American Writers

"Baltimore had once been a cosmopolitan jewel," writes Frank Deford.

Bleeve It, Hon

The tentative city the sportswriter grew up in has regained a bit of swagger

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Man of the Century

But 100 years after writing his classic memoir, the question about Henry Adams remains: Which century?

Tony Hillerman

Tony Hillerman's Mile-High Multiculturalism

Creator of savvy Native American sleuths, author Tony Hillerman cherished his Southwestern high desert home

"In his writing," Theroux says, E.B. White (shown on his Maine farm circa 1970) "is the kindest and most rational observer of the world."

Living With Geese

Novelist and gozzard Paul Theroux ruminates about avian misconceptions, anthropomorphism and March of the Penguins as "a travesty of science"

"I had driven up into the northwest Arkansas hills to spend a semester" at the University of Arkansas, says Gilchrist; she has stayed more than 30 years.

Watching Water Run

Uncomfortable in a world of privilege, a novelist headed for the hills

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An Interview with Josh Hammer, Author of "Return to the Marsh"

Ben Block spoke with Josh about Iraq and reporting in dangerous regions of the world

Author Pete Hamill

Author Pete Hamill

Pete Hamill, author of "Downtown: My Manhattan," discusses what makes New York home

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Interview with Louise Erdrich

Erdrich speaks about notable weather, Wal-Mart and writing

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What's Eating America

Corn is one of the plant kingdom's biggest successes. That's not necessarily good for the United States

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Interview: David Roberts, Author of "Below the Rim"

Author David Roberts talks about what he found surprising while exploring the Grand Canyon.

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Worlds Apart

Change and constance on sceptered isles

Author Maya Angelou hosts the 2000 annual conference for the Children's Defense Fund in March 2007.

35 Who Made a Difference: Maya Angelou

By singing of her own hardships, she has given strength to others

35 Who Made a Difference: Wendell Berry

A Kentucky poet draws inspiration from the land that sustains him

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One Writer's Garden

In Jackson, Mississippi, preservationists are restoring the verdant retreat that sustained novelist Eudora Welty

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Walden's Ripple Effect

One hundred fifty years after its publication, Henry David Thoreau's meditation remains the ultimate self-help book

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Seeing Sylvia Plath

A new movie rekindles curiosity about the poet's life, love and suicide at age 30

Mark Twain (in 1906) "simply never, never goes stale," says editor Harriet Smith. If all goes well, annotating Twain's letters should be completed by 2021.

Keeping Up with Mark Twain

Berkeley researchers toil to stay abreast of Samuel Clemens' enormous literary output, which appears to continue unabated

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Land Shark

In his noir satires, novelist and eco-warrior Carl Hiaasen ravages those who dare to desecrate

"Hitch your wagon to a star," wrote Emerson, whose Concord, Massachusetts, residence (c. 1900) is now a museum, Emerson House.

Still Ahead of His Time

Born 200 years ago this month, Ralph Waldo Emerson had some strange ideas about the natural world. Recent research suggests they might even be true

Maya Angelou by Ross Rossin, 2013.

Growing Up Maya Angelou

The famed writer discusses her childhood, her writing and the importance of family

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