Great Writers

In winning the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2017, this author was honored for his "novels of great emotional force," including "The Remains of the Day" and "Never Let Me Go."

Cornelius Eady tells the truth about the world through poetry, says New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who asked the poet to write and read a poem for his inauguration. Eady's recent poetry also includes a tribute to Renee Nicole Good.

Toni Morrison was the first Black woman to be awarded the Nobel laureate in literature. Her unvarnished exploration of Black identity in America brought her worldwide acclaim. Have you read her work? 

Clear, evocative, simply beautiful – words that describe this poet's work.

Get swept away by the haunting poetry of Ocean Vuong, an award-winning young Vietnamese-American poet, essayist, and novelist. 

The words of writer and civil rights activist James Baldwin are as relevant to America today as they were during his lifetime.

"Before you know what kindness really is, you must lose things," writes poet Naomi Shihab Nye.

An avant-garde poet who experimented with language in daring new ways.

If you haven't read George Orwell yet, now would be a good time.

This pioneering conservationist is considered one of the finest and most influential writers of the environmental movement.

"Poetry is a necessity of life," this prolific American poet said. "It is a function of poetry to locate those zones inside us that would be free, and declare them so."

Joy Harjo, a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, draws on her ancestors' experience in her award-winning poetry. She was the 23rd United States Poet Laureate (2019-22).