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

Seneca the Younger

(4 BC - 65)

Photograph of journalist Nick Reding.

Nick Reding

Portrait of Chinese scholar and official Lin Zexu.

Lin Zexu

(1785 - 1850)

Depiction of chief of the Miami tribe Little Turtle.

Little Turtle

(c. 1752 - 1812)

Color portrait of German theologian and reformer Martin Luther.

Martin Luther

(1483 - 1546)

Photograph of Irish playwright and novelist Frank O'Connor.

Frank O’Connor

(1903 - 1966)

Engraving of Pliny the Elder.

Pliny the Elder

(23 - 79)

Photograph of American author Jacqueline Susann.

Jacqueline Susann

(1921 - 1974)

Photograph of literary agent and author Bill Clegg.

Bill Clegg

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

Marguerite Duras

(1914 - 1996)

Image of Japanese poet Ōtomo Tabito with horse.

Ōtomo Tabito

(665 - 731)

Photograph of journalist, author, and professor Michael Pollan.

Michael Pollan

William Biddulph

Depiction of Persian mathematician and poet Omar Khayyam.

Omar Khayyam

(1048 - 1131)

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

W.B. Yeats

(1865 - 1939)

Portrait of English poet John Keats.

John Keats

(1795 - 1821)

Photograph of American clinical psychologist and writer Kay Redfield Jamison.

Kay Redfield Jamison

William Langland

(c. 1325 - c. 1390)

German socialist philosopher Friedrich Engels.

Friedrich Engels

(1820 - 1895)

Photograph of American author Dennis Covington.

Dennis Covington

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

John Addington Symonds

(1840 - 1893)

Portrait of Scottish biographer and diarist James Boswell.

James Boswell

(1740 - 1795)

Photograph of American writer Francine Prose.

Francine Prose

Portrait of English physician John Elliotson.

John Elliotson

(1791 - 1868)

Portrait of King James I.

James I

(1566 - 1625)

Portrait of English essayist and critic Thomas De Quincey.

Thomas De Quincey

(1785 - 1859)

Chinese poet Li Bai seated.

Li Bai

(701 - 762)

Photograph of American writer William T. Vollmann.

William T. Vollmann

Image of Japanese poet and essayist Yoshida Kenko.

Yoshida Kenko

(c. 1283 - c. 1351)

Depiction of Greek lyric poet Sappho.

Sappho

(c. 610 BC - c. 570 BC)

Photograph of Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann.

Albert Hofmann

(1906 - 2008)

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

Charles Mackay

(1814 - 1889)

Black and white photograph of German writer Hermann Hesse.

Hermann Hesse

(1877 - 1962)

Black and white photograph of Russian author Leo Tolstoy.

Leo Tolstoy

(1828 - 1910)

Image of American lawyer and autobiographer Richard Henry Dana Jr.

Richard Henry Dana Jr.

(1815 - 1882)

Portrait bust of Greek historian Xenophon.

Xenophon

(c. 430 BC - c. 351 BC)

Depiction of German abbess and mystic St. Hildegard.

Hildegard of Bingen

(1098 - 1179)

Photograph of American novelist and poet Jack Kerouac.

Jack Kerouac

(1922 - 1969)

Photograph of American humorist and author David Sedaris.

David Sedaris

Photograph of German literary critic Walter Benjamin.

Walter Benjamin

(1892 - 1940)

Kingsley Amis

(1922 - 1995)

Ernest Hemingway standing between two large hanging fish

Ernest Hemingway

(1899 - 1961)

Photograph of American jazz musician Art Pepper with saxophone.

Art Pepper

(1925 - 1982)

Lewis Lapham at his desk

Lewis H. Lapham

Photograph of Charles Baudelaire

Charles Baudelaire

(1821 - 1867)

James Joyce

(1882 - 1941)

Portrait of French writer Stendhal.

Stendhal

(1783 - 1842)

Photograph of American novelist and short story writer Stephen Crane.

Stephen Crane

(1871 - 1900)

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

Sylvia Plath

(1932 - 1963)

Painting of François Rabelais.

François Rabelais

(1494 - 1553)

Color portrait of the Italian writer and libertine Giacomo Casanova.

Giacomo Casanova

(1725 - 1798)

Photograph of British writer Roald Dahl.

Roald Dahl

(1916 - 1990)

Photograph of American writer William S. Burroughs.

William S. Burroughs

(1914 - 1997)

Photograph of American writer Denis Johnson.

Denis Johnson

(1949 - 2017)

Photograph of American novelist Jack London.

Jack London

(1876 - 1916)

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

Sven Birkerts

Depiction of Plymouth colony governor William Bradford.

William Bradford

(1590 - 1657)

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

Frederick Douglass

(c. 1818 - 1895)

Dorothy Parker working at her typewriter.

Dorothy Parker

(1893 - 1967)

Frontispiece for 1612-13 King James Bible.

The Bible

Photograph of American poet Countee Cullen.

Countee Cullen

(1903 - 1946)

Photograph of journalist and author Fitz Hugh Ludlow.

Fitz Hugh Ludlow

(1836 - 1870)

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

Honoré de Balzac

(1799 - 1850)

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

Emily Dickinson

(1830 - 1886)

Photograph of President Abraham Lincoln sitting in a chair.

Abraham Lincoln

(1809 - 1865)

Rebecca Lemon

Painted portrait of English poet John Milton.

John Milton

(1608 - 1674)

Quintus Curtius Rufus

(c. 41 - c. 79)

Photograph of American feminist and author Anne Roiphe.

Anne Roiphe

Photograph of American professional baseball player Dock Ellis.

Dock Ellis

(1945 - 2008)

Andy Warhol

(1928 - 1987)

Joan Didion

(1934 - 2021)

Theognis

(c. 570 BC - c. 490 BC)

Photograph of American comedian and film star Harpo Marx.

Harpo Marx

(1888 - 1964)

Photograph of German writer Patrick Süskind.

Patrick Süskind

Portrait bust of Greek lyric poet Archilochus.

Archilochus

(c. 740 BC - 680 BC)

Portrait of English lyrical poet and critic Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

(1772 - 1834)

Photograph of American novelist and screenwriter Raymond Chandler.

Raymond Chandler

(1888 - 1959)

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

Oliver Goldsmith

(1730 - 1774)

Black and white image of American writer Herman Melville.

Herman Melville

(1819 - 1891)

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

F. Scott Fitzgerald

(1896 - 1940)

Depiction of Greek philosopher Plato.

Plato

(c. 427 BC - c. 347 BC)