Nonfiction Authors L-Z, PLA-RIC
Meet the essayists, biographers, historians, journalists, and other nonfiction writers whose work has informed readers, challenged assumptions, and brought the real world vividly to the page.
Nonfiction Authors L-Z Encyclopedia Articles By Title
Planudes, Maximus
Maximus Planudes was a Greek Orthodox humanities scholar, anthologist, and theological polemicist in the controversy......
Plath, Sylvia
Sylvia Plath was an American poet and novelist whose best-known works, such as the poems âDaddyâ and âLady Lazarusâ......
Plato
Plato was an ancient Greek philosopher, student of Socrates (c. 470â399 bce), teacher of Aristotle (384â322 bce),......
Pliny the Younger
Pliny the Younger was a Roman author and administrator who left a collection of private letters that intimately......
Plisnier, Charles
Charles Plisnier was a Belgian novelist, short-story writer, poet, and essayist noted for his intense, analytical......
Plomer, William
William Plomer was a South African-born British man of letters, whose writing covered many genres: poetry, novels,......
Plutarch
Plutarch was a biographer and author whose works strongly influenced the evolution of the essay, the biography,......
Poggio Bracciolini, Gian Francesco
Gian Francesco Poggio Bracciolini was an Italian humanist and calligrapher, foremost among scholars of the early......
Pohl, Frederik
Frederik Pohl was an American science-fiction writer whose best work uses the genre as a mode of social criticism......
Polley, Sarah
Sarah Polley is a Canadian actor, director, writer, and producer who first won acclaim as a child actor, noted......
Polo, Marco
Marco Polo was a Venetian merchant and adventurer who traveled from Europe to Asia in 1271â95, remaining in China......
Polyaenus
Polyaenus was a Macedonian rhetorician and pleader who lived in Rome and was the author of a work entitled Strategica......
Poncet, Charles-Jacques
Charles-Jacques Poncet was a French resident pharmacist in Cairo known for the account of his travels in Ethiopia,......
Pontano, Giovanni
Giovanni Pontano was an Italian prose writer, poet, and royal official whose works reflect the diversity of interests......
Pontoppidan, Henrik
Henrik Pontoppidan was a Realist writer who shared with Karl Gjellerup the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1917 for......
Porphyry
Porphyry was a Neoplatonist Greek philosopher, important both as an editor and as a biographer of the philosopher......
Porter, Hal
Hal Porter was an Australian novelist, playwright, poet, and autobiographer noted for his style and sometimes disturbing......
Porter, Katherine Anne
Katherine Anne Porter was an American novelist and short-story writer, a master stylist whose long short stories......
Portis, Charles
Charles Portis was an American novelist whose works were admired for their deadpan comic tone, colourfully sketched......
Potok, Chaim
Chaim Potok was an American rabbi and author whose novels introduced to American fiction the spiritual and cultural......
Pound, Ezra
Ezra Pound was an American poet and critic, a supremely discerning and energetic entrepreneur of the arts who did......
Powell, Anthony
Anthony Powell was an English novelist, best known for his autobiographical and satiric 12-volume series of novels,......
Powell, William
William Powell was an American writer who wrote the incendiary manual The Anarchist Cookbook (1971), a how-to guide......
Powys, John Cowper
John Cowper Powys was a Welsh novelist, essayist, and poet, known chiefly for his long panoramic novels, including......
Powys, Llewelyn
Llewelyn Powys was a British author known for his books of essays, travel books, and memoirs. Powys was the eighth......
Pramoedya Ananta Toer
Pramoedya Ananta Toer was a Javanese novelist and short-story writer, the preeminent prose writer of post-independence......
Prejean, Sister Helen
Sister Helen Prejean is an American nun, who was a leader in the movement to abolish the death penalty. Prejean......
Presley, Priscilla
Priscilla Presley is an American actress and businesswoman best known for her marriage to musician Elvis Presley.......
Price, Reynolds
Reynolds Price was an American writer whose stories are set in the southern U.S. state of North Carolina, where......
Priestley, J B
J. B. Priestley was a British novelist, playwright, and essayist, noted for his varied output and his ability for......
Prince, F.T.
F.T. Prince was a South African-born poet who wrote verse of quiet intensity. His work is best exemplified by his......
Pringle, Thomas
Thomas Pringle was a Scottish-South African poet, often called the father of South African poetry. Pringle was......
Priscilla Presley: A Life in Pictures
Priscilla Presley is widely known for her marriage to the âKing of Rock and Roll,â Elvis Presley. In the years......
Pritchett, V.S.
V.S. Pritchett was a British novelist, short-story writer, and critic known throughout his long writing career......
Prokosch, Frederic
Frederic Prokosch was an American writer who became famous for his early novels and whose literary stature subsequently......
Prosper of Aquitaine, Saint
Saint Prosper of Aquitaine ; feast day July 7) was an early Christian polemicist famous for his defense of Augustine......
Proulx, Annie
Annie Proulx is an American writer whose darkly comic yet sad fiction is peopled with quirky, memorable individuals......
Proust, Marcel
Marcel Proust was a French novelist and the author of Ă la recherche du temps perdu (1913â27; In Search of Lost......
Przybyszewski, StanisĆaw
StanisĆaw Przybyszewski was a Polish essayist, playwright, and poet notable for espousing art as the creator of......
Prévost, Marcel
Marcel Prévost was a French novelist who made a sensation in France in the 1890s with stories purporting to show......
Psichari, Ernest
Ernest Psichari was a French writer and soldier whose works combine militaristic sentiments with a semimystical......
Publilius Syrus
Publilius Syrus was a Latin mime writer contemporary with Cicero, chiefly remembered for a collection of versified......
Purchas, Samuel
Samuel Purchas was an English compiler of travel and discovery writings who continued the encyclopaedic collections......
Purdy, Al
Al Purdy was one of the leading Canadian poets of the 20th century. His erudite, colloquial verse often deals with......
Putnam, Samuel
Samuel Putnam was an American editor, publisher, and author, best known for his translations of works by authors......
Pye, Henry James
Henry James Pye was a British poet laureate from 1790 to 1813. Pye was educated at Magdalen College, Oxford (M.A.,......
Pym, Barbara
Barbara Pym was an English novelist, a recorder of post-World War II upper middle-class life, whose elegant and......
PĂ©rez de Ayala, RamĂłn
RamĂłn PĂ©rez de Ayala was a Spanish novelist, poet, and critic who excelled in philosophical satire and the novel......
PĂ©rez de GuzmĂĄn, FernĂĄn
FernĂĄn PĂ©rez de GuzmĂĄn was a Spanish poet, moralist, and historian, author of the first important work of history......
pâBitek, Okot
Okot pâBitek was a Ugandan poet, novelist, and social anthropologist whose three verse collectionsâSong of Lawino......
Qian Zhongshu
Qian Zhongshu was a Chinese scholar and writer whose erudition and scholarly achievements were practically unrivaled......
Qu Yuan
Qu Yuan was one of the greatest poets of ancient China and the earliest known by name. His highly original and......
Quasimodo, Salvatore
Salvatore Quasimodo was an Italian poet, critic, and translator. Originally a leader of the Hermetic poets, he......
Queiroz, Rachel de
Rachel de Queiroz was a Brazilian novelist and member of a group of Northeastern writers known for their modernist......
Quennell, Sir Peter
Sir Peter Quennell was an English biographer, literary historian, editor, essayist, and critic. He was a wide-ranging......
Quental, Antero TarquĂnio de
Antero TarquĂnio de Quental was a Portuguese poet who was a leader of the Generation of Coimbra, a group of young......
Quevedo y Villegas, Francisco GĂłmez de
Francisco GĂłmez de Quevedo y Villegas was a poet and master satirist of Spainâs Golden Age, who, as a virtuoso......
Quindlen, Anna
Anna Quindlen is an American columnist and novelist who in 1992 became the third woman to win a Pulitzer Prize......
Quáčb, Sayyid
Sayyid Quáčb was an Egyptian writer who was one of the foremost figures in modern Sunni Islamic revivalism. He was......
Rabanus Maurus
Rabanus Maurus was an archbishop, Benedictine abbot, theologian, and scholar whose work so contributed to the development......
Rabassa, Gregory
Gregory Rabassa was an American translator who was largely responsible for bringing the fiction of contemporary......
Racine, Jean
Jean Racine was a French dramatic poet and historiographer renowned for his mastery of French classical tragedy.......
Radcliffe, Ann
Ann Radcliffe was the most representative of English Gothic novelists. She was a pioneer in developing a literature......
Raddall, Thomas Head
Thomas Head Raddall was an English-Canadian novelist, who accurately depicted the history, manners, and idiom of......
Radishchev, Aleksandr Nikolayevich
Aleksandr Nikolayevich Radishchev was a writer who founded the revolutionary tradition in Russian literature and......
Raleigh, Sir Walter
Sir Walter Raleigh was an English adventurer and writer, a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I, who knighted him in......
Ralph Of Coggeshall
Ralph Of Coggeshall was an English chronicler of the late 12th and early 13th centuries. Ralph was a monk of the......
Ram Dass
Ram Dass was an American spiritual leader, psychologist, and writer who was influential in the New Age movement.......
Ramadan, Tariq
Tariq Ramadan is a Swiss theologian, Islamics scholar, philosopher, and media personality. Although Ramadanâs parents......
Ramos, Graciliano
Graciliano Ramos was a Brazilian regional novelist whose works explore the lives of characters shaped by the rural......
Ramusio, Giovanni Battista
Giovanni Battista Ramusio was an Italian geographer who compiled an important collection of travel writings, Delle......
Rand, Paul
Paul Rand was an American graphic designer who pioneered a distinctive American Modernist style. After studying......
Rankine, Claudia
Claudia Rankine is a Jamaican-born American poet, playwright, educator, and multimedia artist whose work often......
Ransom, John Crowe
John Crowe Ransom was an American poet and critic, leading theorist of the Southern literary renaissance that began......
Ransome, Arthur
Arthur Ransome was an English writer best known for the Swallows and Amazons series of childrenâs novels (1930â47),......
Ratushinskaya, Irina Georgiyevna
Irina Georgiyevna Ratushinskaya was a Russian lyric poet, essayist, and political dissident. Ratushinskaya was......
Raven, Simon
Simon Raven was an English novelist, playwright, and journalist, known particularly for his satiric portrayal of......
Rawlinson, Sir Henry Creswicke
Sir Henry Creswicke Rawlinson was a British army officer and Orientalist who deciphered the Old Persian portion......
Rechy, John
John Rechy is an American novelist whose semiautobiographical works explore the worlds of sexual and social outsiders......
Reed, Ishmael
Ishmael Reed is an author of poetry, essays, novels, and plays who is perhaps best known for his fictional works,......
Rees, Martin
Martin Rees is an English cosmologist and astrophysicist who was a main expositor of the big-bang theory of the......
Reese, Lizette Woodworth
Lizette Woodworth Reese was an American poet whose work draws on the images of her rural childhood. After growing......
Regino Von PrĂŒm
Regino Von PrĂŒm was a cleric and chronicler who composed several ecclesiastical works and a chronicle covering......
Reich-Ranicki, Marcel
Marcel Reich-Ranicki was a Polish-born German columnist and television personality who became Germanyâs most influential......
Reid, Forrest
Forrest Reid was a Northern Irish novelist and critic who early came under the influence of Henry James. He is......
Remnick, David
David Remnick is one of the leading figures in American media, especially known as the editor of The New Yorker......
Renard, Jules
Jules Renard was a French writer best known for Poil de carotte (1894; Carrots, 1946), a bitterly ironical account......
Resende, Garcia de
Garcia de Resende was a Portuguese poet, chronicler, and editor, whose life was spent in the service of the Portuguese......
Restif, Nicolas-Edme
Nicolas-Edme Restif was a French novelist whose works provide lively, detailed accounts of the sordid aspects of......
Retz, Jean-François-Paul de Gondi, Cardinal de
Jean-François-Paul de Gondi, cardinal de Retz was one of the leaders of the aristocratic rebellion known as the......
Reve, Gerard
Gerard Reve was a Dutch writer noted for his virtuoso style and sardonic humour. His subject matter was occasionally......
Rexroth, Kenneth
Kenneth Rexroth was an American poet, painter, essayist, and translator. An early champion of the Beat movement,......
Reyes, Alfonso
Alfonso Reyes was a poet, essayist, short-story writer, literary scholar and critic, educator, and diplomat, generally......
Reza, Yasmina
Yasmina Reza is a French dramatist, novelist, director, and actress best known for her brief satiric plays that......
Rheingold, Howard
Howard Rheingold is an American writer who was especially influential in the development of virtual communities.......
Rhys, Jean
Jean Rhys was a West Indian novelist who earned acclaim for her early works set in the bohemian world of Europe......
Ribas, Ăscar
Ăscar Ribas was an Angolan folklorist and novelist, who recorded in Portuguese the oral tradition of the Mbundu......
Ribeyro, Julio RamĂłn
Julio RamĂłn Ribeyro was a short-story writer, novelist, and playwright, one of the Latin American masters of the......
Ricardo, Cassiano
Cassiano Ricardo was a poet, essayist, literary critic, and journalist, one of the most versatile 20th-century......
Rice, Alice Hegan
Alice Hegan Rice was an American novelist and short-story writer most widely known for her 1901 best-seller, Mrs.......