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Celebrated annually during the final week of September, Banned Books Week was launched in the 1980s, following the highly popular 1982 American Booksellers Association BookExpo America trade show in Anaheim, California which showcased over 500 banned books. The week-long event spotlights both current and historical attempts to censor books in libraries and schools, celebrates the…
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One of the most fascinating genres to collect, Americana encompasses a broad range of titles, the most rare and desirable being the earliest texts printed in America. Containing resounding messages that played a significant role in the foundation and political history of the United States, among the most important books in American history are Thomas…
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One of the most celebrated figures of the Harlem Renaissance, poet, novelist and social activist Langston Hughes is widely considered one of the most important American writers of the 20th century. Through his poetry and fiction, Hughes sought not only to portray the experience of working-class blacks in America, but redefine, expand, and celebrate African…
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Perhaps the most influential figure of the 1950s pop art movement, American artist Andy Warhol bridged the gaps between consumerism, celebrity culture, and high art with his conceptional sculptures and iconic silk screen paintings. Warhol began his career as a graphic artist, designing commercial advertising and artwork for such popular magazines as Glamour, Vogue, and…
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International bestselling writer Haruki Murakami is best known for his magical realist novels that explore issues deeply rooted in the human experience. He has often been criticized by Japanese literary circles for being ‘un-Japanese’ because of the heavy influence of Western literature on his writing style. Opposing the Japanese ideal of the strong, independent…
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One of the most awarded American authors of his generation, Philip Roth created some of the most provocative novels exploring American identity through a masterful blending of realism and fiction. Born in Newark, New Jersey on March 19, 1933 Roth attended Bucknell University and later earned a master’s degree in literature from the University of…
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Celebrated on the third Monday in February in honor of the first president of the United States, George Washington, President’s Day was first established as a federal holiday in 1879 by an Act of Congress and continues to be a day of celebration, commemorating the presidency as an institution and America’s Founding Fathers. In observance…
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Today, Tuesday, January 19, 2021, marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of great American novelist Patricia Highsmith, best known for her classic psychological thrillers Strangers on a Train and The Talented Mr. Ripley. Born in Fort Worth, Texas on January 19, 1921, Highsmith had a troubled relationship with her mother and was sent to…
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By far one of the most popular writers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, English novelist, journalist and poet Rudyard Kipling was a prolific, versatile and gifted writer and, in 1907, became both the first writer of the English language and the youngest author to date to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature.…
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Published by Alfred A. Knopf on November 20, 1990, Michael Crichton’s best-selling science fiction novel Jurassic Park definitively established its author as “the most commercially successful science fiction writer of all time” (Robinson, 208). Designed by American artist and graphic designer Chip Kidd, the novel’s striking dust jacket design remains one of the…
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