Photograph of American writer William S. Burroughs.

William S. Burroughs

(1914 - 1997)

Photograph of journalist Nick Reding.

Nick Reding

Depiction of Greek lyric poet Sappho.

Sappho

(c. 610 BC - c. 570 BC)

Depiction of Greek philosopher Plato.

Plato

(c. 427 BC - c. 347 BC)

Portrait of King James I.

James I

(1566 - 1625)

Depiction of Persian mathematician and poet Omar Khayyam.

Omar Khayyam

(1048 - 1131)

Color portrait of the Italian writer and libertine Giacomo Casanova.

Giacomo Casanova

(1725 - 1798)

Photograph of American clinical psychologist and writer Kay Redfield Jamison.

Kay Redfield Jamison

Photograph of American feminist and author Anne Roiphe.

Anne Roiphe

Lewis Lapham at his desk

Lewis H. Lapham

(1935 - 2024)

William Langland

(c. 1325 - c. 1390)

Photograph of German literary critic Walter Benjamin.

Walter Benjamin

(1892 - 1940)

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

Emily Dickinson

(1830 - 1886)

Photograph of American humorist and author David Sedaris.

David Sedaris

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

Seneca the Younger

(4 BC - 65)

Engraving of Pliny the Elder.

Pliny the Elder

(23 - 79)

Portrait of French writer Stendhal.

Stendhal

(1783 - 1842)

Joan Didion

(1934 - 2021)

Photograph of American jazz musician Art Pepper with saxophone.

Art Pepper

(1925 - 1982)

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

Honoré de Balzac

(1799 - 1850)

Photograph of American writer William T. Vollmann.

William T. Vollmann

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

Charles Mackay

(1814 - 1889)

Portrait of Scottish biographer and diarist James Boswell.

James Boswell

(1740 - 1795)

Andy Warhol

(1928 - 1987)

Portrait bust of Greek historian Xenophon.

Xenophon

(c. 430 BC - c. 351 BC)

William Biddulph

Photograph of Charles Baudelaire

Charles Baudelaire

(1821 - 1867)

Photograph of American novelist and screenwriter Raymond Chandler.

Raymond Chandler

(1888 - 1959)

Photograph of German writer Patrick Süskind.

Patrick Süskind

Photograph of journalist, author, and professor Michael Pollan.

Michael Pollan

Photograph of literary agent and author Bill Clegg.

Bill Clegg

Depiction of German abbess and mystic St. Hildegard.

Hildegard of Bingen

(1098 - 1179)

Image of Japanese poet and essayist Yoshida Kenko.

Yoshida Kenko

(c. 1283 - c. 1351)

Kingsley Amis

(1922 - 1995)

Painted portrait of English poet John Milton.

John Milton

(1608 - 1674)

Chinese poet Li Bai seated.

Li Bai

(701 - 762)

Theognis

(c. 570 BC - c. 490 BC)

Photograph of American author Jacqueline Susann.

Jacqueline Susann

(1921 - 1974)

Black and white photograph of Russian author Leo Tolstoy.

Leo Tolstoy

(1828 - 1910)

Frontispiece for 1612-13 King James Bible.

The Bible

Painting of François Rabelais.

François Rabelais

(1494 - 1553)

Photograph of American poet Countee Cullen.

Countee Cullen

(1903 - 1946)

Photograph of American novelist Jack London.

Jack London

(1876 - 1916)

Depiction of Plymouth colony governor William Bradford.

William Bradford

(1590 - 1657)

Portrait bust of Greek lyric poet Archilochus.

Archilochus

(c. 740 BC - 680 BC)

Portrait of English poet John Keats.

John Keats

(1795 - 1821)

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

F. Scott Fitzgerald

(1896 - 1940)

Photograph of American author Dennis Covington.

Dennis Covington

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

Marguerite Duras

(1914 - 1996)

Photograph of Irish playwright and novelist Frank O'Connor.

Frank O’Connor

(1903 - 1966)

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

John Addington Symonds

(1840 - 1893)

Photograph of journalist and author Fitz Hugh Ludlow.

Fitz Hugh Ludlow

(1836 - 1870)

Quintus Curtius Rufus

(c. 41 - c. 79)

Photograph of American comedian and film star Harpo Marx.

Harpo Marx

(1888 - 1964)

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

Frederick Douglass

(c. 1818 - 1895)

Image of American lawyer and autobiographer Richard Henry Dana Jr.

Richard Henry Dana Jr.

(1815 - 1882)

James Joyce

(1882 - 1941)

Black and white image of American writer Herman Melville.

Herman Melville

(1819 - 1891)

Photograph of American professional baseball player Dock Ellis.

Dock Ellis

(1945 - 2008)

Photograph of British writer Roald Dahl.

Roald Dahl

(1916 - 1990)

Depiction of chief of the Miami tribe Little Turtle.

Little Turtle

(c. 1752 - 1812)

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

Sylvia Plath

(1932 - 1963)

Image of Japanese poet Ōtomo Tabito with horse.

Ōtomo Tabito

(665 - 731)

Ernest Hemingway standing between two large hanging fish

Ernest Hemingway

(1899 - 1961)

Photograph of American writer Francine Prose.

Francine Prose

Black and white photograph of German writer Hermann Hesse.

Hermann Hesse

(1877 - 1962)

Portrait of English lyrical poet and critic Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

(1772 - 1834)

Dorothy Parker working at her typewriter.

Dorothy Parker

(1893 - 1967)

Rebecca Lemon

Color portrait of German theologian and reformer Martin Luther.

Martin Luther

(1483 - 1546)

Portrait of Chinese scholar and official Lin Zexu.

Lin Zexu

(1785 - 1850)

Portrait of English physician John Elliotson.

John Elliotson

(1791 - 1868)

Photograph of Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann.

Albert Hofmann

(1906 - 2008)

Photograph of American novelist and short story writer Stephen Crane.

Stephen Crane

(1871 - 1900)

Photograph of American novelist and poet Jack Kerouac.

Jack Kerouac

(1922 - 1969)

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

Photograph of President Abraham Lincoln sitting in a chair.

Abraham Lincoln

(1809 - 1865)

Portrait of English essayist and critic Thomas De Quincey.

Thomas De Quincey

(1785 - 1859)

Photograph of American writer Denis Johnson.

Denis Johnson

(1949 - 2017)

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

W.B. Yeats

(1865 - 1939)

German socialist philosopher Friedrich Engels.

Friedrich Engels

(1820 - 1895)