I remember sitting in grade school and listening to my teacher read “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving to the class. It was autumn, and the dark sky, rain, and autumn leaves blowing outside the classroom impressed on my brain forever. It was a chilling ghost story. Sometime toward the end of her reading, I thought to myself: “I am going to teach one day because I want this experience to exist for others.” In this post, we will dig into the life of Washington Irving, his accomplishments, and his impact.
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Sir Walter Scott: Father of Historical Fiction and Folklore
There are many legendary authors out there, and then there are authors who create legends. Sir Walter Scott is one of those authors. While he is most notable for the story of Ivanhoe, he spent years writing folklore and traditional mythology in Scotland. In this post, we will examine Sir Walter Scott’s life and writings.
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A Biography of Jonathan Swift: His Life and Works
For many of us, the first time we read “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift, we are either disgusted or quizzical about the nature of the text. After the text is explored, we then begin to find it funny or amusing. At the time the essay was released, the satire flew over some aristocratic heads and other were disgusted by its implications. However, Swift, an expert satirist, probably had no qualms about the reactions because that was his intention.
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F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Modernist Influence on Fiction
In examining the modernists, we find an emphasis on realistic description and emotional resonance. Ernest Hemingway’s descriptions of warfare, for example, ring true and are also traumatic. F Scott Fitzgerald, author of The Great Gatsby, also created depth in his writing that mirrored an age. In addition, Fitzgerald has had a lasting impression on literary history and modern writers. In this post, we will examine his life and writings.
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The Life of Ernest Hemingway: Modernist, Realist, Storyteller
It should go without saying that Ernest Hemingway is an extremely important writer to literary history. For example, his novel The Old Man and the Sea is an important book for a few reasons. First, it shows a modernist at the top of his game with robust prose and a deeply thematic story. It is also just as fine an example of modernist literature as one can find. In this way, Hemingway is a fixture in literary discussion. Not only is he one of the most important writers to come out of the early 1900s, but perhaps he’s one of the most influential and important writers in American history. Yet, the life of Ernest Hemingway was a difficult one, rife in ware, trauma, and death.
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Maya Angelou, author of “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”
Maya Angelou had many experiences in life are both damaging and uplifting. She endured great trauma and hardship only to persevere in the end. She has also contributed to literary history with her engaging, heart-wrenching stories. Similarly, her verse about the Black American experience has been transformative. In this post, we will look at her life and times and how these difficulties shaped her history.
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H.D., Poet and Imagist Writer
Some poetry really speaks to imagery found in the world. H.D., poet and imagist, was an expert at dialing in contrasts and juxtapositions found in the world. In this post, we examine her life and contribution to poetry.
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The Legacy of Gertrude Stein in Art and Literature
For some, “The Lost Generation” immediately conjures visions of writers strolling the late-night, forlorn streets of France. For others, it may very well be ghosts of World War I. In reality, the term is a metaphor for the artists and writers who wallowed in the years between the two Great Wars. The progenitor of this expression, meanwhile, is Gertrude Stein. She was an author and flamboyant artist who was curator of the arts. She was also an important figure during the modernist movement.
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The Life and Works of Robert Penn Warren
At the end of his life, Robert Penn Warren was a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and poet who had contributed much to literature. He had contributed realistic-story telling and excellent poetry in his lifetime. He also held the esteemed title of Poet Laureate. Throughout his life, he endeavored to explore literature and poetry through a keen sense of understanding of conventions and literary criticism.
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Exploring William Makepeace Thackeray’s Satirical Genius
Satire and the realist movement go hand-in-hand, considering Charles Dickens did it so well across multiple novels. Meanwhile, William Makepeace Thackeray was also behind the curtain, churning out masterpieces of realism and satire. Yet, through all of his writing, he is primarily known for one piece of fiction: Vanity Fair. In this post, we will explore his life and times.
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