American Writers

What Does Thoreau's Walden Pond Look Like Today?

Photographer S.B. Walker captures the pond's eternal glow

Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson Was Fiercer Than You Think

A new biopic shows the poet as more than a mysterious recluse

The Featured Works display at the American Writers Museum in Chicago.

America's First Writers Museum Is Slated to Open in May

A new home for celebrating American literary titans, titles and traditions takes root in Chicago

Most players of “Walden” go straight to survival tasks, admits Fullerton.

Can a Video Game Capture the Magic of Walden?

Henry David Thoreau's famed retreat gets pixelated

Channel Parker's vicious wit in the coat she wore for decades.

Fans of Dorothy Parker Can Pay to Wear Her Mink Coat

It’s all in the name of preservation

This photograph of Abigail Scott Dunway features the words "Yours for Liberty,"—the phrase she always used when she signed her name.

This Hell-Raising Suffragist’s Name Will Soon Grace an Oregon Hotel

Abigail Scott Duniway staged a lifelong fight for women's rights

Samuel Clemens often told stories to his children, but only one has survived.

New Mark Twain Fairy Tale Unearthed

The previously unknown—and unfinished—story was hiding in plain sight

Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michael Basquiat won the 2017 Randolph Caldecott Medal.

American Librarians Just Chose 2017’s Best Books for Children and Young Adults

Meet the 2017 Newbery, Caldecott and Printz award winners

Now, writers can find inspiration in the historic library of one of America's most famous authors.

You Can Write Inside Mark Twain’s Library

Commune with Clemens in his historic home

Mount McKinley

Visit These Ten Sites Celebrating Major Anniversaries in 2017

From Jane Austen’s 200th anniversary to the founding of Denali National Park, there are plenty of events to fill your calendar

Isaac Asimov at age 70.

If Isaac Asimov Had Named The Smartphone, He Might Have Called It The “Pocket Computer Mark II”

The sci-fi author correctly predicted a number of innovations that have come to pass

The old county courthouse in Monroeville, Alabama will soon be just one of the town's many To Kill a Mockingbird-themed attractions.

Lawyer Wants to Make Harper Lee’s Hometown a Haven for Tourists

Monroeville, Alabama, could change with a proposed Harper Lee Trail

Portrait of Jack London by Arnold Genthe

The Short, Frantic, Rags-to-Riches Life of Jack London

Jack London State Historic Park, home to the rough and tumble troublemaker with a prolific pen

Ellen Willis in upstate New York in 1970

One of the First Female Rock Critics Battled Sexism and Obscurity To Document the 1970s

Willis was The New Yorker’s first pop music critic, but to her, everything was open for criticism

Some of the performers are circus-trained, adding authenticity to the aerial acrobatics displayed.

“Call Me Ishmael” Is the Only Melville Tradition in This Innovative Presentation of “Moby Dick”

Visceral, kinesthetic, cinematic, aural and psychological, Arena Stage’s new show about the 19th-century novel is a 21st-century experience

James Welch is featured on today's Google home page in honor of his birthday.

Google Makes Ledger Art to Celebrate Legendary Native American Author James Welch

In an exclusive interview with Smithsonian.com, artist Sophie Diao talks about what inspired today's Google Doodle

A legal rumpus threw the author's epic book collection into question.

Legal Dispute Over Maurice Sendak’s Epic Book Collection Gets Wild

A legal rumpus has concluded—but have concerns about the author's legacy only just begun?

These Women Reporters Went Undercover to Get the Most Important Scoops of Their Day

Writing under pseudonyms, the so-called girl stunt reporters of the late 19th century played a major role in exposing the nation's ills

This book of Grimm's Fairy Tales is entirely written using words with one syllable.

Channel Childhoods Gone By With This Digital Archive of Victorian Children’s Books

From nursery rhymes to religious lectures, this digital archive shows how kids read in a bygone age

People sit on a roof waiting to be rescued after Hurricane Katrina

Eleven Years After Katrina, What Lessons Can We Learn Before the Next Disaster Strikes?

Author and playwright John Biguenet offers his thoughts on the narrative of destruction

Page 8 of 14