1951 in literature
Encyclopedia
The year 1951 in literature involved some significant events and new books.
Events
- E. E. CummingsE. E. CummingsEdward Estlin Cummings , popularly known as E. E. Cummings, with the abbreviated form of his name often written by others in lowercase letters as e.e. cummings , was an American poet, painter, essayist, author, and playwright...
and Rachel CarsonRachel CarsonRachel Louise Carson was an American marine biologist and conservationist whose writings are credited with advancing the global environmental movement....
are awarded Guggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
s. - Flannery O'ConnorFlannery O'ConnorMary Flannery O'Connor was an American novelist, short-story writer and essayist. An important voice in American literature, O'Connor wrote two novels and 32 short stories, as well as a number of reviews and commentaries...
is diagnosed with lupusLupus erythematosusLupus erythematosus is a category for a collection of diseases with similar underlying problems with immunity . Symptoms of these diseases can affect many different body systems, including joints, skin, kidneys, blood cells, heart, and lungs...
. - Anthony PowellAnthony PowellAnthony Dymoke Powell CH, CBE was an English novelist best known for his twelve-volume work A Dance to the Music of Time, published between 1951 and 1975....
produces the first novel of his A Dance to the Music of TimeA Dance to the Music of TimeA Dance to the Music of Time is a twelve-volume cycle of novels by Anthony Powell, inspired by the painting of the same name by Nicolas Poussin. One of the longest works of fiction in literature, it was published between 1951 and 1975 to critical acclaim...
duodecalogy. - Arthur C. ClarkeArthur C. ClarkeSir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, FRAS was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, famous for his short stories and novels, among them 2001: A Space Odyssey, and as a host and commentator in the British television series Mysterious World. For many years, Robert A. Heinlein,...
publishes "The SentinelThe Sentinel (short story)"The Sentinel" is a short story by Arthur C. Clarke, which was expanded and modified into the novel and movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. Clarke expressed impatience with the common description of it as "the story on which 2001 is based." He was quoted as saying, it is like comparing "an acorn to...
", the story that will form the basis for the film 2001: A Space Odyssey2001: A Space Odyssey (film)2001: A Space Odyssey is a 1968 epic science fiction film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, and co-written by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke, partially inspired by Clarke's short story The Sentinel...
. - First appearance of Dennis the MenaceDennis the Menace (UK)Dennis the Menace, later called Dennis the Menace and Gnasher and now Dennis and Gnasher, is a long-running comic strip in the British children's comic The Beano, published by D. C...
comic strip in The BeanoThe BeanoThe Beano is a British children's comic, published by D.C. Thomson & Co and is arguably their most successful.The comic first appeared on 30 July 1938, and was published weekly. During the Second World War,The Beano and The Dandy were published on alternating weeks because of paper and ink...
. - Janie Moore, C. S. LewisC. S. LewisClive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...
's adoptive mother, dies. - James ClavellJames ClavellJames Clavell, born Charles Edmund DuMaresq Clavell was an Australian-born, British novelist, screenwriter, director and World War II veteran and prisoner of war...
marries actress April Stride, who introduces him to the movie business. - Joe OrtonJoe OrtonJohn Kingsley Orton was an English playwright.In a short but prolific career lasting from 1964 until his death, he shocked, outraged and amused audiences with his scandalous black comedies...
enters the Royal Academy of Dramatic ArtRoyal Academy of Dramatic ArtThe Royal Academy of Dramatic Art is a drama school located in London, United Kingdom. It is generally regarded as one of the most renowned drama schools in the world, and is one of the oldest drama schools in the United Kingdom, having been founded in 1904.RADA is an affiliate school of the...
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New books
- Sholem AschSholem AschSholem Asch, born Szalom Asz , also written Shalom Asch was a Polish-born American Jewish novelist, dramatist, and essayist in the Yiddish language.-Life and work:...
- Moses - Isaac AsimovIsaac AsimovIsaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
- FoundationFoundation (novel)Foundation is the first book in Isaac Asimov's Foundation Trilogy . Foundation is a collection of five short stories, which were first published together as a book by Gnome Press in 1951...
- The Stars Like Dust
- Foundation
- Ray BradburyRay BradburyRay Douglas Bradbury is an American fantasy, horror, science fiction, and mystery writer. Best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 and for the science fiction stories gathered together as The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man , Bradbury is one of the most celebrated among 20th...
- The Illustrated ManThe Illustrated ManThe Illustrated Man is a 1951 book of eighteen science fiction short stories by Ray Bradbury that explores the nature of mankind. While none of the stories has a plot or character connection with the next, a recurring theme is the conflict of the cold mechanics of technology and the psychology of... - Gill HuntJohn Brunner (novelist)John Kilian Houston Brunner was a prolific British author of science fiction novels and stories. His 1968 novel Stand on Zanzibar, about an overpopulated world, won the 1968 Hugo Award for best science fiction novel. It also won the BSFA award the same year...
- Galactic Storm - Taylor CaldwellTaylor CaldwellJanet Miriam Holland Taylor Caldwell was an Anglo-American novelist and prolific author of popular fiction, also known by the pen names Marcus Holland and Max Reiner, and by her married name of J. Miriam Reback....
- The Balance Wheel - Morley CallaghanMorley CallaghanMorley Callaghan, was a Canadian novelist, short story writer, playwright, TV and radio personality.-Biography:...
- The Loved and the Lost - Truman CapoteTruman CapoteTruman Streckfus Persons , known as Truman Capote , was an American author, many of whose short stories, novels, plays, and nonfiction are recognized literary classics, including the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's and the true crime novel In Cold Blood , which he labeled a "nonfiction novel." At...
- The Grass HarpThe Grass HarpThe Grass Harp is a novel by Truman Capote published on October 1, 1951 It tells the story of an orphaned boy and two elderly ladies who observe life from a tree... - John Dickson CarrJohn Dickson CarrJohn Dickson Carr was an American author of detective stories, who also published under the pen names Carter Dickson, Carr Dickson and Roger Fairbairn....
- The Devil in VelvetThe Devil in VelvetThe Devil in Velvet, first published in 1951, is a detective story by John Dickson Carr. This novel is both a mystery and a historical novel, with elements of the supernatural.-Plot summary:... - Agatha ChristieAgatha ChristieDame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
- The Under Dog and Other StoriesThe Under Dog and Other StoriesThe Under Dog and Other Stories is a short story collection written by Agatha Christie and first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in 1951. The first edition retailed at $2.50....
- They Came to BaghdadThey Came to BaghdadThey Came to Baghdad is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on March 5, 1951 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year...
- The Under Dog and Other Stories
- Arthur C. ClarkeArthur C. ClarkeSir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, FRAS was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, famous for his short stories and novels, among them 2001: A Space Odyssey, and as a host and commentator in the British television series Mysterious World. For many years, Robert A. Heinlein,...
- Prelude to SpacePrelude to SpacePrelude to Space is a science fiction novel written by Arthur C. Clarke in 1947. However, it was not until 1951 that the story first appeared in magazine format from World Editions Inc as number three in the series Galaxy Science Fiction... - Robertson DaviesRobertson DaviesWilliam Robertson Davies, CC, OOnt, FRSC, FRSL was a Canadian novelist, playwright, critic, journalist, and professor. He was one of Canada's best-known and most popular authors, and one of its most distinguished "men of letters", a term Davies is variously said to have gladly accepted for himself...
- Tempest-TostTempest-TostTempest-Tost, published in 1951 by Clarke Irwin, is the first novel in The Salterton Trilogy by Canadian novelist Robertson Davies. The other two novels are Leaven of Malice and A Mixture of Frailties... - L. Sprague de CampL. Sprague de CampLyon Sprague de Camp was an American author of science fiction and fantasy books, non-fiction and biography. In a writing career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, including novels and notable works of non-fiction, including biographies of other important fantasy authors...
- Rogue QueenRogue QueenRogue Queen is a science fiction novel written by L. Sprague de Camp, the third book in his Viagens Interplanetarias series. It was first published in hardcover by Doubleday in 1951, and in paperback by Dell Books in 1952...
- The Undesired PrincessThe Undesired PrincessThe Undesired Princess is a 51,000 word fantasy novella written by L. Sprague de Camp. It was first published in the fantasy magazine Unknown Worlds for February, 1942. It was published in book form by Fantasy Publishing Company, Inc. in 1951. The book version also includes the 10,000 word fantasy...
- Rogue Queen
- August DerlethAugust DerlethAugust William Derleth was an American writer and anthologist. Though best remembered as the first publisher of the writings of H. P...
- The Memoirs of Solar PonsThe Memoirs of Solar PonsThe Memoirs of Solar Pons is a collection of detective fiction short stories by author August Derleth. It was released in 1951 by Mycroft & Moran in an edition of 2,038 copies... - Owen DodsonOwen DodsonOwen Vincent Dodson was an American poet, novelist, and playwright. He was one of the leading African American poets of his time, associated with the generation of black poets following the Harlem Renaissance....
- Boy at the Window - Daphne du MaurierDaphne du MaurierDame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning DBE was a British author and playwright.Many of her works have been adapted into films, including the novels Rebecca and Jamaica Inn and the short stories "The Birds" and "Don't Look Now". The first three were directed by Alfred Hitchcock.Her elder sister was...
- My Cousin RachelMy Cousin RachelMy Cousin Rachel is a novel by British author Daphne du Maurier, published in 1951. Like the earlier Rebecca, it is a mystery-romance, largely set on a large estate in Cornwall.-Plot overview:... - Howard FastHoward FastHoward Melvin Fast was an American novelist and television writer. Fast also wrote under the pen names E. V. Cunningham and Walter Ericson.-Early life:Fast was born in New York City...
- Spartacus - Per Anders FogelströmPer Anders FogelströmPer Anders Fogelström was among the leading figures in modern Swedish literature. He spent his whole life in Stockholm, and the most famous of his many works is a series of novels set in the city he dearly loved....
- Sommaren med Monika - Henri René GuieuHenri René GuieuHenri René Guieu was a French science fiction writer who published primarily with the pseudonym Jimmy Guieu. He occasionally used other pseudonyms as well, including Claude Vauzière for a young adult series, Jimmy G...
- Le Pionnier de l'atomeLe Pionnier de l'atomeLe Pionnier de l'atome is a French science fiction novel written by Henri René Guieu, under the pseudonym Jimmy Guieu. It was written in 1951.... - Graham GreeneGraham GreeneHenry Graham Greene, OM, CH was an English author, playwright and literary critic. His works explore the ambivalent moral and political issues of the modern world...
- The End of the AffairThe End of the AffairThe End of the Affair is a novel by British author Graham Greene, as well as the title of two feature films that were adapted for the screen based on the novel.... - John Hawkes - The Beetle Leg
- Robert A. HeinleinRobert A. HeinleinRobert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction writer. Often called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was one of the most influential and controversial authors of the genre. He set a standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of...
- The Puppet MastersThe Puppet MastersThe Puppet Masters is a 1951 science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein in which American secret agents battle parasitic invaders from outer space... - James JonesJames Jones (author)James Jones was an American author known for his explorations of World War II and its aftermath.-Life and work:...
- From Here to EternityFrom Here to EternityFrom Here to Eternity is a 1953 drama film directed by Fred Zinnemann and based on the novel of the same name by James Jones. It deals with the troubles of soldiers, played by Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Frank Sinatra and Ernest Borgnine stationed on Hawaii in the months leading up to the... - Nikos KazantzakisNikos KazantzakisNikos Kazantzakis was a Greek writer and philosopher, celebrated for his novel Zorba the Greek, considered his magnum opus...
- The Last Temptation of ChristThe Last Temptation of ChristThe Last Temptation of Christ is a novel written by Nikos Kazantzakis, first published in 1953. It was first published in English in 1960. It follows the life of Jesus Christ from his perspective... - A. M. KleinA. M. KleinAbraham Moses Klein was a Canadian poet, journalist, novelist, short story writer, and lawyer. He has been called "One of Canada's greatest poets and a leading figure in Jewish-Canadian culture."...
- The Second ScrollThe Second ScrollThe Second Scroll is a 1951 novel by the Jewish-Canadian writer A. M. Klein. Klein's only novel was written after his pilgrimage to the newly-founded nation of Israel in 1949... - Louis L'AmourLouis L'AmourLouis Dearborn L'Amour was an American author. His books consisted primarily of Western fiction novels , however he also wrote historical fiction , science fiction , nonfiction , as well as poetry and short-story collections. Many of his stories were made into movies...
- The Rustlers of the West Fork - C. S. LewisC. S. LewisClive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...
- Prince CaspianPrince CaspianPrince Caspian: The Return to Narnia is a novel for children by C. S. Lewis, written in late 1949 and first published in 1951. It is the second-published book in the Chronicles of Narnia series, although in the overall chronological sequence it comes fourth.-Plot summary:While standing on a... - John MastersJohn MastersLieutenant Colonel John Masters, DSO was an English officer in the British Indian Army and novelist. His works are noted for their treatment of the British Empire in India.-Life:...
- Nightrunners of BengalNightrunners of BengalNightrunners of Bengal is the title of the first novel by John Masters. It was published in the United States in January 1951 by the Viking Press, New York, and at first attracted severe criticism from some reviewers who objected to what they regarded as its imperialist viewpoint and graphic... - François MauriacFrançois MauriacFrançois Mauriac was a French author; member of the Académie française ; laureate of the Nobel Prize in Literature . He was awarded the Grand Cross of the Légion d'honneur .-Biography:...
- Le Sagouin - James A. MichenerJames A. MichenerJames Albert Michener was an American author of more than 40 titles, the majority of which were sweeping sagas, covering the lives of many generations in particular geographic locales and incorporating historical facts into the stories...
- Return to Paradise - Nancy MitfordNancy MitfordNancy Freeman-Mitford, CBE , styled The Hon. Nancy Mitford before her marriage and The Hon. Mrs Peter Rodd thereafter, was an English novelist and biographer, one of the Bright Young People on the London social scene in the inter-war years...
- The BlessingThe BlessingThe Blessing is a comic satirical novel by Nancy Mitford, first published in 1951.-Plot summary:It is set in the post-war World War II period and concerns Grace, an English country girl who moves to France after falling for a dashing aristocratic Frenchman named Charles-Edouard who lusts after... - Nicholas MonsarratNicholas MonsarratCommander Nicholas John Turney Monsarrat RNVR was a British novelist known today for his sea stories, particularly The Cruel Sea and Three Corvettes , but perhaps best known internationally for his novels, The Tribe That Lost Its Head and its sequel, Richer Than All His Tribe.- Early life :Born...
- The Cruel SeaThe Cruel Sea (book)The Cruel Sea is a 1951 novel by Nicholas Monsarrat. It follows the lives of a group of Royal Navy sailors fighting the Battle of the Atlantic during World War II.... - Alberto MoraviaAlberto MoraviaAlberto Moravia, born Alberto Pincherle was an Italian novelist and journalist. His novels explored matters of modern sexuality, social alienation, and existentialism....
- The ConformistThe ConformistThe Conformist is a novel by Alberto Moravia published in 1951, which details the life and desire for normalcy of a government official during Italy's fascist period. It is also known for the 1970 film adaptation by Bernardo Bertolucci....
(Il conformista) - John O'HaraJohn O'HaraJohn Henry O'Hara was an American writer. He initially became known for his short stories and later became a best-selling novelist whose works include Appointment in Samarra and BUtterfield 8. He was particularly known for an uncannily accurate ear for dialogue...
- Butterfield 8BUtterfield 8BUtterfield 8 is a 1960 Metrocolor drama film directed by Daniel Mann, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Laurence Harvey. Taylor, then 28 years old, won an Academy Award for her performance... - Anthony PowellAnthony PowellAnthony Dymoke Powell CH, CBE was an English novelist best known for his twelve-volume work A Dance to the Music of Time, published between 1951 and 1975....
- A Question of UpbringingA Question of UpbringingA Question of Upbringing is the opening novel in Anthony Powell's masterpiece, A Dance to the Music of Time, a twelve-volume cycle spanning much of the 20th century.... - J. D. SalingerJ. D. SalingerJerome David Salinger was an American author, best known for his 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye, as well as his reclusive nature. His last original published work was in 1965; he gave his last interview in 1980....
- The Catcher in the RyeThe Catcher in the RyeThe Catcher in the Rye is a 1951 novel by J. D. Salinger. Originally published for adults, it has since become popular with adolescent readers for its themes of teenage confusion, angst, alienation, language, and rebellion. It has been translated into almost all of the world's major... - Ooka ShoheiOoka Shoheiwas a Japanese novelist, literary critic, and translator of French literature who was active during the Shōwa period of Japan. Ōoka belongs to the group of postwar writers whose World War II experiences at home and abroad figure prominently in their works...
- Fires on the PlainFires on the PlainFires on the Plain is a Yomiuri Prize-winning novel by Ooka Shohei, published in 1951. It describes the experiences of a soldier in the routed Imperial Japanese Army on the Philippines in the final days of World War II.... - Vern SchneiderVern SchneiderVernon J. Sneider was an American novelist perhaps most noted for his 1951 novel The Teahouse of the August Moon, which was later adapted for a Broadway play in 1953, a motion picture in 1956, and the Broadway musical Lovely Ladies, Kind Gentlemen in 1970. He was born and died in Monroe,...
- The Teahouse of the August MoonThe Teahouse of the August Moon (novel)The Teahouse of the August Moon is a novel by Vern Sneider published in 1951. The book was subsequently adapted for a play and film with the same titles, both written by John Patrick, and later, in 1970, the Broadway musical Lovely Ladies, Kind Gentlemen by Patrick and Stan Freeman... - Cardinal Spellman - The Foundling
- John SteinbeckJohn SteinbeckJohn Ernst Steinbeck, Jr. was an American writer. He is widely known for the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden and the novella Of Mice and Men...
- The Log from the Sea of CortezThe Log from the Sea of CortezThe Log from the Sea of Cortez is an English language book written by American author John Steinbeck and published in 1951. It details a six-week marine specimen-collecting boat expedition he made in 1940 at various sites in the Gulf of California , with his friend, the marine biologist Ed Ricketts... - Rex StoutRex StoutRex Todhunter Stout was an American writer noted for his detective fiction. Stout is best known as the creator of the larger-than-life fictional detective Nero Wolfe, described by reviewer Will Cuppy as "that Falstaff of detectives." Wolfe's assistant Archie Goodwin recorded the cases of the...
- Curtains for ThreeCurtains for ThreeCurtains for Three is a collection of Nero Wolfe mystery novellas by Rex Stout, published by the Viking Press in 1951 and itself collected in the omnibus volume Full House...
- Murder by the BookMurder by the BookMurder by the Book is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout published in 1951 by the Viking Press, and collected in the omnibus volume Royal Flush .-Plot summary:...
- Curtains for Three
- William StyronWilliam StyronWilliam Clark Styron, Jr. was an American novelist and essayist who won major literary awards for his work.For much of his career, Styron was best known for his novels, which included...
- Lie Down in Darkness - Elizabeth TaylorElizabeth Taylor (novelist)Elizabeth Taylor was a British novelist and short story writer.-Life and writings:...
- A Game of Hide and SeekA Game of Hide and SeekA Game of Hide and Seek is a 1951 novel by Elizabeth Taylor.It is a very human, ordinary and yet very extraordinary story, set in England between WWI and WWII and focused mainly upon Harriet Claridge and Vesey Macmillan. The relationship between these two and the effect it has upon those around... - Phoebe Atwood TaylorPhoebe Atwood TaylorPhoebe Atwood Taylor was an American mystery author.Phoebe Atwood Taylor wrote mystery novels under her own name, and as Freeman Dana and Alice Tilton. Her first novel, The Cape Cod Mystery, introduced the "Codfish Sherlock", Asey Mayo, who became a series character appearing in 24 novels...
- Diplomatic Corpse - Josephine TeyJosephine TeyJosephine Tey was a pseudonym used by Elizabeth Mackintosh a Scottish author best known for her mystery novels. She also wrote as Gordon Daviot, under which name she wrote plays with an historical theme....
- The Daughter of TimeThe Daughter of TimeThe Daughter of Time is a 1951 novel by Josephine Tey concerning King Richard III of England. It was the last book Tey published, shortly before her death.-Plot summary:... - Anne de Tourville - Jabadao
- Mika WaltariMika WaltariMika Toimi Waltari was a Finnish writer, best known for his best-selling novel The Egyptian .- Early life :...
- The WandererThe Wanderer (Waltari)The Wanderer or The Sultan's Renegade is a 1949 novel by Mika Waltari, part 2 of 2, telling of the adventures of a young Finnish man, Mikael Karvajalka, in 16th century Europe. It tells the story how Mikael turns from Christianity to Islam and rises to a high state in the court of Suleiman the... - Herman WoukHerman WoukHerman Wouk is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American author of novels including The Caine Mutiny, The Winds of War, and War and Remembrance.-Biography:...
- The Caine MutinyThe Caine MutinyThe Caine Mutiny is a 1952 Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Herman Wouk. The novel grew out of Wouk's personal experiences aboard a destroyer-minesweeper in the Pacific in World War II and deals with, among other things, the moral and ethical decisions made at sea by the captains of ships... - John Wyndham - The Day of the TriffidsThe Day of the TriffidsThe Day of the Triffids is a post-apocalyptic novel published in 1951 by the English science fiction author John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris, under the pen-name John Wyndham. Although Wyndham had already published other novels using other pen-name combinations drawn from his lengthy real...
- Frank YerbyFrank YerbyFrank Garvin Yerby was an African American historical novelist. He is best known as the first African American writer to become a millionaire from his pen, and to have a book purchased by a Hollywood studio for a film adaptation.-Early life:...
- A Woman Called Fancy - Marguerite YourcenarMarguerite YourcenarMarguerite Yourcenar was a Belgian-born French novelist and essayist. Winner of the Prix Femina and the Erasmus Prize, she was the first woman elected to the Académie française, in 1980, and the seventeenth person to occupy Seat 3.-Biography:Yourcenar was born Marguerite Antoinette Jeanne Marie...
- Mémoires d'Hadrien
New drama
- Eugène IonescoEugène IonescoEugène Ionesco was a Romanian and French playwright and dramatist, and one of the foremost playwrights of the Theatre of the Absurd...
- La Leçon - A. A. MilneA. A. MilneAlan Alexander Milne was an English author, best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh and for various children's poems. Milne was a noted writer, primarily as a playwright, before the huge success of Pooh overshadowed all his previous work.-Biography:A. A...
- Before the Flood - Lawrence RileyLawrence RileyLawrence Riley was a successful American playwright and screenwriter. He gained fame in 1934 as the author of the Broadway hit Personal Appearance, which was turned by Mae West into the classic film Go West, Young Man , starring herself.-Biography:Riley was a Princeton University alumnus and a...
- Kin Hubbard - Jean-Paul SartreJean-Paul SartreJean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre was a French existentialist philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic. He was one of the leading figures in 20th century French philosophy, particularly Marxism, and was one of the key figures in literary...
- The Devil and the Good LordThe Devil and the Good LordThe Devil and the Good Lord is a play by French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre. The play concerns the moral choices of its characters, warlord Goetz, clergy Heinrich, communist leader Nasti and others during the German Peasants' War... - John Van Druten - I Am a CameraI Am a CameraI Am a Camera is a 1951 Broadway play inspired by Christopher Isherwood's novel Goodbye to Berlin which is part of The Berlin Stories...
- Tennessee WilliamsTennessee WilliamsThomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III was an American writer who worked principally as a playwright in the American theater. He also wrote short stories, novels, poetry, essays, screenplays and a volume of memoirs...
- The Rose TattooThe Rose Tattoo- External links :*...
Poetry
- Frank O'HaraFrank O'HaraFrancis Russell "Frank" O'Hara was an American writer, poet and art critic. He was a member of the New York School of poetry.-Life:...
- A City Winter and Other Poems - Clark Ashton SmithClark Ashton SmithClark Ashton Smith was a self-educated American poet, sculptor, painter and author of fantasy, horror and science fiction short stories. He achieved early local recognition, largely through the enthusiasm of George Sterling, for traditional verse in the vein of Swinburne...
- The Dark ChateauThe Dark ChateauThe Dark Chateau is a collection of poems by Clark Ashton Smith. It was released in 1951 and was the author's fourth book to be published by Arkham House. It was released in an edition of 563 copies...
Non-fiction
- Rachel CarsonRachel CarsonRachel Louise Carson was an American marine biologist and conservationist whose writings are credited with advancing the global environmental movement....
- The Sea Around UsThe Sea Around UsThe Sea Around Us is a prize-winning 1951 bestseller by Rachel Carson about oceanography, marine biology and the ecosystem within and around the world's oceans and seas. It is the second book Carson wrote, following the well-reviewed but poor-selling Under the Sea Wind , and is the book that... - Nirad C. ChaudhuriNirad C. ChaudhuriItalic textNirad C. Chaudhuri was a Bengali−English writer and cultural commentator...
- The Autobiography of an Unknown IndianThe Autobiography of an Unknown IndianThe Autobiography of an Unknown Indian is the autobiographical work of one of India's most controversial writers -- Nirad C. Chaudhuri. He wrote this when he was around fifty and records his life from his birth at 1897 in Kishorganj, a small town in present Bangladesh... - Thomas B. CostainThomas B. CostainThomas Bertram Costain was a Canadian journalist who became a best-selling author of historical novels at the age of 57.-Life:...
- The Magnificent Century (Second book in the Plantagenet or Pageant of England Series) - Vladimir NabokovVladimir NabokovVladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov was a multilingual Russian novelist and short story writer. Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Russian, then rose to international prominence as a master English prose stylist...
- Speak, MemorySpeak, MemorySpeak, Memory is an autobiographical memoir by writer Vladimir Nabokov.-Scope:The book is dedicated to his wife, Véra, and covers his life from 1903 until his emigration to America in 1940. The first twelve chapters describe Nabokov's remembrance of his youth in an aristocratic family living in... - Lou Andreas-SaloméLou Andreas-SaloméLou Andreas-Salomé was a Russian-born psychoanalyst and author. Her diverse intellectual interests led to friendships with a broad array of distinguished western luminaries, including Nietzsche, Wagner, Freud, and Rilke.- Early years :Lou Salomé was born in St...
- LebensrückblickLebensrückblickLebensrückblick is an autobiographical text written by Lou Andreas-Salomé and compiled by Ernst Pfeiffer, who edited and published Andreas-Salomé's literary remains in 1951, some 15 years after her death....
(posthumously published)
Births
- January 13 - Nigel Cox, New Zealand novelist
- August 20 - Greg BearGreg BearGregory Dale Bear is an American science fiction and mainstream author. His work has covered themes of galactic conflict , artificial universes , consciousness and cultural practices , and accelerated evolution...
, American science fiction author - August 24 - Orson Scott CardOrson Scott CardOrson Scott Card is an American author, critic, public speaker, essayist, columnist, and political activist. He writes in several genres, but is primarily known for his science fiction. His novel Ender's Game and its sequel Speaker for the Dead both won Hugo and Nebula Awards, making Card the...
, American science fiction author - September 20 - Javier MaríasJavier MaríasJavier Marías is a Spanish novelist. He is also a translator and columnist.-Life:Javier Marías was born in Madrid. His father was the philosopher Julián Marías, who was briefly imprisoned and then banned from teaching for opposing Franco...
, Spanish novelist - October 12 - Peter FlanneryPeter FlanneryPeter Flannery is a British playwright and screenwriter. He was educated at Bath Spa University and is best known for his work while a resident playwright at the Royal Shakespeare Company in the late 1970s and early 1980s...
, English dramatist - October 17 - Clark ParentClark ParentJean Jacques Clark Parent is a writer, poet, composer, singer, playwright, novelist, and philosopher. He was born in Pétionville, Haiti on October 17, 1951. He was a Senator of the Republic of Haiti, elected in 1990 under FNCD in the Ouest Department....
, Haitian novelist, musician and politician - December 8 - Bill BrysonBill BrysonWilliam McGuire "Bill" Bryson, OBE, is a best-selling American author of humorous books on travel, as well as books on the English language and on science. Born an American, he was a resident of Britain for most of his adult life before moving back to the US in 1995...
, American travel writer - December 22 - Charles de LintCharles de LintCharles de Lint is a Canadian fantasy author and folk musician. He is also the chief book critic for The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction....
, Canadian fantasy author & Celtic folk musician - date unknown - Jagadish MohantyJagadish MohantyJagadish Mohanty ' is a renowned Oriya writer, considered as a trendsetter in modern Oriya fiction, has received the prestigious Sarala Award 2003, Orissa Sahitya Akademy Award 1990, Jhankar Award, 1985 Dharitri Award, Prajatantra Award....
, Indian novelist
Deaths
- January 7 - René GuénonRené GuénonRené Guénon , also known as Shaykh `Abd al-Wahid Yahya was a French author and intellectual who remains an influential figure in the domain of metaphysics, having written on topics ranging from metaphysics, sacred science and traditional studies to symbolism and initiation.In his writings, he...
, French philosophical writer (b. 1886) - January 29 - James BridieJames BridieJames Bridie was the pseudonym of a Scottish playwright, screenwriter and surgeon whose real name was Osborne Henry Mavor....
, Scottish dramatist (b. 1888) - February 7 - Sinclair LewisSinclair LewisHarry Sinclair Lewis was an American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright. In 1930, he became the first writer from the United States to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, "for his vigorous and graphic art of description and his ability to create, with wit and humor, new types of...
, American novelist (b. 1885) - February 13 - Lloyd C. DouglasLloyd C. DouglasLloyd Cassel Douglas born Doya C. Douglas, was an American minister and author.He was born in Columbia City, Indiana, spent part of his boyhood in Monroeville, Indiana, Wilmot, Indiana and Florence, Kentucky, where his father, Alexander Jackson Douglas, was pastor of the Hopeful Lutheran Church...
, American author (b. 1877) - February 19 - André GideAndré GideAndré Paul Guillaume Gide was a French author and winner of the Nobel Prize in literature in 1947. Gide's career ranged from its beginnings in the symbolist movement, to the advent of anticolonialism between the two World Wars.Known for his fiction as well as his autobiographical works, Gide...
, French author (b. 1869) - March 25 - Oscar MicheauxOscar MicheauxOscar Devereaux Micheaux was an American author, film director and independent producer of more than 44 films...
, African-American author & filmmaker (b. 1884) - April 29 - Ludwig WittgensteinLudwig WittgensteinLudwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein was an Austrian philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. He was professor in philosophy at the University of Cambridge from 1939 until 1947...
, Austrian philosopher (b. 1889) - June 11 - W. C. SellarW. C. SellarWalter Carruthers Sellar was a Scottish humourist who wrote for Punch. He is best known for the 1930 book 1066 and All That, a tongue-in-cheek guide to "all the history you can remember," which he wrote together with R. J...
, Scottish humorist (b. 1898) - August 14 - William Randolph HearstWilliam Randolph HearstWilliam Randolph Hearst was an American business magnate and leading newspaper publisher. Hearst entered the publishing business in 1887, after taking control of The San Francisco Examiner from his father...
, American newspaper tycoon (b. 1863) - September 2 - Antoine BibescoAntoine BibescoAntoine, Prince Bibesco was a Romanian aristocrat, lawyer, diplomat and writer.- Biography :His father was Prince Alexandre Bibesco, the last surviving son of the Hospodar of Wallachia. His mother was Helene Epourano, daughter of a former Prime Minister of Romania...
, Romanian dramatist (b. 1878) - December 4 - Pedro SalinasPedro SalinasPedro Salinas y Serrano was a Spanish poet and member of the Generation of '27. He was also a scholar and critic of Spanish literature, teaching at universities in Spain, England, and the United States....
, Spanish poet (b. 1891) - December 10 - Algernon BlackwoodAlgernon BlackwoodAlgernon Henry Blackwood, CBE was an English short story writer and novelist, one of the most prolific writers of ghost stories in the history of the genre. He was also a journalist and a broadcasting narrator. S. T...
, English writer (b. 1869)
Awards
- Carnegie MedalCarnegie MedalThe Carnegie Medal is a literary award established in 1936 in honour of Scottish philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and given annually to an outstanding book for children and young adults. It is awarded by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals...
for children's literatureChildren's literatureChildren's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...
: Cynthia HarnettCynthia HarnettCynthia Harnett was a highly acclaimed English writer of children's historical fiction.Known for her exceptional attention to detail and meticulous background research, combined with ingenious and engrossing plots, Harnett wrote only seven novels. The Wool-Pack won the Carnegie Medal in 1951...
, The Wool-PackThe Wool-PackThe Wool-Pack is a children's historical novel by Cynthia Harnett. It was first published in 1951, and received the Carnegie Medal for the outstanding children's book of that year.A television adaptation of the novel was broadcast by the BBC in 1970.... - Frost MedalFrost MedalThe Robert Frost Medal is an award of the Poetry Society of America for "distinguished lifetime service to American poetry." Medalists receive a prize purse of $2,500....
: Wallace StevensWallace StevensWallace Stevens was an American Modernist poet. He was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, educated at Harvard and then New York Law School, and spent most of his life working as a lawyer for the Hartford insurance company in Connecticut.His best-known poems include "Anecdote of the Jar",... - James Tait Black Memorial PrizeJames Tait Black Memorial PrizeFounded in 1919, the James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are among the oldest and most prestigious book prizes awarded for literature written in the English language and are Britain's oldest literary awards...
for fiction: Chapman MortimerChapman MortimerChapman Mortimer was the pen name of William Charles Chapman Mortimer , a Scottish novelist. He won the James Tait Black Award for fiction in 1951 for his novel Father Goose.-Publications:...
, Father Goose - James Tait Black Memorial PrizeJames Tait Black Memorial PrizeFounded in 1919, the James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are among the oldest and most prestigious book prizes awarded for literature written in the English language and are Britain's oldest literary awards...
for biography: Noel AnnanNoel AnnanNoel Gilroy Annan, Baron Annan, OBE was a British military intelligence officer, author, and academic. During his military career, he rose to the rank of Colonel and was appointed OBE...
, Leslie Stephen - Newbery MedalNewbery MedalThe John Newbery Medal is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association . The award is given to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. The award has been given since 1922. ...
: Elizabeth Yates, Amos Fortune, Free ManAmos Fortune, Free ManAmos Fortune, Free Man is a biographical novel by Elizabeth Yates that won the Newbery Medal for excellence in American children's literature in 1951. It is about a young African prince, who when people come and attack his tribe, is captured and taken to America as a slave... - Nobel Prize in LiteratureNobel Prize in LiteratureSince 1901, the Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded annually to an author from any country who has, in the words from the will of Alfred Nobel, produced "in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction"...
: Pär LagerkvistPär LagerkvistPär Fabian Lagerkvist was a Swedish author who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1951.Lagerkvist wrote poems, plays, novels, stories, and essays of considerable expressive power and influence from his early 20s to his late 70s... - Premio NadalPremio NadalPremio Nadal is a Spanish literary prize awarded annually by the publishing house Ediciones Destino, part of Planeta. It has been awarded every year on January 6 since 1944...
: Luis Romero, La noria - Pulitzer Prize for DramaPulitzer Prize for DramaThe Pulitzer Prize for Drama was first awarded in 1918.From 1918 to 2006, the Drama Prize was unlike the majority of the other Pulitzer Prizes: during these years, the eligibility period for the drama prize ran from March 2 to March 1, to reflect the Broadway 'season' rather than the calendar year...
: no award given - Pulitzer Prize for FictionPulitzer Prize for FictionThe Pulitzer Prize for Fiction has been awarded for distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life. It originated as the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel, which was awarded between 1918 and 1947.-1910s:...
: Conrad RichterConrad RichterConrad Michael Richter was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist whose lyrical work focuses on life along the American frontier.-Biography:...
, The Town - Pulitzer Prize for PoetryPulitzer Prize for PoetryThe Pulitzer Prize in Poetry has been presented since 1922 for a distinguished volume of original verse by an American author. However, special citations for poetry were presented in 1918 and 1919.-Winners:...
: Carl SandburgCarl SandburgCarl Sandburg was an American writer and editor, best known for his poetry. He won three Pulitzer Prizes, two for his poetry and another for a biography of Abraham Lincoln. H. L. Mencken called Carl Sandburg "indubitably an American in every pulse-beat."-Biography:Sandburg was born in Galesburg,...
, Complete Poems