Famous February Authors

Feb 1
Langston Hughes-African American writer best known for his poetry, who also wrote drama, fiction, short stories and an autobiography. An important part of the Harlem Renaissance. Hughes traveled to Africa, Europe, Russia and Japan. He was a war correspondent for the Spanish Civil War, was involved in American theatre, and lectured and held posts at colleges and universities around the country. He died in 1967.

Feb 2
James Joyce-20th century Irish novelist used interior monologues and stream-of-consciousness writing mixed with realism. Every year on June 16, Joyce's writing is celebrated through Bloomsday, in honor of his character from Ulysses, Stephen Bloom.

Feb 7
Charles Dickens-English author of 20 novels, including 5 Christmas books.

Sinclair Lewis-first American to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1930. Also nominated earlier for the Pulitzer Prize, which he declined.

Feb 8
Jules Verne- futuristic French novelist of the 19th century, and one of the earliest science fiction writers. His works anticipated the inventions of airplanes, television, satellites and guided missiles.


Feb 23
W.E. B. Du Bois -first African American to receive a Ph. D from Harvard University. His famous book of essays, The Souls of Black Folk, expounds his ideas about race relations. He helped found the NAACP. He moved to Ghana, later renounced his American citizenship. He died in 1963.

Feb 26
Victor Hugo-French novelist now mostly known for Les Miserables and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, he was sent into exile for 20 years by Emperor Napoleon III. During exile he lived in Belgium and Isle of Jersey. He returned to France in great acclaim after the overthrow of the Emperor.

Feb 27
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow- American poet of the 1800's who wrote the storytelling poems Evangeline, Song of Hiawatha, Paul Revere' s Ride, Courtship of Miles Standish and Tales of a Wayside Inn. He was the first American poet honored in Poet's Corner at Westminster Abbey.

Check the link to the library's catalog for works by these authors.