Famous Writers

A list of famous writers / authors / poets throughout history.

William Shakespeare (1564 1616) English poet and playwright. Famous plays
include Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Merchant of Venice and Hamlet. Shakespeare is
widely considered the seminal writer of the English language.

Jonathan Swift (1667 1745) Anglo-Irish writer born in Dublin. Swift was a
prominent satirist, essayist and author. Notable works include Gullivers Travels
(1726), A Modest Proposal and A Tale of a Tub.

Samuel Johnson (1709 1784) British author best known for his compilation of the
English dictionary. Although not the first attempt at a dictionary, it was widely
considered to be the most comprehensive setting the standard for later dictionaries.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 1832) German poet, playwright, and author.
Notable works of Goethe include: Faust, Wilhelm Meisters Apprenticeship and Elective
Affinities.

Jane Austen (1775 1817) English author who wrote romantic fiction combined with
social realism. Her novels include: Sense and Sensibility(1811), Pride and
Prejudice (1813) and Emma (1816).

Honore de Balzac (1799 1850) French novelist and short story writer. Balzac was
an influential realist writer who created characters of moral ambiguity often based
on his own real life examples. His greatest work was the collection of short stories La
Comdie humaine.

Alexandre Dumas (1802 1870) French author of historical dramas, including The
Count of Monte Cristo (1844), and The Three Musketeers (1844). Also prolific author of
magazine articles, pamphlets and travel books.

Victor Hugo (1802 1885) French author and poet. Hugos novels include Les
Misrables, (1862) and Notre-Dame de Paris (1831).

Charles Dickens (1812 1870) English writer and social critic. His best-known
works include novels such as Oliver Twist, David Copperfieldand A Christmas Carol.

Charlotte Bronte (1816 1855) English novelist and poet, from Haworth. Her best
known novel is Jane Eyre (1847).

Henry David Thoreau (1817 1862) American poet, writer and leading member of
the Transcendentalist movement. Thoreaus Walden (1854) was a unique account of
living close to nature.

Emily Bronte (1818 1848) English novelist. Emily Bronte is best known for her
novel Wuthering Heights (1847), and her poetry.

George Eliot (1819 1880) Pen name of Mary Ann Evans. Wrote novels, The Mill on
the Floss (1860), Silas Marner (1861), Middlemarch (187172), and Daniel
Deronda (1876)

Leo Tolstoy (1828 1910) Russian novelist and moral philosopher. Famous works
include the epic novels War and Peace (1869) and Anna Karenina (1877). Tolstoy also
became an influential philosopher with his brand of Christian pacificism.

Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881) Russian novelist, journalist and philosopher.

Notable works include Notes from Underground, Crime and Punishment and The Idiot

Lewis Carroll (1832-1898) Oxford mathematician and author. Famous for Alice in
Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass, and poems like The Snark.

Mark Twain (1835 1910) American writer and humorist, considered the father of
American literature. Famous works include The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876)
and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885).

Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) English novelist and poet. Hardy was a Victorian realist
who was influenced by Romanticism. He wrote about problems of Victorian society in
particular, declining rural life. Notable works include: Far from the Madding
Crowd (1874), Tess of the dUrbervilles (1891), and Jude the Obscure (1895).

Oscar Wilde (1854 1900) Irish writer and poet. Wilde wrote humorous, satirical
plays, such as The Importance of Being Earnest and The Picture of Dorian Grey.

Kenneth Graham (1859 1932) Author of the Wind in the Willows (1908), a classic of
childrens literature.

George Bernard Shaw (1856 1950) Irish playwright and wit. Famous works
include: Pygmalion (1912), Man and Superman (1903) and Back to Methuselah (1921)

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859 1930) British author of historical novels and plays.
Most famous for his short stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, such as The
Hound of the Baskervilles (1902) and Sign of Four (1890).

Beatrix Potter (1866 1943) English conservationist and author of imaginative

childrens books, such as the Tales of Peter Rabbit (1902).

Marcel Proust (1871 1922) French author. Best known for epic novel l la
recherche du temps perdu (In Search of Lost Time) published in seven parts between
1913 and 1927.

William Somerset Maugham 1874 1965) British novelist and writer. One of the
most popular authors of 1930s. Notable works included The Moon and
Sixpence (1916), The Razors Edge (1944), and Of Human Bondage (1915)

P.G.Wodehouse (1881 1975) English comic writer. Best known for his humorous
and satirical stories about the English upper classes, such as Jeeves and
Wooster and Blandings Castle.

Virginia Woolf (1882 1941) English modernist writer, a member of the Bloomsbury
group. Famous novels include Mrs Dalloway (1925), To the Lighthouse (1927)
and Orlando (1928).

James Joyce (1882 1941) Irish writer from Dublin. Joyce was one of most
influential modernist avant-garde writers of the Twentieth Century. His
novel Ulysses (1922), was ground-breaking for its stream of consciousness style. Other
works include Dubliners (1914) and Finnegans Wake (1939).

D H Lawrence (1885 1930) English poet, novelist and writer. Best known works
include Sons and Lovers, The Rainbow, Women in Love andLady Chatterleys Lover
(1928) which was banned for many years.

Agatha Christie (1890 1976) British fictional crime writer. Many of her books
focused on series featuring her detectives Poirot and Mrs Marple.

J.R.R. Tolkien (1892 1973) Professor of Anglo-Saxon and English at Oxford

University. Tolkien wrote the best-selling mythical trilogy The Lord of the Rings. Other
works include, The Hobbit and The Silmarillion, and a translation of Beowulf.

Vera Brittain (1893 1970) British writer best known for her autobiography
Testament of Youth (1933) sharing her traumatic experiences of the First World
War.

F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896 1940) American author. Iconic writer of the jazz age.
Notable works include The Great Gatsby (1925), and Tender Is the Night (1934)
cautionary tales about the Jazz decade and the American Dream based on pleasure
and materialism.

Enid Blyton (1897 1968) British childrens writer, known for her series of childrens
books The Famous Five and The Secret Seven. Blyton wrote an estimated 800 books
over 40 years.

C.S. Lewis (1898 1963) Irish / English author and professor at Oxford University.
Lewis is best known for The Chronicles of Narnia, a childrens fantasy series. Also well
known as a Christian apologist.
Ernest Hemingway (1899 1961) Ground breaking modernist American writer.
Famous works included For Whom The Bell Tolls (1940) and A Farewell to Arms (1929).

Vladimir Nabokov (1899 1977) Russian author of Lolita (1955) and Pale Fire (1962)

Barbara Cartland (1901 2000) One of most prolific and best selling authors of the
romantic fiction genre. Some suggest she has sold over 2 billion copies worldwide.

John Steinbeck (1902 1968) American writer who captured the social change
experienced in the US around the time of the Great Depression. Famous works include
Of Mice and Men (1937), The Grapes of Wrath (1939) and East of Eden (1952).

George Orwell (1903 1950) English author. Famous works include Animal Farm,
and 1984. Both stark warnings about the dangers of totalitarian states, Orwell was
also a democratic socialist who fought in the Spanish Civil War, documenting his
experiences in Homage to Catalonia (1938).

Samuel Beckett (1906-1989) Irish avant garde, modernist writer. Beckett wrote
minimalist and thought provoking plays, such as Waiting for Godot(1953) and
Endgame (1957). He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1969.

Albert Camus (1913 1960) French author, journalist, and philosopher. Associated
with existentialism and absurdism. Famous works included The Myth of Sisyphus, The
Stranger and The Plague.

Roald Dahl (1916 1990) English author, best known for his childrens books, such
as Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, James and The Giant Peach and The BFG.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1918 2008) Russian author, historian and political critic.
Solzhenitsyn was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1970 for his work in
exposing the nature of Soviet totalitarianism. e.g, The Gulag Archipelago (1965-67).

J.D. Salinger (1919 2010) American author. Most influential novel The Catcher in
the Rye (1951). Wrote many short stories for New Yorker magazine, such as A Perfect
Day for Bananafish

Joseph Heller (1923 1999) American novelist, who wrote satirical and black
comedy. His most famous work is Catch 22 (1961) a satire on the futility of war.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1927 2014) Colombian author. Wrote: One Hundred Years
of Solitude (1967), The Autumn of the Patriarch (1975) and Love in the Time of
Cholera (1985). Nobel Prize in Literature (1982).

Anne Frank (1929 1945) Dutch-Jewish diarist. Known for her diary Anne Frank
Published posthumously by her father recalling her life hiding from Gestapo in
occupied Holland.

Salman Rushdie (1947 ) Anglo-Indian author. His works combine elements of magic
realism, satire and historical fiction often based on Indian sub-continent. Notable
works include Midnights Children (1981), Shame (1983) and Satanic Verses (1988).

Stephen King (1947 ) American author of contemporary horror, supernatural

fiction, suspense, science fiction, and fantasy. One of the best selling authors of
modern times.

George R.R Martin (1948 ) American author of epic fantasy series A Song of Ice
and Fire, his international best-selling series of fantasy, adapted for the screen as a
Game of Thrones.

Douglas Adams (1952 2001) British writer of humorous and absure science fiction.
Adams wrote a best selling trilogy (of five books) The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
which began as a BBC play.

J.K.Rowling (1965 ) British author of the Harry Potter Series which has become
the best selling book series of all time. Her first book was Harry Potter and the
Philosophers Stone (1997). Rowling has also published adult fiction, such as The
Casual Vacancy (2012) and The Cuckoos Calling (2013)
Khaled Hosseini (1965 ) Afghan born American writer. Notable works include: The
Kite Runner (2003) A Thousand Splendid Suns (2007) And the Mountains Echoed (2013

Poets

Homer (c. 8th Century B.C. ) Considered the greatest of the ancient Greek poets.
Homer was the author of the two epic poems, The Iliad and The Odyssey.

Sappho ( c 570 BC) One of the first published female writers. Much of her poetry has
been lost but her immense reputation has remained. Plato referred to Sappho as one
of the great ten poets.

Virgil (70 BC 19 BC) Roman poet. Wrote three epics Eclogues (or Bucolics),
the Georgics, and the Aeneid.

Dante Alighieri (12651321) Italian poet of the Middle Ages. His Divine Comedy, is
one of most influential European works of literature. Dante is also called the Father
of the Italian language.

Geoffrey Chaucer (1343 1400) Considered the Father of English Literature. Best
known for Canterbury Tales (1475).

John Milton (1608 1674) English poet. Best known for his epic poem Paradise
Lost (1667), written in blank verse telling the Biblical story of mans fall. Also
wrote Areopagitica (1644) in defence of free speech.

William Blake (1757 1827) English mystic and romantic poet, wrote Songs of
Innocence and Songs of Experience. Also hand-painted many of his works.

William Wordsworth (1770 1850) English romantic poet from Lake District, many
poems related to natures, such as his Lyrical Ballads.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772 1834) English romantic poet. Author of The Rime of
the Ancient Mariner and Kublai Khan.

Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792 1822) English romantic poet. Famous works
include Queen Mab and Prometheus Unbound

John Keats (1795 1821) English Romantic Poet, best known for his Odes, such as
Ode to a Nightingale, Endymion.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 1882) American Transcendentalist poet and writer.

Alfred Tennyson (1809 1892) Popular Victorian poet, wrote Charge of the Light
Brigade, Ulysses, and In Memoriam A.H.H.

Walt Whitman (1819 1892) American poet. Wrote Leaves of Grass, a ground
breaking new style of poetry.

Emily Dickinson (1830 1886) American female poet. Led secluded lifestyle, and left
legacy of many short vivid poems, often on themes of death and immortality.

Rabindranath Tagore (1861 1941) Indian poet. Awarded Nobel Prize for Literature
for his work Gitanjali.

Robert Frost (1874 1963) Influential American poet, one of most highly regarded
of the Twentieth Century. Most famous work The Road Not Taken (1916)

Maya Angelou (1928 2014 ) Modern American poet and writer.

Other categories of writers:

More Famous Poets Other poets, including W.B. Yeats, Wilfred Owen, Rumi, Czeslaw
Milosz
Famous philosophers including Aristotle, Immanuel Kant, Baruch Spinoza, Rene
Descartes, John Stuart Mill, Thomas Paine and David Hume.

Famous Economist writers including Adam Smith, John Maynard Keynes, Milton
Friedman and Paul Krugman.

Political / social activist writers People who have written about political and human
rights. Including Olaudah Equiano, Frederick Douglass, Nelson Mandela, William
Wilberforce and Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

Spiritual writers including St Teresa of Avila, Sri Aurobindo, Meister Eckhart,

Desiderius Erasmus, St Therese of Lisieux and Swami Vivekananda.

Female authors Female authors, including the Bronte sisters, Maya Angelou, Jane
Austen and J.K. Rowling.

Citation: Pettinger, Tejvan Famous Writers, Oxford, UK. www.biographyonline.net

10th March 2015.

501 Great Writers: A Comprehensive Guide to the Giants of Literature

501 Great Writers: A Comprehensive Guide to the Giants of Literature at

Amazon.com
501 Great Writers: A Comprehensive Guide to the Giants of Literature at
Amazon.co.uk

Selected authors by activity period:

BCE

Homer, Homros (8th Century BCE) Author of the Iliad and

the Odyssey; revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet.
Aeschylus (c.525 BCE c.456 BCE) Ancient Greek tragedian. Of his
plays: The Persians; The Suppliants (Aeschylus); Oresteia.
Sophocles (c.497 BCE - c.405 BCE) Ancient Greek tragedian. Of his
plays: Oedipus the King; Antigone; Philoctetes; Ajax.
Euripides, (c. 480 BCE 406 BCE) Ancient Greek tragedian. Of his
plays: Medea; Electra (Euripides); The Trojan Women.
Aristophanes , ca. 446 BCE ca. 386 BCE) Comic playwright of
ancient Athens. Also known as the Father of Comedy and the Prince of Ancient
Comedy. Of his plays: The Acharnians; The Knights; The Clouds; The Peace.
Cato the Elder Marcus Porcius Cato (234 BCE 149 BCE) Roman statesman
and writer. Wrote the first Latin history of Rome and of other Italian cities and was
the first Roman statesman to put his political speeches in writing as a means of
influencing public opinion. His De Agri Cultura (On Agriculture) is the oldest
surviving work of Latin prose.
Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 BCE 43 BCE) Roman philosopher, statesman,
lawyer, orator, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. Considered one of
Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists. In Verrem, Catiline
Orations, Philippics, De Officiis.
Virgil (70 BCE 19 BCE) Classical Roman poet. Best known for the Eclogues,
the Georgics, and the Aeneid.
Quintus Horatius Flaccus "Horace" (65 BCE 8 BCE) Roman poet, he was the
leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus. Noteable
works: Odes, Satires, "Satirical poems", Ars Poetica, "The art of poetry".
Publius Ovidius Naso, "Ovid" (43 BCE 17) Roman poet, wrote on topics of
love, abandoned women, and mythological transformations. Ranked alongside
Virgil and Horace as one of the three canonical poets of Latin literature.
0 to 1000 CE

Seneca (c. 1 BCE 65 CE) Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, and
in one work humorist, of the Silver Age of Latin literature.
 Publius Papinius Statius (c. 45 c. 96) was a Roman poet of the 1st century.
His famous works: Thebaid, a collection of occasional poetry, the Silvae, and
the Achilleid.
Plutarch, Plutarchus, (c. 46 120 CE) Greek and Roman
historian, essayist and pre-eminent biographer of the day. Known primarily for
his Parallel Lives and Moralia.
Publius (or Gaius) Cornelius Tacitus (c. 56 c. 117 CE) Senator and historian
of the Roman Empire. His two major works the Annals and the Histories, and
other writings De Origine et situ Germanorum, De vita et moribus Iulii Agricolae.
Saint Jerome (c.347 420) Roman Christian priest, confessor, theologian and
historian, and who became a Doctor of the Church. Best known for his translation
of the Bible into Latin (the Vulgate), and his list of writings is extensive.
Agathias Scholasticus, of Myrina (Mysia) (c. 530 - c. 582) Greek poet and the
principal historian of part of the reign of the Roman emperor Justinian I between
552 and 558. His famous works: Cyclus, (The Circle) - compilation of "modern" (in
Justinian's day) poems and epigrams which Agathias edited, and in which he
included about 100 of his own productions. Histori - a sequel to Procopius'
(public) history of Justinian's reign.
Li Bai, (701 762) Major Chinese poet of the Tang dynasty poetry period.
Has been regarded as one of the greatest Chinese poets.
Du Fu ( ) (712 770) Prominent Chinese poet of the Tang Dynasty. Along
with Li Bai (Li Bo), he is frequently called the greatest of the Chinese poets.
1000 to 1500 CE

Omar Khayym c (1048 1131) Persian polymath: philosopher,

mathematician, astronomer and poet. He also wrote treatises on mechanics,
geography, mineralogy, music, climatology and theology. He is believed to have
written about a thousand four-line verses or rubaiyat (quatrains).
Guillaume 'le Troubadour' d'Aquitaine, IX Duc d'Aquitaine et VII Comte de
Poitou (Oct. 22, 1071 Feb. 10, 1126) William's greatest legacy to history was not
as a crusader warrior but as a troubadour a lyric poet employing the Romance
vernacular language called Provenal or Occitan. He was the earliest troubadour
whose work survives.
Maimonides - , Moshe ben Maimon (1135 1204) The preeminent
medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars of the Middle
Ages. Maimonides worked as a rabbi, physician, and philosopher in Spain,
Morocco and Egypt.
Saxo "cognomine Longus" Grammaticus (1150 - c.1220) Danish historian and
writer.
Shota Rustaveli (c.1172 c.1216) Georgian poet of the 12th
century, and one of the greatest contributors to Georgian literature.
Jall ad-Dn Muammad Balkh - Rumi (1207 1273) Persian
Muslim poet, jurist, theologian, and Sufi mystic. Works: Masnavi, Diwan-e
Shams-e Tabrizi, Fihi Ma Fihi.
Dante (1265 Sep. 14, 1321) Italian poet, also called "The Supreme Poet" (il
Sommo Poeta), "Father of the Italian language". Divine Comedy.
Petrarca - Petrarch (Jul. 20, 1304 Jul. 19,1374) Italian scholar, poet and an
early Renaissance humanists, often called the "Father of Humanism". Il
Canzoniere.
Boccaccio (1313 Dec. 21, 1375) Italian author and poet, a Renaissance
humanist and the author of notable works including The Decameron & On
Famous Women.
Geoffrey Chaucer (c.1343 1400) English author, poet, philosopher,
bureaucrat, courtier and diplomat. The Canterbury Tales.
Franois Villon (c. 1431 after 5 January 1463) French poet, thief, and
vagabond. Best known for his Testaments and his Ballade des Pendus ("The
Ballad of Yesterday's Belles"), written while in prison.
XVI Century

Thomas More (c. Feb. 7, 1476 c. Jan. 7, 1535) English lawyer, social
philosopher, author, statesman and noted Renaissance humanist.
Sir Thomas Wyatt (c.1503 1542) Poet of King Henry VIII, "father of the
English sonnet."
 Nostradamus (Dec. 14, 1503 Jul. 2, 1566), French apothecary and reputed
seer who published collections of prophecies that have since become famous
worldwide. He is best known for his book Les Propheties (The Prophecies).
Lus Vaz de Cames (c. 1524 -- 1580). Considered Portugal's and the
Portuguese language's greatest poet.
Jan Kochanowski (c.1530 1584) Regarded as the Greatest Polish - Slavic poet
prior to the 19th century.
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (c. Sept. 29, 1547 Apr. 22, 1616) Spanish
novelist, poet, and playwright. His magnum opus, Don Quixote, considered the
first modern European novel, is a classic of Western literature, and is regarded
amongst the best works of fiction ever written.
William Shakespeare (Apr. 23, 1564 Apr. 23, 1616) English poet and
playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the
world's pre-eminent dramatist.
Christopher Marlowe (Feb. 25, 1564 May 30, 1593) English dramatist, poet
and translator of the Elizabethan era. Marlowe was the foremost Elizabethan
tragedian of his day
Ben Jonson (Jun. 11, 1572 Aug. 6, 1637) English Renaissance dramatist,
poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, best known for his
satirical plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair, and his
lyric poems.
XVII Century

Emilia Lanier Bassano (1569 1645) English poet. Best known for "Salve Deus
Rex Judaeorum"
Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft (1581-1647) Dutch historian, poet and playwright.
the most prominent Dutch annual literature award is named after P.C. Hooft.
Joost van den Vondel (1587-1679) Dutch poet and playwright, considered the
most prominent Dutch poet and playwright of the 17th century.
Ivan ivo Gunduli (1589-1638) Most renowned and celebrated Croatian
writer and poet of the Baroque Period.
Pierre Corneille (1606-1684) French dramatist, called the founder of French
tragedy.
John Milton (Dec. 9, 1608 1674) English poet, best known for his blank verse
epic "Paradise Lost".
Anne Bradstreet (1612 - 1672) English-American writer, the first notable
American poet, and the first woman to be published in Colonial America.
XVIII Century

Franois Marie Arouet dit "Voltaire" (Nov. 21, 1694 May 30, 1778) French
Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher.
Robert Burns (Jan. 25, 1759 Jul. 21, 1796) Scottish poet and a lyricist. He is
widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland.
Gotthold Ephrahim Lessing (Jan. 22, 1729 - Feb. 15, 1781) German writer,
philosopher, dramatist, publicist and art critic.
Friedrich von Schiller (Nov. 10, 1759 - May. 09, 1805) German poet,
philosopher and historian.
Sir Walter Scott (Aug. 15, 1771 Sep. 21, 1832) Scottish historical novelist,
playwright, and poet, popular throughout much of the world during his time.
Manuel Maria Barbosa du Bocage' (September 15, 1765 December 21, 1805)
was a Portuguese Neoclassic poet, writing under the pen name Elmano Sadino.
XIX Century

Jane Austen (Dec. 16, 1775 Jul. 18, 1817) English novelist of romantic
fiction. One of the most widely read writers in English literature.
Wilhelm Grimm (Feb. 24, 1786 Dec. 16, 1859) Best known as editors of the
German Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (Feb. 27, 1807 Mar. 24, 1882) American
poet. Paul Revere's Ride, The Song of Hiawatha, Evangelin.
Lord Byron (Jan. 22, 1788 Apr. 19, 1824) One of the greatest British poets
and a leading figure in Romanticism.
Percy Bysshe Shelley (Aug. 4, 1792 Jul. 8, 1822) Major English Romantic
poet and is regarded among the finest lyric poets in the English language.
Heinrich Heine (Dec. 13, 1797 Feb. 17, 1856) One of the most significant
German poets of the 19th century; journalist, essayist, and literary critic.
 Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, ] (Jun. 6 [O.S.
May 26] 1799 Feb. 10 [O.S. January 29] 1837 1799) The greatest Russian poet
and the founder of modern Russian literature.
Honor de Balzac (May 20, 1799 Aug. 18, 1850) French novelist and
playwright.
Alexandre Dumas (Jul. 24, 1802 Dec. 5, 1870) French writer. One of the
most widely read French authors in the world. The Count of Monte Cristo, The
Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After, The Vicomte de Bragelonne.
Victor Hugo (26 Feb. 26, 1802 May 22, 1885) French poet, playwright,
novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist. Les
Misrables, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame
George Sand (Jul. 1, 1804 Jun. 8, 1876) French novelist and memoirist.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning (Mar. 6, 1806 Jun. 26, 1861) A most prominent
poets of the Victorian era.
Robert Browning (May 7, 1812 Dec. 12, 1889) English poet and playwright.
One of the foremost Victorian poets.
Edgar Allen Poe (Jan. 19, 1809 Oct. 7, 1849) American writer, poet, editor
and literary critic.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson (Aug. 6, 1809 Oct. 6, 1892) One of the most popular
English poets.
Harriet Beecher Stowe (Jun. 14, 1811 Jul. 1, 1896) Author of novels, poetry,
essays, & non-fiction books. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
Charles Dickens (Feb. 7, 1812 Jun. 9, 1870) The most popular English
novelist of the Victorian era, and one of the most popular of all time.
, Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov (Oct. 3, 1814
Jul. 15,1841), Russian Romantic writer, poet and painter, sometimes called "the
poet of the Caucasus".
Charlotte Bronte (Apr. 21, 1816 Mar. 31, 1855) Eldest of the English trio of
sibling poets and novelists.
Christian Mommsen (Nov. 30, 1817 Nov. 1, 1903) German historian and
writer; his masterpiece - "The History of Rome". Nobel Prize in Literature 1902.
Emily Jane Bronte (Jul. 30, 1818 Dec. 19, 1848) One of the a English trio of
sibling poets and novelists.
Herman Melville (Aug. 1, 1819 Sep. 28, 1891) American novelist, short story
writer, essayist, and poet. Best known for his novel Moby-Dick and the
posthumous novella Billy Budd.
Ann Bronte (Jan. 17, 1820 May 18, 1849) Youngest and least talented of the
a English trio of sibling poets and novelists.
George Eliot (Nov. 22, 1819 Dec. 22, 1880) English novelist, journalist and
translator, a leading writer of the Victorian era.
Lewis Wallace (Apr. 10, 1827 Feb. 15, 1905) American lawyer, governor,
Union general in the American Civil War, statesman and author. Best remembered
for his historical novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ.
Jules Verne (Feb. 8, 1828 Mar. 24, 1905) French author; pioneered
the science-fiction genre.
Henrik Ibsen (Mar. 20, 1828 May 23, 1906) Norwegian playwright, theatre
director, and poet; "the god father" of modern drama.
Count Lyev Nikolayevich Tolstoy, e (Sep. 9 [O.S.
August 28] 1828 Nov. 20 [O.S. November 7] 1910) Russian writer, considered to
be the world's greatest novelist. War and Peaceand Anna Karenina
Lewis Carroll (Jan. 27, 1832 Jan. 14, 1898) English author, mathematician,
logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Mark Twain (Nov. 30, 1835 Apr. 21, 1910) Considered to be "the father of
American literature" and the "greatest American humorist of his age."
Karl May (Feb. 25, 1842 Mar. 30, 1912) Popular German writer, noted mainly
for adventure novels set in the American Old West, (best known for the characters
of Winnetou and Old Shatterhand).
Ea de Queiroz (1845 - 1900) Is generally considered to be the greatest
Portuguese writer in the realist style.
Henryk Sienkiewicz (May 5, 1846 Nov. 15, 1916 1846) Polish journalist &
writer. With Fire and Sword, The Deluge, Fire in the Steppe & Quo Vadis. Nobel
Prize in Literature, 1905.
Robert Louis Stevenson (Nov. 13, 1850 Dec. 3, 1894) Scottish novelist, poet,
essayist and travel writer. Treasure Island, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr
Hyde.
 Mary De Morgan (Feb. 20, 1850 1907) English writer and the author of Fairy
Tales.
Oscar Wild (Oct. 16, 1854 Nov. 30, 1900) Irish writer, poet, wit, and
prominent aesthete.
O. Henry (Sep. 11, 1862 Jun. 5, 1910) American writer famous for his short
stories.
Jack London (Jan. 12, 1876 Nov. 22, 1916) American author, journalist, and
social activist. White Fang, Call of the Wild.
Joo Baptista da Silva Leito de Almeida Garrett, Viscount of Almeida
Garrett (Porto, 4 de fevereiro de 1799 Lisboa, 9 de dezembro de 1854) He is
considered to be the introducer of the Romanticism in Portugal. He is regarded as
one of history's greatest romantics and a true revolutionary and humanist.
Victor Segalen (14 January 1878 21 May 1919) was a French naval doctor,
ethnographer, archeologist, writer, poet, explorer, art-theorist, linguist and literary
critic.
Nobel Laureates in Literature (XX - XXI Centuries)

1901: Sully Prudhomme (1839 1907) French poet and essayist. Sully
Prudhomme.
1902: Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen (1817 1903) German
historian and writer; his masterpiece - "The History of Rome".
1903: Bjrnstjerne Martinus Bjrnson (1832 1910) Norwegian writer.
1904: Frdric Mistral (18301914) French writer and lexicographer of the
Occitan language (jointly).
1904: Jos Echegaray y Eizaguirre (18321916) Spanish civil engineer,
mathematician, statesman, and a leading Spanish dramatist (jointly).
1905: Henryk Sienkiewicz (May 5, 1846 Nov. 15,1916) Polish journalist &
writer.
1906: Giosu Carducci (Jul. 27, 1835 Feb. 16, 1907) Regarded as the
national poet of modern Italy.
1907: Rudyard Kipling (Dec. 30, 1865 Jan.18, 1936) English poet, short-
story writer, and novelist. Best known for: The Jungle Book (1894), Kim (1901),
the short story, The Man Who Would Be King (1888); the
poems, Mandalay (1890), Gunga Din (1890), The White Man's Burden (1899)
and If (1910).
1908: Rudolf Christoph Eucken (1846 1926) German philosopher.
1909: Selma Lagerlf (Nov. 20, 1858 Mar. 16, 1940) Swedish author. Known
for her children's book The Wonderful Adventures of Nils Holgerssons.
1910: Paul Johann Ludwig von Heyse (1830 1914) German writer and
translator.
o
1911: count Maurice Polydore Marie Bernhard Maeterlinck (Aug. 29,
1862 May 6, 1949) Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist who wrote in French.
1912: Gerhart Johann Robert Hauptmann (1862 1946) was a
German dramatist and novelist.
1913: Rabindranath Tagore (May 7, 1861 Aug. 7, 1941) Bengali poet,
novelist, musician, painter and playwright.
1915: Romain Rolland (Jan. 29, 1866 Dec. 30, 1944) French
dramatist, novelist, essayist, art historian and mystic.
1916: Carl Gustaf Verner von Heidenstam (1859 1940) Swedish poet
and novelist.
1917: Karl Adolph Gjellerup (1857 1919) Danish poet and novelist.
1917: Henrik Pontoppidan (1857 1943) Danish writer.
1919: Carl Friedrich Georg Spitteler (1845 1924) Swiss Poet.
1920: Knut Hamsun (Aug. 4, 1859 Feb. 19, 1952) Norwegian author.
Was praised as Norway's soul.
o
1921: Anatole France, born Franois-Anatole Thibault (Apr. 16, 1844
Oct. 12, 1924) French poet, journalist, and novelist.
1922: Jacinto Benavente y Benavente (1866 1954) Spanish
dramatists.
1923: William Butler Yeats (Jun.13, 1865 Jun.28, 1939) Irish poet
and dramatist.
1924: Wladyslaw Stanislaw Reymont (1867 1925) Polish Novelist.
1925: George Bernard Shaw (Jul. 26, 1856 Nov. 2, 1950) Irish
playwright.
 1926: Grazia Deledda (1871 1936) Italian novelist and short story
writer.
1927: Henri Bergson (Oct. 18, 1859 Jan. 4, 1941) French philosopher.
1928: Sigrid Undset (1882-1949) Norwegian novelist.
1929: Thomas Mann (Jun. 6, 1875 Aug. 12, 1955) German novelist,
short story writer, social critic, philanthropist and essayist.
1930: Sinclair Lewis (Feb. 7, 1885 Jan. 10, 1951) American novelist,
short-story writer, and playwright.
o
1931: Erik Axel Karlfeldt (1864 1931) Swedish poet.
1932: John Galsworthy (1867 1933) English novelist and
playwright, The Forsyte Saga".
1933: Ivan Alekseyevich Bunin (1870 1953) Russian writer.
1934: Luigi Pirandello (1867 1936) Italian dramatist, novelist, and
short story writer.
1936: Eugene O'Neill (Oct. 16, 1888 Nov. 17, 1953) American
playwright.
1937: Roger Martin du Gard (1881 1958) French author, his novel-
cycle Les Thibault".
1938: Pearl S. Buck (Jun. 26, 1892 Mar. 6, 1973) also known by her
Chinese name Sai Zhenzhu, . American writer (until 1934 in China). Her
best known novel was The Good Earth.
1939: Frans Eemil Sillanp (1888 1964) Finnish writer.
o
1944: Johannes Vilhelm Jensen (1873 1950) Danish writer.
1945: Gabriela Mistral (1889 1957) Chilean poet, educator, diplomat,
and feminist who was the first Latin American to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
1946: Hermann Hesse (Jul. 2, 1877 Aug. 9, 1962) German-Swiss poet,
novelist, and painter. His best-known works include Steppenwolf, Siddhartha,
and The Glass Bead Game (also known as Magister Ludi).
1947: Andr Paul Guillaume Gide (Nov. 22, 1869 Feb. 19,1951)
French author.
1948: Thomas Eliot (Sep. 26, 1888 Jan. 4, 1965) American-born
English poet, playwright, and literary critic, arguably the most important English-
language poet of the 20th century.
1949: William Faulkner (Sept. 25, 1897 Jul. 6, 1962) American
novelist and short story writer. One of the most influential writers of the 20th
century.
1950: Earl (Bertrand Arthur William) Russell (May 18, 1872 Feb. 2,
1970) British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, pacifist, and social
critic.
o
1951: Pr Fabian Lagerkvist (May 23, 1891 Jul. 11, 1974) Swedish
author.
1952: Franois Mauriac (Oct. 11, 1885 Sep. 1, 1970) French author.
1953: Sir Winston Churchill KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC (Nov. 30, 1874
Jan. 24, 1965) A noted statesman, orator, soldier, historian, writer, and artist.
1954: Ernest Hemingway (Jul. 21, 1899 Jul. 2, 1961) American
novelist, short-story writer, and journalist.
1955: Halldr Kiljan Laxness born Gujnsson (1902 1998) Icelandic
writer of poetry, newspaper articles, plays, travelogues, short stories, and novels.
1956: Juan Ramn Jimnez Mantecn (1881 1958) Spanish poet
and prolific writer.
1957: Albert Camus (Nov. 7, 1913 Jan. 4, 1960) French author,
journalist, and key philosopher of the 20th century.
1958: Boris Pasternak (Jan. 29, 1890 May 30,
1960) Russian language poet, novelist, and translator of Goethe and Shakespeare.
Best known for the anthology My Sister Life andDoctor Zhivago.
1959: Salvatore Quasimodo (1901 1968) Italian author and poet.
1960: Saint-John Perse (1887 1975) French poet and diplomat.
o
1961: Ivo Andri (1892 1975) Yugoslav novelist and short story writer.
1962: John Steinbeck (Feb. 27, 1902 Dec. 20, 1968) American
writer.
1963: Giorgos Seferis (1900 1971) Greek poet and diplomat,
 1964: Jean-Paul Sartre (Jun. 21, 1905 Apr. 15, 1980) French
existentialist philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist,
biographer, and literary critic. Refused the Nobel Prize.
1965: Mikhail Aleksandrovich Sholokhov (May 24, 1905 Feb.21,
1984) Russian novelist. His most famous novel Tikhi Don (And Quiet Flows the
Don).
1966: " Shmuel (Shai) Agnon (Jul. 17, 1888 Feb. 17, 1970) One
of the central figures of modern Hebrew fiction (jointly).
1966: Nelly Sachs (Dec. 10, 1891 May 12, 1970) Jewish German poet
and playwright (jointly).
1967: Miguel Asturias (Oct. 19, 1899 Jun. 9, 1974) Guatemalan poet,
novelist, playwright, journalist and diplomat.
1968: Yasunari Kawabata (1899 1972) Japanese short story writer
and novelist.
1969: Samuel Barclay Beckett (Apr. 13, 1906 Dec. 22, 1989) Irish
avant-garde novelist, playwright, theatre director, and poet.
1970: Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn (Dec. 11, 1918 Aug. 3,
2008) Russian and Soviet novelist, dramatist, and historian. Notable work: One
Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, The First Circle, The Cancer Ward, The Gulag
Archipelago, The Red Wheel.
o
1971: Pablo Neruda (Jul. 12, 1904 Sep. 23, 1973) Chilean poet and
politician. Known for Twenty Poems of Love and a Song of Despair, surrealist
poems, historical epics, and overtly political manifestos.
1972: Heinrich Theodor Bll (1917 1985) One of Germany's foremost
post-World War II writers.
1973: Patrick Victor Martindale White (1912 1990) Australian
novelist, short story writer, and playwright.
1974: Eyvind Johnson (1900 1976) Swedish writer, (jointly).
1974: Harry Martinson (1904 1978) Swedish sailor, author and poet,
(jointly).
1975: Eugenio Montale (1896 1981) Italian poet, prose writer, editor
and translator.
1976: Saul Bellow (Jun. 10, 1915 Apr. 5, 2005) Canadian-born
American writer. Awarded also the Pulitzer Prize & the National Medal of Arts.
1977: Vicente Po Marcelino Cirilo Aleixandre y Merlo (1898 1984)
Spanish poet.
1978: Isaac Bashevis Singer (Jul. 14, 1902 Jul. 24, 1991) Polish
Jewish American author noted for his short stories.
1979: Odysseus Elytis (1911 1996) Greek poet.
1980: Czesaw Miosz (1911 2004) Polish poet, prose writer and
translator, of Lithuanian origin and subsequent American citizenship. His famous
novel The Captive Mind Polish: Zniewolony umys).
o
1981: Elias Canetti (1905 1994) Bulgarian-born
novelist and non-fiction writer of Sephardi Jewish ancestry who wrote in German.
1982: Gabriel Garcia Marquez (b. March 6, 1927) Colombian novelist,
short-story writer, screenwriter and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo.
1983: sir William Gerald Golding (1911 1993) British novelist, poet
and playwright.
1984: Jaroslav Seifert (1901 1986) Czech writer, poet and journalist.
1985: Claude Simon (1913 2005) French novelist.
1986: Akinwande Oluwole -Wole- Soyinka (b. 1934) Nigerian writer,
poet and playwright.
1986: Eliezer "Elie" Wiesel KBE (b. 1928) Romanian-born Jewish-
American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, 1986.
1987: Joseph Brodsky (1940 1996) Russian poet and essayist.
1988: Naguib Mahfouz (Dec. 11, 1911 Aug. 30, 2006)
Egyptian writer.
1989: Camilo Jos, Manuel Juan Ramn Francisco de Jernimo, Cela y
Trulock (1916 2002) Spanish novelist and short story writer.
1990: Octavio Paz (1914 1998) Mexican writer, poet, diplomat.
o
1991: Nadine Gordimer (born 1923) South African writer, political
activist.
 1992: Derek Alton Walcott (b. 1930) Saint Lucian poet, playwright,
writer and visual artist.
1993: Toni Morrison (b. 1931) American author and editor.
1994: Kenzaburo e (b. 1935) Japanese author and a major figure in
contemporary Japanese literature.
1995: Seamus Heaney (b. 1939) Irish poet, writer and lecturer.
1996: Wisawa Szymborska (b. 1923) Polish poet, essayist and
translator.
1997: Dario Fo (b. 1926) Italian satirist, playwright, theater director,
actor and composer.
1998: Jose Saramago (1922 2010) Portuguese novelist, playwright,
journalist.
1999: Gnter Grass (b. Oct. 16, 1927) German Novelist, Poet,
Playwright, Sculptor, Graphic Designer, Painter. Best known novel The Tin Drum.
2000: Gao Xingjian (born 1940) Chinese-born novelist,
playwright, critic, and painter.
o
2001: Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul (born 1932) Indo-Trinidadian-
British writer.
2002: Imre Kertsz (b. 1929) Hungarian Jewish author.
2003: John Maxwell Coetzee (b. 1940) South Africa born Australian
novelist, literary critic and translator.
2004: Elfriede Jelinek (b. 1946) Austrian playwright and novelist. Did
not accept the prize in person.
2005: Harold Pinter, CH, CBE (Oct. 10, 1930 - Dec. 24, 2008) English
playwright, screenwriter, actor, theatre director, poet, left-wing political activist
and cricket enthusiast.
2006: Ferit Orhan Pamuk (b. 1952) Turkish novelist.
2007: Doris Lessing (b. 1919) British Novelist and writer. Her novels
include 'The Grass is Singing', 'The Golden Notebook' and five novels collectively
known as 'Canopus in Argos'.
2008: Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clzio (b. 1940) French & Mauritian
novelist, short stories author, essayist and translator.
2009: Herta Mller (b. 1953) Romanian-born German novelist, poet and
essayist.
2010: Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquis of Vargas Llosa (b.
1936) Peruvian-Spanish writer, politician, journalist, essayist, . Best known
novels: 'The Time of the Hero', 'The Green House', and the
monumental 'Conversation in the Cathedral'.
o
2011: Tomas Transtrmer (b. 1931) Swedish writer, poet and
translator.
2012: Mo Yan, (b. 1955) Chinese novelist and short story writer,
"who with hallucinatory realism merges folk tales, history and the contemporary".
2013: Alice Ann Munro (ne Laidlaw); (b.1931) Canadian author,
"master of the contemporary short story".
2014: Patrick Modiano (b. 1945) French author, for the art of memory
with which he has evoked the most ungraspable human destinies and uncovered
the life-world of the occupation.
2015: Svetlana Alexievich (b. 1948) Belarousian author, "for her
polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and courage in our time".
o

XX - XXI Centuries

Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867 1957) American author, wrote the Little House (on
the Praire) series of children's books.
Amy Lawrence Lowell (1874 1925) American poet of the imagist school who
posthumously won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1926.
William Somerset Maugham (Jan. 25, 1874 Dec. 16, 1965) English author,
novelist and playwright. Best known novels: Of Human Bondage, The Razor's Edge
and The Moon and Sixpence.
Edgar Rice Burroughs (Sep. 21, 1875 Mar. 19, 1950) American author.
Famous novels: Tarzan of the Apes, John Carter of Mars.
Jack London (Jan. 12, 1876 Nov. 22, 1916) American author, journalist, and
social activist. White Fang, Call of the Wild.
 Damon Runyon (Oct. 4, 1880 Dec. 10, 1946) American newspaperman and
author. Best known for his short stories celebrating the world of Broadway in New
York City that grew out of the Prohibition era.
Stefan Zweig (Nov. 28, 1881 Feb. 23, 1942) Austrian Jewish novelist,
playwright, journalist and biographer.
James Joyce (Feb. 2, 1882 Jan. 13, 1941) Irish novelist considered to be one
of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th
century. Best known for Ulysses (1922), a landmark work, the short-story
collection Dubliners (1914), and the novels A Portrait of the Artist as a Young
Man(1916) and Finnegans Wake (1939).
Karen von Blixen-Finecke, Isak Dinesen (1885 1962), Danish author also
known under her pen name Isak Dinesen. Best known, at least in English,
for "Out of Africa".
Fernando Pessoa (June 13, 1888 - November 30, 1935) Portuguese poet,
writer, literary critic and translator, described as one of the most significant
literary figures of the 20th century and one of the greatest poets in the Portuguese
language. He also wrote in and translated from English and French.
Jean Cocteau (Jul. 5, 1889 Oct. 11, 1963) French poet, novelist, dramatist,
designer, boxing manager, playwright, artist and filmmaker.
Rachel the Poetess (1890 1931) Superb Lyric poet (in Hebrew).
First Jewish woman poet in Palestine to receive recognition in a genre that was
comprised solely of men. Poems by Rachel have been translated to English,
German, Czech, Polish, Esperanto, Italian, Serbo-Croatian, Hungarian, Basque
and Slovak.
Aldous Leonard Huxley (Jul. 26, 1894 Nov. 22, 1963) English-American
writer and philosopher.
Bertolt Brecht (Feb. 10, 1898 Aug. 14, 1956) German poet, playwright, and
theatre director.
Vladimir Nabokov (1899 - 1977) Multilingual Russian novelist and short story
writer. Nabokov's Lolita (1955) is frequently cited as among his most important
novels and is his most widely known, exhibiting the love of intricate word play and
synesthetic detail that characterised all his works. The novel was ranked at No. 4
in the list of the Modern Library 100 Best Novels.
Antoine de Saint-Exupry (Jul. 29, 1900 Jul. 31, 1944) French writer and
aviator. Best remembered for The Little Prince, Night Flight and Wind, Sand and
Stars.
George Orwell (Jun 25, 1903 Jan. 21, 1950) British author best known for
his antitotalitarian satires Animal Farm (1945) and Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949).
Arthur Miller (Oct. 17, 1915 Feb. 10, 2005) American playwright and
essayist. A prominent figure in American theatre and cinema for over 61 years,
writing a wide variety of dramas, including celebrated plays such as The
Crucible, A View from the Bridge, All My Sons, and Death of a Salesman, which
are studied and performed worldwide.
Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (Dec. 16, 1917 Mar. 19, 2008) British science
fiction author, inventor, and futurist.
Isaac Asimov (Jan. 2, 1920 Apr. 6, 1992) American author, one of the three
grand masters of science fiction.
Norman Kingsley Mailer (1923 - 2007) American novelist, journalist, essayist,
poet, playwright, screenwriter and film director. Awarded the Pulitzer Prize twice
and the National Book Award once. In 2005 he received the lifetime 'Medal for
distinguished contribution to American Letters. He wrote over 40 books and
published 11 novels over a fifty year span.
Adin Steinsaltz (b. 1937) Time magazine praised as a "once-in-a-millennium
scholar". Israeli noted rabbi, scholar, philosopher, social critic and author.
Amos Oz (b. Jan. 1, 1939) The best-known living novelist in Israel.
Isabel Allende Liona (b. 1942) Chilean American writer. She has been called
"the worlds most widely read Spanish-language author". Best known for The
House of the Spirits (La casa de los espritus) (1982) and City of the Beasts (La
ciudad de las bestias).
J. K. Rowling (b. Jul. 31, 1965) British author best known as the creator of
the Harry Potter fantasy series.
o
o

Other Writers (with Geni profiles)

Natalie Clifford Barney, (1876 - 1972) American playwright, poet and novelist.
 Isaac Babel (1894 - 1940) - a Russian language journalist, playwright, literary
translator, and short story writer. He is best known as the author of Red Cavalry,
Story of My Dovecote, and Tales of Odessa, all of which are considered
masterpieces of Russian literature. Babel has also been acclaimed as "the greatest
prose writer of Russian Jewry".
Bernard Malamud (1914 - 1986) American author of novels and short stories.
One of the best known American Jewish authors of the 20th century. His baseball
novel, The Natural, was adapted into a 1984 film starring Robert Redford. His
1966 novel The Fixer (also filmed), about antisemitism in Tsarist Russia, won both
the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize.
Ray Bradbury (b. 1920) American speculative fiction author.
James Dickey (1923 1997) American poet and author.
John Champlin Gardner, Jr. (1933 1982) American novelist, essayist, literary
critic and university professor. He is perhaps most noted for his novel Grendel, a
retelling of the Beowulf myth from the monster's point of view (wikipedia.com), but
his masterpeice was The Sunlight Dialogues. The Kings Indian, and The Wreckage
of Agathon are also noteworthy.
Richard Brautigan
Maurice Sendak, the renowned children's author whose books captivated
generations of kids and simultaneously scared their parents. Sendak wrote and
illustrated more than 50 children's books--including "Where the Wild Things Are,"
his most famous, published in 1963.
Rene Vivien, British poet.
Elwyn Brooks Andy White (1899 1985) American writer. Famous for the
children novels "Charlotte's Web" and "Stuart Little".
James Baldwin
20 Great Authors (and Actors) Read Famous Literature Out Loud
Every now and then, we like to present vintage clips of great authors reading classic
literary works works they have often written themselves. These clips can be fairly
revealing. Through them, you can recapture the voices of literary greats, most long
since passed. And you can hear how they give character and expression to their own
works ... or those of others. In response to a reader's request, we have pulled together
some of the finest examples previously featured here. And, for good measure, we've
added prime clips of famous celebrities giving literary readings too. Hope you enjoy
(and share):

1) William Faulkner Reads from As I Lay Dying

2) James Joyce Reading Finnegans Wake

3) Vintage Radio: Aldous Huxley Narrates Brave New World

4) Dominic West (aka Jimmy McNulty) Reads Jane Austen

5) Truman Capote Reads from Breakfast at Tiffanys

6) Joyce Carol Oates Reads Eudora Welty's Where Is the Voice Coming From?

7) Orson Welles Reads Moby Dick

8) Johnny Depp Reads Letters from Hunter S. Thompson

9) Ernest Hemingway Reads In Harrys Bar in Venice

10) T.S. Eliot Reading from The Wasteland

11) F. Scott Fitzgerald Reads Shakespeare Out Loud

12) Dennis Hopper Reads Rudyard Kipling on Johnny Cash Show

13) Kurt Vonnegut Reads from Slaughterhouse-Five

14) Tom Waits Reads Charles Bukowski

15) William Carlos Williams Reads His Poetry (1954)

 16) Orhan Pamuk Reads Vladimir Nabokov

17) Charles Bukowski Bluebird

18) Wallace Stevens Reads His Own Poetry

19) Tobias Wolff Reads From His New Short Story Collection

20) Listening to Famous Poets Reading Their Own Work

University Library
Literary Works of Filipino Authors

Scope note and definition :The following links are composed of selected articles,
novels, poems, short stories and other creative and/or academic publications of some
of the great Filipino authors of the 20th Century.
Lualhati Bautista

She is known for novels that were adapted for movies such as "Bata, BataPa'no ka
ginawa?" in 1998 and "Dekada '70" in 2002.
Ang Hukom
Written in Tagalog, the story revolves around the judge, the assistant and the verdict.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/21198496/ANG-HUKOM-by-Lualhati-Bautista-Dela-
Cruz
Seven Short Stories
Compilation of some of the writings of Lualhati Bautista.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/12744173/Seven-short-stories-of-Lualhati-Bautista
N. V. M. Gonzales

Nestor Vicente Madali Gonzales was the first recipient of the Commonwealth Literary
Contest in 1940. He received the National Artist Award in 1990.
The Happiest Boy in the World [From the book Seven Hills Away]
Situated in the island of Mindoro, it is a short story that talks about provincial life.
http://www.4to40.com/story/print.asp?p=The_Happiest_Boy_in_the_World&k=Smell
Nick Joaquin Also known under his pseudonym "Quijano de Manila,"

Nick Joaquin is so far the most distinguished Filipino writer in English Writing. He
was awarded as the National Artist for Literature in 1973.
Culture and History [Excerpt]
In the last chapter of this book, Nick Joaquin tries to attest that there is a Filipino
identity.
http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?
did=1136048021&sid=1&Fmt=3&clientId=47883&RQT=309&VName=PQD
BUSINESSWORLD (PHILIPPINES): WEEKENDER: Portrait of Vivian Velez as
stage actress
The article features the play, Larawan, and an interview with Vivian Velez
http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?
did=56445515&sid=1&Fmt=3&clientId=47883&RQT=309&VName=PQD
May Day Eve [Excerpt]
One of the best short narratives that believed to pioneer the literary style called "magic
realism".
http://www.palhbooks.com/joaquin.htm
F. Sionil Jose

Francisco founded the Philippine Chapter of PEN, an international organization for

writers. Aside from the National Artist Award, he also obtained the Ramon Magsaysay
Award for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts.
 A Call For Revolution
A critique that challenges the credibility of EDSA Revolution and the Filipino society
http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?
did=774208851&sid=1&Fmt=6&clientId=47883&RQT=309&VName=PQD
Graduation
A teenager accounts the eagerness and dread of leaving his hometown.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/34579567/Graduation-by-Sionil-Jose-F
Bienvenido Lumbera

A critic, librettist and poet, Beny created famous musical plays such as the "Tales of
the Manuvu and Rama Hari" at "Hibik at Himagsik Nina Victoria Laktaw."
A Eulogy of Roaches
The analogous poem depicts the roaches of the general public.
http://lumbera.ph/a-eulogy-of-roaches/
Agunyas sa Hacienda Luisita
A poem that commemorates the massacre of farmers in Tarlac.
http://lumbera.ph/agunyas-sa-hacienda-luisita/
Ang Ating Bagong Panatang Makabayan
Pledged by the protestors in 2008, it sardonically condones corruption.
http://lumbera.ph/ang-ating-bagong-panatang-makabayan/
Paggunita sa Pamamaslang
A poem about the massacre executed by the Ampatuan Family in 2009.
http://lumbera.ph/tula-hinggil-sa-masaker-sa-ampatuan/
Toward a National Literature
Originally a speech, it was delivered by Lumbera himself to an assembly of writers.
http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?
did=1877549321&sid=3&Fmt=3&clientId=47883&RQT=309&VName=PQD
Tribute to Alex Remollino
A poetry dedicated by Bienvenido Lumbera to his friend.
http://lumbera.ph/kaming-naiwan-mo-para-kay-alex-remollino/
Alejandro Roces

Anding won the Best Short Story award for "We Filipinos are Mild Drinkers" in the
United States. He received the Rizal Pro Patria, one of the highest recognitions given
by the Republic of the Philippines. As a nationalist, he was known for promoting Ati-
atihan, Moriones and Penafrancia Festivals, to name a few.
I wrote as I wrote
Roces bids farewell in this last article published in Philippine Star.
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?
articleId=594984&publicationSubCategoryId=64
My Brother's Peculiar Chicken
The humorous short tale was featured in Martha Foley's Best American Stories.
http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?
did=1164993301&sid=1&Fmt=3&clientId=47883&RQT=309&VName=PQD
We Filipinos are Mild Drinkers
A funny short story set during World War II.
http://shadesofgray07.blogspot.com/2006/02/we-filipinos-are-mild-drinkers.html
Edith Tiempo

She is the only female among the receivers of the National Artist Award in Literature.
Bonsai
A poem, surreally written about love.
http://readalittlepoetry.wordpress.com/2010/03/31/bonsai-by-edith-tiempo/
 The Black Monkey
Though typically short for a short story, the baffling plot and intricate details
contribute well.
http://stories-in-the-sand.blogspot.com/2008/11/black-monkey-by-edith-l-
tiempo.html
Filipino Writers

This list was based on the popularity and number of bestselling works and whose
works became influential to the lives of the Filipinos.
this greatest Filipino writers blog was made by jecmendiola and onesounddrum.

10. CARLO J. CAPARAS

Carlo J. Caparas is a comic strip creator, writer, director and producer who became
sensational known for his created local superheroes and comic book characters that
are still popular to Filipinos until now. Some of his creations turned Filipino icons
such as Panday (a Blacksmith hero) and many others. As a producer and director,
Carlo J. Caparas produced box-office movies based on comics and true-to-life stories
and crimes. In 2009 he received National Artist Award granted by the President of the
Philippines.

9. MARS RAVELO
Mars Ravelo is also a comic strip creator and writer who became phenomenal in the
Philippines for his created superheroes such as Darna (a Filipino version of Wonder
Woman), Dyesabel (name of the Filipino mermaid/heroine), and many others. During
his time, the Golden Age of Comics flourished. Like Carlo J. Caparas, Mars Ravelos
creations and writings were turned into films and became box-office hit during 1960s
to 1980s. Ravelo was also the highest paid comic writer during his time. Until now,
his creations is still influential to Philippine contemporary literature.

8. LOUIE MAR GANGCUANCO

The youngest among the list, Louie Mar Gangcuanco published his debut novel
entitled Orosa-Nakpil, Malate at the age of 18. The novel illustrates the pink culture
in the streets of Orosa and Nakpil, which is known as the haven of gay Filipino
culture. The novel became an instant hit, becoming a bestseller months after it was
released. His work was featured in the top-rating TV show, Sharon, in June of the
same year. In August 2006, Louie Mar was awarded the Y Idol Award (Youth Idol
Award) by Studio 23s Y Speak. Later that month, the Sentro ng Wikang Filipino
conferred a Sertipiko ng Pagpapahalaga for Orosa-Nakpil, Malate. His phenomenal
novel is endorsed by prominent people and institutions including the multi-awarded
director, Jose Javier Joey Reyes, Dr. Jaime Galvez Tan (former DOH secretary) and
Dr. Raul Destura of the National Institutes of Health Philippines.
After one year of circulation, Orosa-Nakpil, Malate made it to the Best Sellers List
released by National Book Store in April 2007. With him in the list are authors Mitch
Albom of One More Day, James Patterson and Maxine Paetro of The Fifth Horseman,
and Gabriel Garcia Marquez of Memories of My Melancholy Whores. The book landed
on the Top 8 spot, overtaking international authors Steve Berry and Kiran Desai.

7. GILDA OLVIDADO
Gilda Olvidado is a popular Filipino novelist and writer, known for her extraordinary
love stories. She became famous during the 1970s with her remarkable novels
Sinasamba Kita (I Worship You), Babangon akot Dudurugin Kita (Sweet Revenge).
She also wrote screenplays that later turned into blockbuster such as Saan Nagtatago
ang Pag-ibig? (Where is Love Hiding?) who made her rise into popularity after the
Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences recognized it as the best story. Today,
Gilda Olvidados fans are still counting, waiting the release for her next novel.

6. NICK JOAQUIN
Nick Joaqun was born in Paco, Manila, one of the ten children of Leocadio, a colonel
under General Emilio Aguinaldo in the 1896 Revolution, and Salome Marquez, a
teacher of English and Spanish. Being read poems and stories by his mother, Joaquin
taught himself by reading widely at the National Library of the Philippines and the
library of his father, who by that time was a successful lawyer after the revolution.
This developed further his interest in writing.
At age 17, Joaqun was first published in the literary section of the Pre-World War II
Tribune under writer and editor Serafn Lanot. Before publishing in the Tribune,
Joaquin worked as a proofreader of the paper.
After winning a Dominican Order-sponsored nationwide essay competition for La
Naval de Manila, the University of Santo Tomas awarded Joaqun an honorary
Associate in Arts (A.A.) and a scholarship to St. Alberts Convent, the Dominican
monastery in Hong Kong. Upon his return to the Philippines, he joined the Philippines
Free Press, starting as a proofreader. Soon, he was noticed for his poems, stories and
plays, as well as his journalism under the pen name Quijano de Manila. His
journalism was markedly both intellectual and provocative, an unknown genre in the
Philippines at that time, raising the level of reportage in the country.
Joaqun deeply admired Jos Rizal, the national hero of the Philippines. Joaqun paid
tribute to Rizal by way of books such as The Storytellers New Medium Rizal in Saga,
The Complete Poems and Plays of Jose Rizal, and A Question of Heroes: Essays in
Criticism on Ten Key Figures of Philippine History. He also translated the heros
valedictory poem, in the original Spanish Mi Ultimo Adios, as Land That I Love,
Farewell!
Joaqun served as a member of Motion Pictures under President Diosdado Macapagal
and President Ferdinand E. Marcos. Joaquins first move as National Artist was to
secure the release of imprisoned writer Jos F. Lacaba. Later, at a ceremony on Mount
Makiling attended by First Lady Imelda Marcos, Joaqun delivered an invocation to
Mariang Makiling, the mountains mythical maiden. Joaqun touched on the
importance of freedom and the artist. As a result, for the remainder of the Marcos
regime, Joaqun no longer received invitations to address important cultural events.

5. LUALHATI BAUTISTA
Lualhati Bautista is one of the foremost Filipino female novelists in the history of
contemporary Philippine Literature. Her novels include, Dekada 70 (Decade 70),
Bata, Bata, Pano Ka Ginawa? (Child, Child How were you made?, and GAP
(short name for Olongapo, Philippines).
In addition to being a novelist, Lualhati Bautista is also a movie and television
screenwriter and a short story writer. Her first screenplay was Sakada (Seasonal
Sugarcane Workers), a story written in 1975 that exposed the plight of Filipino
peasants. Bautista has received recognition from the Philippines Don Carlos Palanca
Memorial Awards for Literature and the Surian ng Wikang Pambansa in 1987. Her
award-winning screenplays include Bulaklak sa City Jail (A Flower in City Jail) (1984),
Kung Mahawi Man ang Ulap (If The Clouds are Parted) (1984), Sex Object (1985). For
screenplay writing, she has received recognition from the Metro Manila Film Festival
(best story-best screenplay), Film Academy Awards (best story-best screenplay), Star
Awards (best screenplay), FAMAS (finalist for best screenplay), and URIAN awards.
Two of her short stories have also won the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for
Literature, Tatlong Kuwento ng Buhay ni Julian Candelabra (Three Stories in the Life
of Julian Candelabra), first prize, 1982; and Buwan, Buwan, Hulugan mo Ako ng
Sundang (Moon, Moon, Drop Me a Sword), third prize, 1983. Bautista also authored
the television dramas Daga sa Timba ng Tubig (The Mouse in the Bucket of Water)
(1975) and Isang Kabanata sa Libro ng Buhay ni Leilani Cruzaldo (A Chapter in the
Book of Life of Leilani Cruzaldo) (1987). The latter won best drama story for television
from the Catholic Mass Media Awards.
Bautista was honored by the Ateneo Library of Womens Writings on March 10, 2004
during the 8th Annual Lecture on Vernacular Literature by Women. In 2005, the
Feminist Centennial Film Festival presented her with a recognition award for her
outstanding achievement in screenplay writing. In 2006, she was recipient of the
Diwata Award for best writer by the 16th International Womens Film Festival of the
UP Film Center.
She is also the only Filipino included in a book on foremost International Women
Writers published in Japan, 1991.

4. F. SIONIL JOSE
F. Sionil Jose is one of the most widely-read Filipino writers in the English language.
His novels and short stories depict the social underpinnings of class struggles and
colonialism in Filipino society. Joss works written in English have been
translated into 22 languages, including Korean, Indonesian, Russian, Latvian,
Ukrainian and Dutch.
Jose Rizals life and writings profoundly influenced Joss work. The five volume
Rosales Saga, in particular, employs and interrogates themes and characters from
Rizals work.
Throughout his career, Sionil Joss writings espouse social justice and change to
better the lives of average Filipino families. He is one of the most critically acclaimed
Filipino authors internationally, although much underrated in his own country
because of his authentic Filipino English and his anti-elite views.
In 1980, Sionil Jose received Ramon Magsaysay Award (Asias Nobel Prize) for
Literature.

3. FRANCISCO BALAGTAS
Francisco Baltazar, known much more widely through his nom-de-plume Francisco
Balagtas, was a prominent Filipino poet, and is widely considered as the Tagalog
equivalent of William Shakespeare for his impact on Filipino literature. The famous
epic, Florante at Laura, is regarded as his defining work.
Balagtas learned to write poetry from Jos de la Cruz (Huseng Sisiw), one of the most
famous poets of Tondo. It was de la Cruz himself who personally challenged Balagtas
to improve his writing. (source: Talambuhay ng mga Bayani, for Grade 5 textbook)
In 1835, Balagtas moved to Pandacan, where he met Mara Asuncin Rivera, who
would effectively serve as the muse for his future works. She is referenced in Florante
at Laura as Celia and MAR.
Balagtas affections for Celia were challenged by the influential Mariano Capule.
Capule won the battle for Celia when he used his wealth to get Balagtas imprisoned
under the accusation that he ordered a servant girls head be shaved. It was here that
he wrote Florante at LauraIn fact, the events of this poem were meant to parallel his
own situation.
He wrote his poems in Tagalog, during an age when Filipino writing was
predominantly written in Spanish.
Balagtas published Florante at Laura upon his release in 1838. He moved to Balanga,
Bataan in 1840 where he served as the assistant to the Justice of peace and later, in
1856, as the Major Lieutenant. He was also appointed as the translator of the court.
Balagtas is so greatly revered in the Philippines that the term for Filipino debate in
extemporaneous verse is named for him: balagtasan.

2. BOB ONG
Bob Ong, is the pseudonym of an anonymous Filipino contemporary author known for
using conversational Filipino to create humorous and reflective depictions of life as a
Filipino.
A Filipino Literary critic once commented:
Filipinos really patronize Bob Ongs works because, while most of his books may
have an element of comedy in them, this is presented in a manner that replicates
Filipino culture and traditions. This is likely the reason why his first book and those
that followed it, can be considered true Pinoy classics.
The six books he has published thus far have surpassed a quarter of a million copies.
His words of wisdom were applied by some of the Filipinos to their daily lives.

1. JOSE RIZAL
For obvious reasons, he is the most influential and the most bestselling author/writer
until now.
Jose Rizal was a prolific poet, essayist, diarist, correspondent, and novelist whose
most famous works were his two novels, Noli me Tangere (Touch Me Not) and El
filibusterismo The Filibuster). These are social commentaries on the Philippines that
formed the nucleus of literature that inspired dissent among peaceful reformists and
spurred the militancy of armed revolutionaries against the Spanish colonial
authorities.
His books are still cracking the bestselling list.

Famous Writers of the Philippines

Francisco Baltazar (Balagtas)

Francisco Baltazar (Balagtas), 1788-1862

Mula sa maralitang angkan sa nayon ng Panginay, bayan ng Bigas, lalawigang

Bulakan, si Francisco Baltazar ay umakyat sa pinakamataas na luklukan ng mga
manunulang Pilipino, nakapag-aral ng kanones, batas sa pananampalataya, naging
bantog na mandudula, naging Tenyente Mayor at Huwes de Sementera sa Udyong,
Bataan, at nahirang na dalubhasa sa hukuman ng nabanggit na lalawigan.
Ipinanganak noon ika-2 ng Abril ng taong 1788, at anak nina Juana de la Cruz at
Juan Baltazar, si Francisco sa gulang na labing-isang taon ay natutuhan na ang mga
biyaya ng karunungang dapat ituro ng kanyang bayan. Ang pambihirang
katalinuhang ipinamalas ni Francisco ay siyang nagbunsod sa kanyang mga
magulang na siyay iluwas sa Maynila upang sa ilalim ng anumang kaparaanan ay
makapagpatuloy ng pag-aaral.

Ang mga sumusunod ay ilan sa mga katha ni Balagtas: Continue reading Francisco
Baltazar (Balagtas)

Wilfrido Pa. Virtusio

Unang nakilala sa kanyang mga kuwentong ukol sa mga bilanggo, si WPV ay

kabataang manunulat na mapagpanalo sa mga timpalak-panitik.

Continue reading Wilfrido Pa. Virtusio

Jose De La Cruz (Huseng Sisiw)

The following biography of Jose dela Cruz, popularly known by his pen name Huseng
Sisiw, was written in Tagalog by Jose N. Sevilla y Tolentino in the early 1920s:

Continue reading Jose De La Cruz (Huseng Sisiw)

Gemma Teresa Guerrero Cruz Araneta

Gemma Teresa Guerrero Cruz Araneta was born in Manila on September 30, 1943, to
Carmen Guerrero and Ismael Cruz, who was killed by the Japanese Imperial Forces
shortly before the liberation of Manila in 1945.

Her great-grandmother Maria was the sister of Philippine national hero Jos Rizal.

Continue reading Gemma Teresa Guerrero Cruz Araneta

Benjamin P. Pascual was born in Laoag, Ilocos Norte.

He started writing in the 1950s, contributing to comics until he became a staffer on

the acclaimed Liwayway magazine.

He won the Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature in 1965 for his Landas sa
Bahaghari and in 1981 for Di Ko Masilip ang Langit.
Continue reading Benjamin P. Pascual

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Lope K. Santos, Father of Tagalog Grammar

Lope K. Santos (1879 1963) is known as the Father of the Philippine National
Language and Grammar.

Continue reading Lope K. Santos, Father of Tagalog Grammar

Pascual Poblete, Rizal Biographer

Pascual Poblete (1857-1921) was a famous playwright who used his pen to advocate
Philippine independence, first from Spain, and then from the United States. He was
exiled by the Spanish authorities to Africa.

He is known for writing an authoritative biography on Filipino national hero Jose Rizal
and for translating Rizals novel Noli Me Tangere into Tagalog. He also founded the
newspaper El Grito del Pueblo (Ang Tinig ng Bayan; The Voice of the People) during
the American period.

Continue reading Pascual Poblete, Rizal Biographer

Aurelio Tolentino, Kapampangan Writer

Aurelio Tolentino (October 13, 1867 July 5, 1915) is considered one of the greatest
writers in the annals of Tagalog literature.

A member of the revolutionary organization Katipunan who worked alongside Andres

Bonifacio, Aurelio Tolentino was imprisoned by the Spaniards for his activities. He was
one of the signatories of the Declaration of Philippine Independence in Kawit, Cavite,
on June 12, 1898.