screenwriter Raymond Chandler.

Raymond Chandler

(1888 - 1959)

Photograph of journalist Nick Reding.

Nick Reding

William Langland

(c. 1325 - c. 1390)

Black and white photograph of Russian author Leo Tolstoy.

Leo Tolstoy

(1828 - 1910)

Photograph of American writer Denis Johnson.

Denis Johnson

(1949 - 2017)

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

John Addington Symonds

(1840 - 1893)

Ernest Hemingway standing between two large hanging fish

Ernest Hemingway

(1899 - 1961)

William Biddulph

Photograph of British writer Roald Dahl.

Roald Dahl

(1916 - 1990)

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

Charles Mackay

(1814 - 1889)

Portrait of Scottish biographer and diarist James Boswell.

James Boswell

(1740 - 1795)

Depiction of Persian mathematician and poet Omar Khayyam.

Omar Khayyam

(1048 - 1131)

Depiction of Greek philosopher Plato.

Plato

(c. 427 BC - c. 347 BC)

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 American writer Francine Prose.

Francine Prose

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

Marguerite Duras

(1914 - 1996)

Photograph of Charles Baudelaire

Charles Baudelaire

(1821 - 1867)

Joan Didion

(1934 - 2021)

Depiction of Greek lyric poet Sappho.

Sappho

(c. 610 BC - c. 570 BC)

Photograph of American poet Countee Cullen.

Countee Cullen

(1903 - 1946)

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

Sven Birkerts

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

Seneca the Younger

(4 BC - 65)

Photograph of journalist and author Fitz Hugh Ludlow.

Fitz Hugh Ludlow

(1836 - 1870)

Color portrait of the Italian writer and libertine Giacomo Casanova.

Giacomo Casanova

(1725 - 1798)

Portrait bust of Greek historian Xenophon.

Xenophon

(c. 430 BC - c. 351 BC)

Portrait of English essayist and critic Thomas De Quincey.

Thomas De Quincey

(1785 - 1859)

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

Oliver Goldsmith

(1730 - 1774)

Dorothy Parker working at her typewriter.

Dorothy Parker

(1893 - 1967)

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

Honoré de Balzac

(1799 - 1850)

Photograph of American humorist and author David Sedaris.

David Sedaris

Portrait of English lyrical poet and critic Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

(1772 - 1834)

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

F. Scott Fitzgerald

(1896 - 1940)

Photograph of American jazz musician Art Pepper with saxophone.

Art Pepper

(1925 - 1982)

Portrait of French writer Stendhal.

Stendhal

(1783 - 1842)

Photograph of American novelist Jack London.

Jack London

(1876 - 1916)

Photograph of German writer Patrick Süskind.

Patrick Süskind

Photograph of American writer William T. Vollmann.

William T. Vollmann

Rebecca Lemon

Photograph of literary agent and author Bill Clegg.

Bill Clegg

Lewis Lapham at his desk

Lewis H. Lapham

(1935 - 2024)

Frontispiece for 1612-13 King James Bible.

The Bible

Portrait of Chinese scholar and official Lin Zexu.

Lin Zexu

(1785 - 1850)

Engraving of Pliny the Elder.

Pliny the Elder

(23 - 79)

German socialist philosopher Friedrich Engels.

Friedrich Engels

(1820 - 1895)

Kingsley Amis

(1922 - 1995)

Photograph of American feminist and author Anne Roiphe.

Anne Roiphe

Photograph of Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann.

Albert Hofmann

(1906 - 2008)

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

W.B. Yeats

(1865 - 1939)

Image of American lawyer and autobiographer Richard Henry Dana Jr.

Richard Henry Dana Jr.

(1815 - 1882)

Photograph of American novelist and short story writer Stephen Crane.

Stephen Crane

(1871 - 1900)

James Joyce

(1882 - 1941)

Photograph of American professional baseball player Dock Ellis.

Dock Ellis

(1945 - 2008)

Photograph of Irish playwright and novelist Frank O'Connor.

Frank O’Connor

(1903 - 1966)

Quintus Curtius Rufus

(c. 41 - c. 79)

Image of Japanese poet Ōtomo Tabito with horse.

Ōtomo Tabito

(665 - 731)

Color portrait of German theologian and reformer Martin Luther.

Martin Luther

(1483 - 1546)

Portrait of English poet John Keats.

John Keats

(1795 - 1821)

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

Sylvia Plath

(1932 - 1963)

Painting of François Rabelais.

François Rabelais

(1494 - 1553)

Chinese poet Li Bai seated.

Li Bai

(701 - 762)