Apr. 30: Annie Dillard, American writer

BORN APRIL 30:

Annie Dillard (1945 - ) is an American writer whose Pilgrim at Tinker Creek won the 1975 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction. It is a first-person account of the narrator's explorations near her home with various contemplations on nature and life. It is divided into four sections, each indicating a season of a single year. It is based on Dillard's personal journals; it should come as no surprise to learn that her master's thesis was about Thoreau's Walden. Tinker Creek itself is outside Roanoke, Virginia, in the Blue Ridge Mountains. She taught for over 20 years at Wesleyan University; in addition to Pilgrim she has written poetry, two novels, essays, prose, literary criticism, and one memoir.

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Apr. 4: Maya Angelou, American poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist

BORN APRIL 4:

Maya Angelou (1928-2014), born Marguerite Annie Johnson, was an American poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist who published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, and several books of poetry. She is also credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years. The first of her autobiographies, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, tells of her life up to the age of 17 and and is widely read in high schools and colleges (perhaps more than any other book by an African American woman)--and widely challenged for its unvarnished portrayal of violence and sexuality, and use of "crude" language. Angelou has received numerous honors, including reciting her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" at the first inauguration of President Bill Clinton.

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Jan. 29: Edward Abbey, American environmental writer

BORN JANUARY 29:

Edward Abbey (1927-1989) American novelist and essayist who became an icon of the environmental movement. Desert Solitaire, based on his experience as a ranger at Arches National Monument (now a national park) is a model of "nature autobiography"; his novel The Monkey Wrench Gang depicts the use of sabotage to protest environmentally damaging activities in the Southwest.

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Jan. 9: Simone de Beauvoir, French writer and philosopher

BORN JANUARY 9:

Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986) French novelist, philosopher, and pioneering feminist (though she would have rejected the label); She Came to Stay; The Second Sex; Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter.

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Dec. 1: (Nicholas) Black Elk, Lakota (Sioux) elder

BORN DECEMBER 1:

(Nicholas) Black Elk (1863-1950) a second cousin to Crazy Horse who fought at his side in the Battle of Little Bighorn, he became a "medicine man" of his people, the Oglala Lakota ("Sioux"). He also survived the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre, and toured with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. In 1932, poet John Neihardt published Black Elk Speaks based on Black Elk's religious views, visions, and life story. How much was Black Elk and how much Neihardt no one can be sure. He later became a Catholic and served as a catechist.

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Nov. 23: Nirad C. Chaudhuri, Bengali writer

BORN NOVEMBER 23:

Nirad C. Chaudhuri (1897-1999) Indian Bengali-English writer decorated by Queen Elizabeth II; works include The Autobiography of an Unknown Indian, an intimate view of his life: born under the British Raj and written when he was 50 years old, four years after independence; and The Continent of Circe has essays on Hindu society from Prehistory to modern times.

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Sep. 4: Richard Wright, American author

BORN SEPTEMBER 4th:

Richard Wright (1908-1960) American writer known for his novel Native Son, an early portrayal of systemic racism; and his personal memoir Black Boy, which details his own experiences of racism in America.

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