Esther's Classic Literature Blog April 2006 Archive

Whether you've just purchased the book, you've had the book for decades, it's been passed down in an inheritance, or you're just curious to know before you buy--discovering the value ... Read More

Death walks through Book Thief, following the horrors experienced by a young girl, Liesel Meminger, in Nazi Germany. The author, Markus Zusak, uses the voice of Death to chronicle the ... Read More

Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926. She would become famous for her novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, for which she received the Pulitzer Prize. In this famous work ... Read More

Hart Crane was an American poet, who never finished high school. He lived in New York City for a time, and wrote poetry. On April 27, 1932, Hart Crane committed ... Read More

Bernard Malamud was a Jewish-American writer, born in Brooklyn, New York on April 26, 1914. He's perhaps best knwon for his short stories, but his novel, The Fixer, was also ... Read More

Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day, is a day to remember the six million Jews who were murdered in the concentration camps and on the streets in the devastating The ... Read More

Have you ever wondered what you would do if you washed up on a deserted island? Daniel Defoe dramatizes such an experience in Robinson Crusoe! Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe was ... Read More

Writing about the religiousity and sensuality in Christina Rossetti's "Goblin Market," Virginia Woolf once wrote: "Death, oblivion, and rest lap round your songs with their dark wave." But then, "a ... Read More

The man we know as Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564. He died on the same day in 1616. So, what's the deal with this guy? Why is he ... Read More

Immanuel Kant was born on April 22, 1724. He was a German philosopher and writer, who wrote The Critique of Pure Reason (1781). Immanuel Kant once wrote: "Experience without theory ... Read More

Today, we recollect Mark Twain. On April 21, 1910, Mark Twain (born Samuel Clemens) died in Redding, Connecticut of angina pectoris. Upon hearing of Twain's death, President Taft said, "Mark ... Read More

Marcus Aurelius was born on April 20, 121 AD. He was a Stoic, famous for Meditations. Of course he was also a Roman Emperor, from 161 AD. In Meditations, Marcus ... Read More

George Gordon Noel Byron, 6th Baron Byron (Lord Byron) was the original model for the byronic hero. Famous for his outrageous and controversial behavior, Byron wrote passionate poetry that included ... Read More

It's the anniversary of the big San Francisco earthquake, the catastrophic event that engulfed the city in fire and smoke as chaos reigned. It's been called the "deadliest earthquake in ... Read More

On April 17, 1897, Thornton Wilder was born in Madison, Wisconsin. His father, Amos Wilder, was a diplomat; so Thornton grew up in China. His first novel, The Cabala appeared ... Read More

Truman Capote is perhaps most famous for his nonfiction novel, In Cold Blood (1966). Truman Capote was a reknowned novelist, short story writer, and playwright. His life and legacy was ... Read More

Henry James was a diverse American writer. Henry James wrote 20 novels, 112 stories, 12 plays, and literary criticism. He's famous for The Turn of the Screw and other works. ... Read More

It was a time of death and dying. Thousands of people fled before the devastating onslaught of the Black Death, but the horror was unrelenting. In The Great Mortality, John ... Read More

Anne Frank is well-known for her diary, which detailed her experiences as a young teenager during the Holocaust. She went into hiding with her family and later died in a ... Read More

Beverly Cleary was born on April 12, 1916. She was born Beverly Bunn in Oregon, and became a popular author of more than 30 books, some of which won awards ... Read More

It's time for baseball! And, while we're talking about baseball, Casey at the Bat comes to mind. Ernest Lawrence Thayer (1863-1940) initially published the poem in the San Francisco Examiner ... Read More

The signs of Easter are everywhere: bunnies, candy, floral dresses, hats, baskets, chicks, and so much more. It wasn't so very long ago when I was out there taking part ... Read More

Today, we recollect Mark Twain. On April 9, 1859, Mark Twain (born Samuel Clemens) received his pilot's license for the steamboat, after becoming an apprentice in 1857. He wrote about ... Read More

Death walks through Book Thief, following the horrors experienced by a young girl, Liesel Meminger, in Nazi Germany. The author, Markus Zusak, uses the voice of Death to chronicle the ... Read More

Together with Samuel Coleridge, William Wordsworth created a book of poems called Lyrical Ballads (1798). Wordsworth was born on April 7, 1770, and he is one of the most prominent ... Read More

The trials and tribulations of Oscar Wilde are well-known. What started out as a seemingly harmless libel suit turned into devastation (as Oscar Wilde was prosecuted and imprisoned). After losing ... Read More

Algernon Charles Swinburne was a British poet during the Victorian period. Swinburne was born on April 5, 1837, and he was criticized for some of the more sexually charged and ... Read More

I don't know how many times I've searched library shelves for a book that is unexplainably missing (even though the online catalog says it's on the shelf). The search is ... Read More

Test your knowledge about William Shakespeare. Identify the play (or other work by William Shakespeare) in which the lines appear. These are just a few lines from Shakespeare, but they ... Read More

In April, we celebrate National Poetry Month--with poetry readings, discussions, activities, and much more. Learn more about the poets! National Poetry Month Poetry Speaks Great Writers Speak Read more works in literature: American Literature Anthologies Poetry, ... Read More

Mark Twain once wrote: "The first of April is the day we remember what we are the other 364 days of the year." Read more about fools in literature, and ... Read More