Photograph of English novelist Charles Dickens.

Charles Dickens

(1812 - 1870)

Photograph of Charles Baudelaire

Charles Baudelaire

(1821 - 1867)

Photograph of American editor Brent Cunningham.

Brent Cunningham

Italian artist and author Giorgio Vasari.

Giorgio Vasari

(1511 - 1574)

Photograph of Marcel Proust looking pensive.

Marcel Proust

(1871 - 1922)

American poet Allen Ginsberg.

Allen Ginsberg

(1926 - 1997)

Photograph of German literary critic Walter Benjamin.

Walter Benjamin

(1892 - 1940)

Irish author Marguerite Gardiner, Countess of Blessington.

Marguerite Gardiner

(1789 - 1849)

English author Evelyn Waugh.

Evelyn Waugh

(1903 - 1966)

Photograph of American writer Ralph Ellison.

Ralph Ellison

(1914 - 1994)

American author Alice B. Toklas.

Alice B. Toklas

(1877 - 1967)

Jonathan Swift

Jonathan Swift

(1667 - 1745)

Ovid

(43 BC - c. 17)

Image of Japanese haiku poet Matsuo Bashō.

Matsuo Basho

(1644 - 1694)

American rock musician Ted Nugent.

Ted Nugent

Henry David Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau

(1817 - 1862)

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

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz

(c. 1651 - 1695)

British explorer John Smith.

John Smith

(c. 1580 - 1631)

Greek physician, writer, and philosopher Galen.

Galen

(129 - c. 216)

Photograph of Vladimir Nabokov

Vladimir Nabokov

(1899 - 1977)

Color photograph of American writer Annie Dillard.

Annie Dillard

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

M.F.K. Fisher

(1908 - 1992)

British suffragette activist, writer, and speaker Constance Lytton.

Constance Lytton

(1869 - 1923)

Hanna Lévy-Hass

(1913 - 2001)

Engraving of Roman poet Horace.

Horace

(65 BC - 8 BC)

Photograph of journalist, author, and professor Michael Pollan.

Michael Pollan

Indian actress and food writer Madhur Jaffrey.

Madhur Jaffrey

American poet William Carlos Williams.

William Carlos Williams

(1883 - 1963)

French Benedictine monk Antoine Augustin Calmet.

Antoine Augustin Calmet

(1672 - 1757)

photograph of David Foster Wallace speaking at a podium

David Foster Wallace

(1962 - 2008)

Australian poet and essayist Les Murray.

Les Murray

(1938 - 2019)

British traveler Charles M. Doughty.

Charles M. Doughty

(1843 - 1926)

English novelist, essayist, and critic George Orwell.

George Orwell

(1903 - 1950)

American chef, author, and television personality Anthony Bourdain.

Anthony Bourdain

(1956 - 2018)

Spanish soldier and author Bernal Díaz del Castillo.

Bernal Díaz del Castillo

(c. 1495 - 1584)

American journalist and author Paul Roberts.

Paul Roberts

Chinua Achebe

(1930 - 2013)

American novelist Upton Sinclair.

Upton Sinclair

(1878 - 1968)

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

Benjamin Franklin

(1706 - 1790)

American musician Duke Ellington.

Duke Ellington

(1899 - 1974)

American author Tom Robbins.

Tom Robbins

Neoplatonist Greek philosopher Porphyry.

Porphyry

(c. 234 - c. 305)

American professor and journalist Deborah Blum.

Deborah Blum

American cook and author Julia Child.

Julia Child

(1912 - 2004)

American food writer Ruth Reichl.

Ruth Reichl

Welsh clergyman and historian Gerald of Wales.

Gerald of Wales

(c. 1146 - c. 1223)

Statue of the Persian poet Ferdowsi.

Ferdowsi

(c. 935 - c. 1020)

Novelist and psychiatrist Daniel Mason.

Daniel Mason

Image of Chinese Song Dynasty poet Mei Yaochen.

Mei Yaochen

(1002 - 1060)

French author Alexandre Dumas.

Alexandre Dumas

(1802 - 1870)

Poet, essayist, and editor Ray Gonzalez.

Ray Gonzalez

English novelist and writer Frances Trollope.

Frances Trollope

(1779 - 1863)

Scottish novelist Tobias Smollett.

Tobias Smollett

(1721 - 1771)

Laura Ingalls Wilder

(1867 - 1957)

Comedian, actor, and writer Patton Oswalt.

Patton Oswalt

Piers Paul Read

American historian Francis Parkman.

Francis Parkman

(1823 - 1893)

Juvenal

(c. 60 - c. 130)

French author Anthelme Brillat-Savarin.

Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

(1755 - 1826)

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

Greil Marcus

Writer and editor Scott Korb.

Scott Korb

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

Jason Goodwin

Chinese tea writer Lu Yu.

Lu Yu

(733 - 804)

Photograph of American novelist Willa Cather.

Willa Cather

(1873 - 1947)

Painting of humanist and scholar Erasmus.

Erasmus

(1466 - 1536)

American journalist Hunter S. Thompson.

Hunter S. Thompson

(1937 - 2005)

French author Émile Zola.

Émile Zola

(1840 - 1902)

Roman emperor Julian.

Julian

(332 - 363)

John Wecker

(1528 - 1586)

Painted portrait of English poet John Milton.

John Milton

(1608 - 1674)

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

Homer

(c. 800 BC - 725 BC)

English animal rights advocate Donald Watson.

Donald Watson

(1910 - 2005)

Portrait bust of Greek historian Xenophon.

Xenophon

(c. 430 BC - c. 351 BC)

English novelist Henry Fielding.

Henry Fielding

(1707 - 1754)

British author Hilaire Belloc.

Hilaire Belloc

(1870 - 1953)

Black and white image of Greek biographer and writer Plutarch.

Plutarch

(46 - c. 120)

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)

Czech writer Bohumil Hrabal.

Bohumil Hrabal

(1914 - 1997)

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

Michel de Montaigne

(1533 - 1592)

Black and white engraving of Roman author Petronius.

Gaius Petronius Arbiter

(c. 27 - 66)

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

Frederick Douglass

(c. 1818 - 1895)

Dio Cassius

(c. 150 - 235)

American journalist Barbara Demick.

Barbara Demick

Harper Lee

(1926 - 2016)

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

H.L. Mencken

(1880 - 1956)

Lewis Lapham at his desk

Lewis H. Lapham

(1935 - 2024)

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

Saint Augustine

(354 - 430)

Sufi mystic and poet Rumi.

Rumi

(c. 1207 - 1273)