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 comedian and film star Harpo Marx.

Harpo Marx

(1888 - 1964)

Photograph of Irish playwright and novelist Frank O'Connor.

Frank O’Connor

(1903 - 1966)

Photograph of Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann.

Albert Hofmann

(1906 - 2008)

Andy Warhol

(1928 - 1987)

Black and white image of American writer Herman Melville.

Herman Melville

(1819 - 1891)

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

Oliver Goldsmith

(1730 - 1774)

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

Sven Birkerts

William Langland

(c. 1325 - c. 1390)

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

Emily Dickinson

(1830 - 1886)

Photograph of journalist and author Fitz Hugh Ludlow.

Fitz Hugh Ludlow

(1836 - 1870)

Portrait of Scottish biographer and diarist James Boswell.

James Boswell

(1740 - 1795)

Depiction of Plymouth colony governor William Bradford.

William Bradford

(1590 - 1657)

Photograph of German writer Patrick Süskind.

Patrick Süskind

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

Seneca the Younger

(4 BC - 65)

Black and white photograph of German writer Hermann Hesse.

Hermann Hesse

(1877 - 1962)

Image of Japanese poet and essayist Yoshida Kenko.

Yoshida Kenko

(c. 1283 - c. 1351)

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

Frederick Douglass

(c. 1818 - 1895)

Photograph of American novelist Jack London.

Jack London

(1876 - 1916)

Photograph of journalist, author, and professor Michael Pollan.

Michael Pollan

Photograph of American novelist and screenwriter Raymond Chandler.

Raymond Chandler

(1888 - 1959)

Portrait bust of Greek lyric poet Archilochus.

Archilochus

(c. 740 BC - 680 BC)

Portrait of French writer Stendhal.

Stendhal

(1783 - 1842)

Theognis

(c. 570 BC - c. 490 BC)

Painted portrait of English poet John Milton.

John Milton

(1608 - 1674)

Image of Japanese poet Ōtomo Tabito with horse.

Ōtomo Tabito

(665 - 731)

Portrait of King James I.

James I

(1566 - 1625)

Dorothy Parker working at her typewriter.

Dorothy Parker

(1893 - 1967)

Photograph of American novelist and poet Jack Kerouac.

Jack Kerouac

(1922 - 1969)

Portrait of English essayist and critic Thomas De Quincey.

Thomas De Quincey

(1785 - 1859)

Depiction of Greek philosopher Plato.

Plato

(c. 427 BC - c. 347 BC)

James Joyce

(1882 - 1941)

Joan Didion

(1934 - 2021)

Photograph of American humorist and author David Sedaris.

David Sedaris

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

F. Scott Fitzgerald

(1896 - 1940)

Photograph of literary agent and author Bill Clegg.

Bill Clegg

Portrait of English lyrical poet and critic Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

(1772 - 1834)

Quintus Curtius Rufus

(c. 41 - c. 79)

Portrait of Chinese scholar and official Lin Zexu.

Lin Zexu

(1785 - 1850)

Photograph of American poet Countee Cullen.

Countee Cullen

(1903 - 1946)

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

John Addington Symonds

(1840 - 1893)

Chinese poet Li Bai seated.

Li Bai

(701 - 762)

Portrait of English physician John Elliotson.

John Elliotson

(1791 - 1868)

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)

Photograph of American author Dennis Covington.

Dennis Covington

William Biddulph

Photograph of German literary critic Walter Benjamin.

Walter Benjamin

(1892 - 1940)

Frontispiece for 1612-13 King James Bible.

The Bible

Photograph of Charles Baudelaire

Charles Baudelaire

(1821 - 1867)

Painting of François Rabelais.

François Rabelais

(1494 - 1553)

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

Charles Mackay

(1814 - 1889)

Photograph of American writer Francine Prose.

Francine Prose

Photograph of British writer Roald Dahl.

Roald Dahl

(1916 - 1990)

Ernest Hemingway standing between two large hanging fish

Ernest Hemingway

(1899 - 1961)

Color portrait of German theologian and reformer Martin Luther.

Martin Luther

(1483 - 1546)

Photograph of American professional baseball player Dock Ellis.

Dock Ellis

(1945 - 2008)

Depiction of German abbess and mystic St. Hildegard.

Hildegard of Bingen

(1098 - 1179)

Kingsley Amis

(1922 - 1995)

Portrait of English poet John Keats.

John Keats

(1795 - 1821)

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

Marguerite Duras

(1914 - 1996)

Photograph of American writer William S. Burroughs.

William S. Burroughs

(1914 - 1997)

Rebecca Lemon

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 jazz musician Art Pepper with saxophone.

Art Pepper

(1925 - 1982)

Engraving of Pliny the Elder.

Pliny the Elder

(23 - 79)

Photograph of American feminist and author Anne Roiphe.

Anne Roiphe

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

Honoré de Balzac

(1799 - 1850)

Depiction of chief of the Miami tribe Little Turtle.

Little Turtle

(c. 1752 - 1812)

Lewis Lapham at his desk

Lewis H. Lapham

(1935 - 2024)

Photograph of journalist Nick Reding.

Nick Reding

German socialist philosopher Friedrich Engels.

Friedrich Engels

(1820 - 1895)

Photograph of American novelist and short story writer Stephen Crane.

Stephen Crane

(1871 - 1900)

Photograph of American author Jacqueline Susann.

Jacqueline Susann

(1921 - 1974)

Black and white photograph of Russian author Leo Tolstoy.

Leo Tolstoy

(1828 - 1910)

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

Sylvia Plath

(1932 - 1963)

Photograph of President Abraham Lincoln sitting in a chair.

Abraham Lincoln

(1809 - 1865)

Depiction of Persian mathematician and poet Omar Khayyam.

Omar Khayyam

(1048 - 1131)

Photograph of American writer Denis Johnson.

Denis Johnson

(1949 - 2017)