photograph of David Foster Wallace speaking at a podium

David Foster Wallace

(1962 - 2008)

Statue of the Persian poet Ferdowsi.

Ferdowsi

(c. 935 - c. 1020)

Photograph of American food writer M.F.K. Fisher with cat.

M.F.K. Fisher

(1908 - 1992)

French author Émile Zola.

Émile Zola

(1840 - 1902)

Photograph of Charles Baudelaire

Charles Baudelaire

(1821 - 1867)

Poet, essayist, and editor Ray Gonzalez.

Ray Gonzalez

English animal rights advocate Donald Watson.

Donald Watson

(1910 - 2005)

Photograph of Vladimir Nabokov

Vladimir Nabokov

(1899 - 1977)

Laura Ingalls Wilder

(1867 - 1957)

Lewis Lapham at his desk

Lewis H. Lapham

Photograph of journalist, author, and professor Michael Pollan.

Michael Pollan

Ovid

(43 BC - c. 17)

Hanna Lévy-Hass

(1913 - 2001)

English author Evelyn Waugh.

Evelyn Waugh

(1903 - 1966)

American poet Allen Ginsberg.

Allen Ginsberg

(1926 - 1997)

French author Alexandre Dumas.

Alexandre Dumas

(1802 - 1870)

Painted portrait of English poet John Milton.

John Milton

(1608 - 1674)

Image of Japanese haiku poet Matsuo Bashō.

Matsuo Basho

(1644 - 1694)

Welsh clergyman and historian Gerald of Wales.

Gerald of Wales

(c. 1146 - c. 1223)

Piers Paul Read

Photograph of American writer Ralph Ellison.

Ralph Ellison

(1914 - 1994)

American cook and author Julia Child.

Julia Child

(1912 - 2004)

Roman emperor Julian.

Julian

(332 - 363)

American journalist Barbara Demick.

Barbara Demick

Indian actress and food writer Madhur Jaffrey.

Madhur Jaffrey

American rock musician Ted Nugent.

Ted Nugent

Henry David Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau

(1817 - 1862)

American author Alice B. Toklas.

Alice B. Toklas

(1877 - 1967)

Painting of humanist and scholar Erasmus.

Erasmus

(1466 - 1536)

American author Tom Robbins.

Tom Robbins

Greek physician, writer, and philosopher Galen.

Galen

(129 - c. 216)

Image of Chinese Song Dynasty poet Mei Yaochen.

Mei Yaochen

(1002 - 1060)

Portrait of Sister Juana Inés de la Cruz in a nun's habit.

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz

(c. 1651 - 1695)

Sufi mystic and poet Rumi.

Rumi

(c. 1207 - 1273)

Harper Lee

(1926 - 2016)

British explorer John Smith.

John Smith

(c. 1580 - 1631)

English novelist Henry Fielding.

Henry Fielding

(1707 - 1754)

Novelist and psychiatrist Daniel Mason.

Daniel Mason

English novelist, essayist, and critic George Orwell.

George Orwell

(1903 - 1950)

Calvin Trillin standing in front of a refrigerator in a black and white photograph

Calvin Trillin

Chinese diplomat, general and scholar Chen Jitong.

Chen Jitong

(1851 - 1907)

Black and white image of Greek biographer and writer Plutarch.

Plutarch

(46 - c. 120)

Portrait bust of presumed author of the Iliad and the Odyssey Homer.

Homer

(c. 800 BC - 725 BC)

Jonathan Swift

Jonathan Swift

(1667 - 1745)

American journalist and author Paul Roberts.

Paul Roberts

Italian artist and author Giorgio Vasari.

Giorgio Vasari

(1511 - 1574)

British traveler Charles M. Doughty.

Charles M. Doughty

(1843 - 1926)

Black and white photograph of Mencken looking over his shoulder at the camera

H.L. Mencken

(1880 - 1956)

French Benedictine monk Antoine Augustin Calmet.

Antoine Augustin Calmet

(1672 - 1757)

Czech writer Bohumil Hrabal.

Bohumil Hrabal

(1914 - 1997)

Comedian, actor, and writer Patton Oswalt.

Patton Oswalt

Juvenal

(c. 60 - c. 130)

American chef, author, and television personality Anthony Bourdain.

Anthony Bourdain

(1956 - 2018)

English novelist and writer Frances Trollope.

Frances Trollope

(1779 - 1863)

American journalist Hunter S. Thompson.

Hunter S. Thompson

(1937 - 2005)

American musician Duke Ellington.

Duke Ellington

(1899 - 1974)

Photograph of English novelist Charles Dickens.

Charles Dickens

(1812 - 1870)

Irish author Marguerite Gardiner, Countess of Blessington.

Marguerite Gardiner

(1789 - 1849)

Writer and editor Scott Korb.

Scott Korb

British suffragette activist, writer, and speaker Constance Lytton.

Constance Lytton

(1869 - 1923)

Color photograph of American writer Annie Dillard.

Annie Dillard

Photograph of German literary critic Walter Benjamin.

Walter Benjamin

(1892 - 1940)

Saint Augustine (detail), by Philippe de Champaigne, c. 1645.

Saint Augustine

(354 - 430)

Scottish novelist Tobias Smollett.

Tobias Smollett

(1721 - 1771)

British author Hilaire Belloc.

Hilaire Belloc

(1870 - 1953)

French author Anthelme Brillat-Savarin.

Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

(1755 - 1826)

Chinese tea writer Lu Yu.

Lu Yu

(733 - 804)

John Wecker

(1528 - 1586)

Neoplatonist Greek philosopher Porphyry.

Porphyry

(c. 234 - c. 305)

Spanish soldier and author Bernal Díaz del Castillo.

Bernal Díaz del Castillo

(c. 1495 - 1584)

Photograph of American novelist Willa Cather.

Willa Cather

(1873 - 1947)

Portrait bust of Greek historian Xenophon.

Xenophon

(c. 430 BC - c. 351 BC)

Black and white engraving of Roman author Petronius.

Gaius Petronius Arbiter

(c. 27 - 66)

Engraving of Roman poet Horace.

Horace

(65 BC - 8 BC)

Chinua Achebe

(1930 - 2013)

American novelist Upton Sinclair.

Upton Sinclair

(1878 - 1968)

Oil painting portrair Michel de Montaigne in red robes and white collar

Michel de Montaigne

(1533 - 1592)

American food writer Ruth Reichl.

Ruth Reichl

Australian poet and essayist Les Murray.

Les Murray

(1938 - 2019)

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

Frederick Douglass

(c. 1818 - 1895)

American historian Francis Parkman.

Francis Parkman

(1823 - 1893)

English novelist, historian, traveler, and the author Jason Goodwin.

Jason Goodwin

Dio Cassius

(c. 150 - 235)

Painting of Benjamin Franklin reading a batch of papers next to a classical bust.

Benjamin Franklin

(1706 - 1790)

American professor and journalist Deborah Blum.

Deborah Blum

American poet William Carlos Williams.

William Carlos Williams

(1883 - 1963)

American author, music journalist, and cultural critic Greil Marcus.

Greil Marcus

Photograph of American editor Brent Cunningham.

Brent Cunningham

Photograph of Marcel Proust looking pensive.

Marcel Proust

(1871 - 1922)