books & manuscripts
Nathaniel Hawthorne is an American writer and author.
Hawthorne is a recognized short story writer and a master of allegorical and symbolic narrative. One of the first fiction writers in American literature, he is best known for his works The Scarlet Letter (1850) and The House of Seven Gables (1851). Hawthorne's artistic works are considered part of the American Romantic movement and, in particular, of so-called dark Romanticism, a popular mid-19th-century fascination with the irrational, the demonic, and the grotesque.
Mark Twain, real name Samuel Langhorne Clemens, was an American humanist writer, journalist, and social activist.
As a young man, Samuel worked in the printing press and in the gold mines, then went on a steamboat trip to Europe and the "Holy Land". His travel letters, full of vivid descriptions and ironic observations, were very well received by the public and were later revised into his first book, Innocents Abroad, published in 1869.
The pseudonym "Mark Twain" first appeared in 1863 under one of Samuel Clemens' short stories, and since then all his significant works have been signed by that name.
A talented storyteller, a peculiar humorist and moralist, Twain knew and loved his many diverse characters. His scandalizers and dreamers, caring aunts and ambitious politicians, grumpy widows and lying aristocrats, cunning but generous slaves, sentimental moralists, brave and naive children - all these types of American people Twain gave voice to thanks to his masterful command of colloquial language, slang and jargon. Twain wrote a lot and in a variety of genres: humor and satire, philosophical fiction and journalism and others, but he always stood on the position of humanist and democrat.
Mark Twain became world famous for his travel stories and adventure novels about his childhood, these are "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" (1876) and "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" (1885). Twain is still one of America's, and indeed the world's, best and most beloved writers. His works have been and are still being published in many languages around the world.
James Fenimore Cooper is an American writer and the founder of the Western genre.
Cooper is the first major American novelist, he wrote a whole series of novels from American life: "The Pioneers" (1823), "The Last of the Mohicans" (1826), "The Prairie" (1827), "The Pathfinder" (1840), "The Beastmaster, or the First Warpath" (1841). The author fascinatingly and vividly describes how Europeans waged wars among themselves on the American continent, involving Indian tribes in these strife. All of these works were a huge success in 19th century Europe and are still being reprinted today.
At the height of his popularity, Cooper spent seven years in Europe, and then returned to the United States, where he wrote works on military-historical and maritime themes until his advanced old age. Among them are "The Pilot, or Maritime History" (1823), "The Red Corsair" (1827).
Washington Irving was an American Romantic writer, historian, and diplomat.
Irving has been called "the first American writer" to be recognized in Europe. In 1815, he traveled to England on family business. A huge success in England and the United States was The Sketch Book, published in several installments during 1819-1820, which contained two of the author's most famous works, Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, and which made him a literary star in both England and the United States.
He continued his literary endeavors and worked at the U.S. Embassy of Great Britain. Returning to the United States in 1832, Irving visited some little-known territories near the western fringes of the country, and this journey inspired his works Journey on the Prairie (1835), Astoria (1836), and The Adventures of Captain Bonneville (1837). Late in life he published several historical and biographical works, including the five-volume Life of George Washington (1855-1859).
Nathaniel Hawthorne is an American writer and author.
Hawthorne is a recognized short story writer and a master of allegorical and symbolic narrative. One of the first fiction writers in American literature, he is best known for his works The Scarlet Letter (1850) and The House of Seven Gables (1851). Hawthorne's artistic works are considered part of the American Romantic movement and, in particular, of so-called dark Romanticism, a popular mid-19th-century fascination with the irrational, the demonic, and the grotesque.
Washington Irving was an American Romantic writer, historian, and diplomat.
Irving has been called "the first American writer" to be recognized in Europe. In 1815, he traveled to England on family business. A huge success in England and the United States was The Sketch Book, published in several installments during 1819-1820, which contained two of the author's most famous works, Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, and which made him a literary star in both England and the United States.
He continued his literary endeavors and worked at the U.S. Embassy of Great Britain. Returning to the United States in 1832, Irving visited some little-known territories near the western fringes of the country, and this journey inspired his works Journey on the Prairie (1835), Astoria (1836), and The Adventures of Captain Bonneville (1837). Late in life he published several historical and biographical works, including the five-volume Life of George Washington (1855-1859).
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was the most popular American poet of the nineteenth century.
Longfellow is one of the most revered poets in the United States. His poems "Paul Revere's Ride", "Evangeline", "The Tale of Acadia" (1847) and "Psalm of Life" were included in elementary and high school curricula and have long been remembered by generations of readers who studied them as children. Longfellow revitalized American literary life by linking American poetry to European traditions outside of England.
Walt Whitman was an American poet and essayist.
For some time in his youth Whitman worked as a journalist and even published his own newspaper, where he raised issues of slavery. In 1855, he self-published a collection of his poems, Leaves of Grass. This book is now a milestone in American literature, although at the time of publication it was considered highly controversial. In the early 1860s, Whitman volunteered in hospitals for the Civil War, resulting in a collection of new poems.
During his lifetime, his first collection, Leaves of Grass, underwent many editions and grew to 300 poems. It was only towards the end of his life that Whitman found fame as the first national poet of the United States. Whitman was translated into Russian by K. Balmont, I. Kashkin, and K. Chukovsky.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was the most popular American poet of the nineteenth century.
Longfellow is one of the most revered poets in the United States. His poems "Paul Revere's Ride", "Evangeline", "The Tale of Acadia" (1847) and "Psalm of Life" were included in elementary and high school curricula and have long been remembered by generations of readers who studied them as children. Longfellow revitalized American literary life by linking American poetry to European traditions outside of England.
Washington Irving was an American Romantic writer, historian, and diplomat.
Irving has been called "the first American writer" to be recognized in Europe. In 1815, he traveled to England on family business. A huge success in England and the United States was The Sketch Book, published in several installments during 1819-1820, which contained two of the author's most famous works, Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, and which made him a literary star in both England and the United States.
He continued his literary endeavors and worked at the U.S. Embassy of Great Britain. Returning to the United States in 1832, Irving visited some little-known territories near the western fringes of the country, and this journey inspired his works Journey on the Prairie (1835), Astoria (1836), and The Adventures of Captain Bonneville (1837). Late in life he published several historical and biographical works, including the five-volume Life of George Washington (1855-1859).
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was the most popular American poet of the nineteenth century.
Longfellow is one of the most revered poets in the United States. His poems "Paul Revere's Ride", "Evangeline", "The Tale of Acadia" (1847) and "Psalm of Life" were included in elementary and high school curricula and have long been remembered by generations of readers who studied them as children. Longfellow revitalized American literary life by linking American poetry to European traditions outside of England.
George Gershwin, born Jacob Gershwin, is an American composer and pianist.
George's parents emigrated from Russia to the United States in 1891, and he was about 12 years old at the piano, becoming virtually self-taught. Gershwin published his first song in 1916, but it was Swanee, written by a 20-year-old Gershwin in 1918, that made him famous. The income he received for it allowed Gershwin to concentrate on musical theater. In the 1920s, however, George, along with his older brother Ira, were major songwriters and hit songwriters on Broadway. The lyrics for all of Gershwin's films were written by Ira Gershwin, as were the lyrics for most of his musicals, although early in his career Gershwin worked with other lyric writers, including Irving Caesar and Buddy De Silva.
The Gershwin brothers' first Broadway hit was the song Lady Be Good in 1924. In his songs, Broadway shows, and movie scores, composer George Gershwin achieved unprecedented success with his masterful mastery of jazz, classical, and popular music styles. These include "Rhapsody in Blue" in 1924, "Concerto in F" in 1925, "An American in Paris" in 1928, and "Second Rhapsody" in 1931. Between 1919 and 1935. Gershwin wrote music for 31 musicals, one of which - Of Thee I Sing - in 1932 became the first musical to win the Pulitzer Prize for Dramaturgy. Gershwin's songs have also been used in numerous films and award-winning musicals over the years.
The opera Porgy and Bess, co-written with Dubose, Dorothy Hayward, and Ira Gershwin, was the Gershwin brothers' most ambitious project, combining memorable songs with drama. It was first performed in Boston in 1935 and was made into a movie in 1959.
In 1937, at the age of only 39, the brilliant composer died of a brain tumor. George Gershwin was at the height of his career, leaving a significant and lasting mark on the world of classical music. Today, his orchestral works are performed by most of the world's prestigious symphony orchestras. Ira Gershwin, who was two years older, lived 46 years after George's death.