Quintus Curtius Rufus

(c. 41 - c. 79)

Photograph of American clinical psychologist and writer Kay Redfield Jamison.

Kay Redfield Jamison

Photograph of American author Dennis Covington.

Dennis Covington

Photograph of American novelist and screenwriter Raymond Chandler.

Raymond Chandler

(1888 - 1959)

Theognis

(c. 570 BC - c. 490 BC)

Photograph of Charles Baudelaire

Charles Baudelaire

(1821 - 1867)

Photograph of American jazz musician Art Pepper with saxophone.

Art Pepper

(1925 - 1982)

Portrait of English lyrical poet and critic Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

(1772 - 1834)

Portrait of English physician John Elliotson.

John Elliotson

(1791 - 1868)

Black and white photograph of German writer Hermann Hesse.

Hermann Hesse

(1877 - 1962)

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

F. Scott Fitzgerald

(1896 - 1940)

Kingsley Amis

(1922 - 1995)

Photograph of American writer William S. Burroughs.

William S. Burroughs

(1914 - 1997)

Depiction of German abbess and mystic St. Hildegard.

Hildegard of Bingen

(1098 - 1179)

Photograph of literary agent and author Bill Clegg.

Bill Clegg

Lewis Lapham at his desk

Lewis H. Lapham

(1935 - 2024)

Image of Japanese poet Ōtomo Tabito with horse.

Ōtomo Tabito

(665 - 731)

Photograph of journalist and author Fitz Hugh Ludlow.

Fitz Hugh Ludlow

(1836 - 1870)

Photograph of American poet Countee Cullen.

Countee Cullen

(1903 - 1946)

Depiction of Greek lyric poet Sappho.

Sappho

(c. 610 BC - c. 570 BC)

Engraving of Pliny the Elder.

Pliny the Elder

(23 - 79)

Depiction of chief of the Miami tribe Little Turtle.

Little Turtle

(c. 1752 - 1812)

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

John Addington Symonds

(1840 - 1893)

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

Marguerite Duras

(1914 - 1996)

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

W.B. Yeats

(1865 - 1939)

Photograph of German literary critic Walter Benjamin.

Walter Benjamin

(1892 - 1940)

Andy Warhol

(1928 - 1987)

Photograph of President Abraham Lincoln sitting in a chair.

Abraham Lincoln

(1809 - 1865)

Photograph of American humorist and author David Sedaris.

David Sedaris

Portrait of Chinese scholar and official Lin Zexu.

Lin Zexu

(1785 - 1850)

William Langland

(c. 1325 - c. 1390)

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

Frederick Douglass

(c. 1818 - 1895)

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

Oliver Goldsmith

(1730 - 1774)

Photograph of Irish playwright and novelist Frank O'Connor.

Frank O’Connor

(1903 - 1966)

Portrait bust of Greek lyric poet Archilochus.

Archilochus

(c. 740 BC - 680 BC)

Photograph of American novelist and poet Jack Kerouac.

Jack Kerouac

(1922 - 1969)

Rebecca Lemon

Portrait of Scottish biographer and diarist James Boswell.

James Boswell

(1740 - 1795)

Photograph of British writer Roald Dahl.

Roald Dahl

(1916 - 1990)

Photograph of American novelist and short story writer Stephen Crane.

Stephen Crane

(1871 - 1900)

Photograph of American professional baseball player Dock Ellis.

Dock Ellis

(1945 - 2008)

Photograph of American novelist Jack London.

Jack London

(1876 - 1916)

Photograph of American writer Denis Johnson.

Denis Johnson

(1949 - 2017)

Chinese poet Li Bai seated.

Li Bai

(701 - 762)

Portrait of King James I.

James I

(1566 - 1625)

James Joyce

(1882 - 1941)

Depiction of Greek philosopher Plato.

Plato

(c. 427 BC - c. 347 BC)

Photograph of Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann.

Albert Hofmann

(1906 - 2008)

Frontispiece for 1612-13 King James Bible.

The Bible

Photograph of American feminist and author Anne Roiphe.

Anne Roiphe

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

Sylvia Plath

(1932 - 1963)

Photograph of journalist, author, and professor Michael Pollan.

Michael Pollan

Color portrait of German theologian and reformer Martin Luther.

Martin Luther

(1483 - 1546)

Photograph of American comedian and film star Harpo Marx.

Harpo Marx

(1888 - 1964)

Portrait of English poet John Keats.

John Keats

(1795 - 1821)

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

Sven Birkerts

Portrait bust of Greek historian Xenophon.

Xenophon

(c. 430 BC - c. 351 BC)

Photograph of American author Jacqueline Susann.

Jacqueline Susann

(1921 - 1974)

Depiction of Plymouth colony governor William Bradford.

William Bradford

(1590 - 1657)

Image of American lawyer and autobiographer Richard Henry Dana Jr.

Richard Henry Dana Jr.

(1815 - 1882)

Ernest Hemingway standing between two large hanging fish

Ernest Hemingway

(1899 - 1961)

Painted portrait of English poet John Milton.

John Milton

(1608 - 1674)

Black and white image of American writer Herman Melville.

Herman Melville

(1819 - 1891)

Photograph of American writer Francine Prose.

Francine Prose

Dorothy Parker working at her typewriter.

Dorothy Parker

(1893 - 1967)

Photograph of German writer Patrick Süskind.

Patrick Süskind

German socialist philosopher Friedrich Engels.

Friedrich Engels

(1820 - 1895)

Photograph of American writer William T. Vollmann.

William T. Vollmann

Image of Japanese poet and essayist Yoshida Kenko.

Yoshida Kenko

(c. 1283 - c. 1351)

Portrait of French writer Stendhal.

Stendhal

(1783 - 1842)

Joan Didion

(1934 - 2021)

Painting of François Rabelais.

François Rabelais

(1494 - 1553)

Photograph of journalist Nick Reding.

Nick Reding

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

Emily Dickinson

(1830 - 1886)

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

Charles Mackay

(1814 - 1889)

Portrait of English essayist and critic Thomas De Quincey.

Thomas De Quincey

(1785 - 1859)

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

Honoré de Balzac

(1799 - 1850)

Depiction of Persian mathematician and poet Omar Khayyam.

Omar Khayyam

(1048 - 1131)

Black and white photograph of Russian author Leo Tolstoy.

Leo Tolstoy

(1828 - 1910)

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

Seneca the Younger

(4 BC - 65)

William Biddulph

Color portrait of the Italian writer and libertine Giacomo Casanova.

Giacomo Casanova

(1725 - 1798)