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

Marguerite Duras

(1914 - 1996)

German socialist philosopher Friedrich Engels.

Friedrich Engels

(1820 - 1895)

Portrait of English essayist and critic Thomas De Quincey.

Thomas De Quincey

(1785 - 1859)

Photograph of American poet Countee Cullen.

Countee Cullen

(1903 - 1946)

Portrait bust of Greek lyric poet Archilochus.

Archilochus

(c. 740 BC - 680 BC)

Black and white photograph of Russian author Leo Tolstoy.

Leo Tolstoy

(1828 - 1910)

Photograph of literary agent and author Bill Clegg.

Bill Clegg

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

W.B. Yeats

(1865 - 1939)

Photograph of American author Jacqueline Susann.

Jacqueline Susann

(1921 - 1974)

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

Honoré de Balzac

(1799 - 1850)

Theognis

(c. 570 BC - c. 490 BC)

Photograph of Charles Baudelaire

Charles Baudelaire

(1821 - 1867)

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

Emily Dickinson

(1830 - 1886)

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

Seneca the Younger

(4 BC - 65)

Photograph of journalist, author, and professor Michael Pollan.

Michael Pollan

Ernest Hemingway standing between two large hanging fish

Ernest Hemingway

(1899 - 1961)

Photograph of American writer Denis Johnson.

Denis Johnson

(1949 - 2017)

Photograph of President Abraham Lincoln sitting in a chair.

Abraham Lincoln

(1809 - 1865)

Photograph of British writer Roald Dahl.

Roald Dahl

(1916 - 1990)

Photograph of American writer William S. Burroughs.

William S. Burroughs

(1914 - 1997)

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

F. Scott Fitzgerald

(1896 - 1940)

Photograph of journalist and author Fitz Hugh Ludlow.

Fitz Hugh Ludlow

(1836 - 1870)

Photograph of American comedian and film star Harpo Marx.

Harpo Marx

(1888 - 1964)

Depiction of Greek lyric poet Sappho.

Sappho

(c. 610 BC - c. 570 BC)

Portrait of Chinese scholar and official Lin Zexu.

Lin Zexu

(1785 - 1850)

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

John Addington Symonds

(1840 - 1893)

Depiction of chief of the Miami tribe Little Turtle.

Little Turtle

(c. 1752 - 1812)

Painting of François Rabelais.

François Rabelais

(1494 - 1553)

Portrait of Scottish biographer and diarist James Boswell.

James Boswell

(1740 - 1795)

Photograph of Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann.

Albert Hofmann

(1906 - 2008)

Photograph of American author Dennis Covington.

Dennis Covington

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

Oliver Goldsmith

(1730 - 1774)

William Langland

(c. 1325 - c. 1390)

Color portrait of German theologian and reformer Martin Luther.

Martin Luther

(1483 - 1546)

Photograph of American novelist Jack London.

Jack London

(1876 - 1916)

Photograph of German literary critic Walter Benjamin.

Walter Benjamin

(1892 - 1940)

Lewis Lapham at his desk

Lewis H. Lapham

(1935 - 2024)

Depiction of German abbess and mystic St. Hildegard.

Hildegard of Bingen

(1098 - 1179)

Joan Didion

(1934 - 2021)

Photograph of American clinical psychologist and writer Kay Redfield Jamison.

Kay Redfield Jamison

Quintus Curtius Rufus

(c. 41 - c. 79)

Image of American lawyer and autobiographer Richard Henry Dana Jr.

Richard Henry Dana Jr.

(1815 - 1882)

Depiction of Persian mathematician and poet Omar Khayyam.

Omar Khayyam

(1048 - 1131)

Black and white image of American writer Herman Melville.

Herman Melville

(1819 - 1891)

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

Frederick Douglass

(c. 1818 - 1895)

Photograph of Irish playwright and novelist Frank O'Connor.

Frank O’Connor

(1903 - 1966)

Portrait of King James I.

James I

(1566 - 1625)

James Joyce

(1882 - 1941)

Image of Japanese poet and essayist Yoshida Kenko.

Yoshida Kenko

(c. 1283 - c. 1351)

Depiction of Plymouth colony governor William Bradford.

William Bradford

(1590 - 1657)

Photograph of American professional baseball player Dock Ellis.

Dock Ellis

(1945 - 2008)

Photograph of German writer Patrick Süskind.

Patrick Süskind

Image of Japanese poet Ōtomo Tabito with horse.

Ōtomo Tabito

(665 - 731)

Frontispiece for 1612-13 King James Bible.

The Bible

Portrait bust of Greek historian Xenophon.

Xenophon

(c. 430 BC - c. 351 BC)

Andy Warhol

(1928 - 1987)

Photograph of American humorist and author David Sedaris.

David Sedaris

Photograph of American writer William T. Vollmann.

William T. Vollmann

Photograph of American novelist and screenwriter Raymond Chandler.

Raymond Chandler

(1888 - 1959)

Kingsley Amis

(1922 - 1995)

Photograph of American novelist and poet Jack Kerouac.

Jack Kerouac

(1922 - 1969)

Chinese poet Li Bai seated.

Li Bai

(701 - 762)

Black and white photograph of German writer Hermann Hesse.

Hermann Hesse

(1877 - 1962)

Portrait of English poet John Keats.

John Keats

(1795 - 1821)

Photograph of American novelist and short story writer Stephen Crane.

Stephen Crane

(1871 - 1900)

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

Portrait of English lyrical poet and critic Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

(1772 - 1834)

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

Sylvia Plath

(1932 - 1963)

Photograph of American feminist and author Anne Roiphe.

Anne Roiphe

Depiction of Greek philosopher Plato.

Plato

(c. 427 BC - c. 347 BC)

Photograph of American writer Francine Prose.

Francine Prose

Rebecca Lemon

Dorothy Parker working at her typewriter.

Dorothy Parker

(1893 - 1967)

Portrait of English physician John Elliotson.

John Elliotson

(1791 - 1868)

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

Charles Mackay

(1814 - 1889)

Color portrait of the Italian writer and libertine Giacomo Casanova.

Giacomo Casanova

(1725 - 1798)

Photograph of journalist Nick Reding.

Nick Reding

Photograph of American jazz musician Art Pepper with saxophone.

Art Pepper

(1925 - 1982)

Engraving of Pliny the Elder.

Pliny the Elder

(23 - 79)

William Biddulph

Portrait of French writer Stendhal.

Stendhal

(1783 - 1842)