Literary Arts Series

One of the leading authors in American literature, Faulkner was born in New Albany, Mississippi. Known for using a wide range of styles, Faulkner explored America’s geography, history, economy, and social and moral life in his writing. In 1949, he won the Nobel Prize for literature. He won Pulitzer Prizes in 1955, for “A Fable,” and in 1963, for “The Reivers.”

One of the most influential writers of the 20th century, Hemingway received the Nobel Prize for literature in 1954. Born in Illinois, his vast abilities became evident early in life. Authors Ezra Pound and Gertrude Stein recognized his talent and helped guide his early career. Among Hemingway’s most popular novels are “The Sun Also Rises” and “A Farewell to Arms,” written early in his career, and “The Old Man and the Sea,” which was written later in his life. Hemingway was well traveled and lived abroad in several countries. He settled in Cuba in 1945. Hemingway moved to Idaho after Fidel Castro’s regime forced him to leave the country.

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Moore is one of the greatest female poets in American history. Moore often used things in nature, such as birds and exotic animals, as the subjects in her poems as symbols of honesty and steadfastness. In 1952, Moore won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry for “Collected Poems.” As the editor of The Dial magazine from 1925-29, Moore encouraged many young writers by publishing their work.

Born in Fresno, California, Saroyan took to writing as a child, and sold his first story to a magazine when he was 20. In 1934, his first book was published, The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze. During his long career, Saroyan wrote hundreds of short stories, essays, novels, plays, and autobiographical works in more than 40 books. Saroyan was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for the play The Time of Your Life, but refused it, as he did not believe in literary prizes.

A celebrated writer and humorist, James Thurber became famous for his comic writings and cartoonlike drawings.  In 1927, Thurber joined the newly established magazine The New Yorker as a managing editor and staff writer. A prolific writer, he published 31 books, wrote numerous short stories and essays, and even wrote a play. Virtually all his work dealt with the anxieties of an individual in a modern society. His characters were usually dissatisfied men frustrated by the complications of the world, pressured by their jobs, and trapped by their domineering wives. A classic example of his work is the short story “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” which portrays an oversensitive man who escapes from his nagging wife through his daydreams.

Williams’ works expressed mixed feelings of sexual tension, frustration, and suppressed violence, while maintaining a compassionate, and often romantic, atmosphere. Many of the themes he explored were considered strange or shocking for their time. During his long, successful career, Williams wrote numerous plays, some of which were later made into movies, as well as film scripts, short stories, novels, and verse.

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald is known as one of the most gifted writers of the Roaring Twenties. His first novels, This Side of Paradise (1920) and The Beautiful and the Damned (1921), lyrically described the pleasure-seeking lifestyle of his generation, a lifestyle he actively participated in.

Well known for his innovative novels and plays, Thornton Wilder was born and raised in Madison, Wisconsin – one of the nation’s most progressive states. He was keenly interested in the people around him and acutely aware of the universal truths of human nature – many of which are reflected in his work.

Born in 1898, Stephen Vincent Benet was raised to be an author. Writing both poetry and prose, Benet combined detailed accounts of historical events with fiction and folklore. Perhaps the best example of this was the short story “The Devil and Daniel Webster.” Benet garnered critical acclaim for his works. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1938, and received the Pulitzer Prize for two works, “John Brown’s Body” and “Western Star.” In poor health for most of his life, Benet died of a heart attack at age 44.

The 17th stamp in the Literary Arts Series honors North Carolina-born author Thomas Wolfe. His novels, including “Look Homeward, Angel” (1929), “Of Time and the River” (1935), and “You Can’t Go Home Again” (1940), are largely autobiographical. The central character in his first two works, Eugene Gant, is based on Wolfe as a young man.

American humorist and poet Nash (1902-71) wrote light-hearted, whimsical, and sometimes nonsensical verse. He often used an extremely large poetic license to create comical rhymes and puns. Ogden Nash is the 18th honoree of the Literary Arts Series.

Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960), anthropologist, folklorist, and novelist, is considered one of America’s most original writers. Hurston was a central figure in the Harlem Renaissance. Her writing captured the musical speech and powerful imagery of African-Americans in the deep South.

One of the best known African-American writers of the 20th century, James Arthur Baldwin (1924-87) wrote of the destructive power of hatred and the positive power of love and brotherhood. The James Baldwin stamp is the 20th issue in the Literary Arts Series. A microprinted “USPS” can be found on the stamp along the handrail of the building.