American Writers

The Powerful Objects From the Collections of the Smithsonian's Newest Museum

These artifacts each tell a part of the African-American story

Langston Hughes' Harlem brownstone: Cultural remnant or great place for a Starbucks?

The Fight to Preserve Langston Hughes’ Harlem Home From Gentrification

A new kind of Harlem renaissance is threatening the home of one of America's greatest poets

Is it disrespectful to sell a literary great’s remains—or is the stunt worthy of Capote himself?

Love Truman Capote? Buy His Ashes

Is the sale of Capote’s earthy remains a gauche publicity stunt or an act worthy of the audacious author?

The lone Lorax tree in Scripps Park, La Jolla.

Visit the Original Lorax Tree in Dr. Seuss's San Diego

Check out these Seuss-related sites in Theodore Geisel's adopted hometown

Sarah Winnemucca, the first Indian woman to write a book highlighting the plight of the Indian people.

Sarah Winnemucca Devoted Her Life to Protecting Native Americans in the Face of an Expanding United States

The 19th-century visionary often found herself stuck between two cultures

Tucked inside the campus of Indiana University, the Lilly Library is your one-stop shop for rare cultural treasures

See the Gutenberg Bible, 32,000 3D Mechanical Puzzles and a Lock of Edgar Allen Poe’s Hair at This Rare Library

Curiosity is a credential at Indiana University Library’s Lilly Library

The Rolling Stones performing live at Summerfest, Milwaukee, on 23 June 2015

For Rolling Stones Fans, This Book Is a Dream Come True

Journalist and author Rich Cohen first covered the Stones on tour in the 90s. Now he revisits that trip and the band’s epic history

Sarah Josepha Hale was the 19th century's answer to Oprah.

Five Fascinating Details About the Media Mogul Who May Have Written 'Mary Had a Little Lamb'

Everywhere that Sarah Josepha Hale went, success was sure to go

Sanora Babb with unidentified migrant workers

The Forgotten Dust Bowl Novel That Rivaled "The Grapes of Wrath"

Sanora Babb wrote about a family devastated by the Dust Bowl, but she lost her shot at stardom when John Steinbeck beat her to the punch

Harper Lee didn't like publicity.

Listen to a Rare Interview With Harper Lee

“[A]ll I want to be is the Jane Austen of South Alabama,” she told radio host Roy Newquist in 1964

This photograph of Harper Lee was taken in 1961, one year after she wrote for the Grapevine.

Five Things to Know About Harper Lee

The spunky and eloquent author is dead—but her legacy lives on

Nellie Bly in a photo dated soon after her return from her trip around the world.

Nellie Bly's Record-Breaking Trip Around the World Was, to Her Surprise, A Race

In 1889, the intrepid journalist under took her voyage, mainly by steamship and train, unknowingly competing against a reporter from a rival publication

Maybe the white whale just wanted a hyphen.

Why Does Moby-Dick (Sometimes) Have a Hyphen?

The hunt for the true story behind Melville's hyphen is as mysterious as the famous white whale

The house of Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of the "Little House on the Prairie" books

The Science of "Little House on the Prairie"

A mutual passion for Laura Ingalls Wilder inspired scientists in unrelated disciplines to investigate events from the famous author's world

Take a Historic Ride Along California's Famous Route 1

Here are seven of the most interesting historic stops along California's scenic highway

Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Juster’s first book, was published in 1961 and came about accidentally, through procrastination and boredom.

Why Milo's Sunrises Are a Symphony of Color in The Phantom Tollbooth

Author Norton Juster says one boon to his magical writing is that he was born with synesthesia and hears colors

Melville joked that Dana’s descriptions of Cape Horn “must have been written with an icicle.”

Before Moby-Dick, There Was "Two Years Before the Mast"

This salty memoir by Richard Henry Dana Jr. was one of America's first literary classics

Harper Lee in 2007, accepting the Presidential Medal of Freedom

Harper Lee is Releasing A Sequel to “To Kill A Mockingbird” in July

The novel was written before her prize-winning book and tells the story of Scout as an adult, returned to her hometown from New York

Parque Central in Old Havana, Cuba

Top Historic Sites to Visit in Cuba

Cuba is rich in history-laden spots—and a relaxed travel ban will make it easier for Americans to visit

A Lost John Steinbeck Short Story Was Rediscovered, Published

The short story deals with the racial politics of the mid-20th century

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