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Today marks the birthday of Mary Oliver (born on September 10th, 1935), one of America’s most beloved poets. Known for her clarity, gentleness and attentions to the natural world, Oliver wrote poems that spoke directly to her readers’ lives and basic desires. Her words invite us all to slow down, breathe in the air of the world around us and recognize beauty and meaning that might otherwise go unnoticed in our fast paced world.

Born in Maple Heights, Ohio, Oliver found comfort in long walks outdoors during her often difficult childhood. She grew up with a deep sensitivity to both the struggles and wonders of life, and these walks in nature became a foundation of her poetic voice. As an adult, she lived for many years in Provincetown, Massachusetts, with her partner Molly Malone Cook, where she continued to write in close communion with the natural world. Over the course of her entire career, Oliver published more than 15 different collections of poetry, becoming one of the best-selling poets in the United States.

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Her poems turn often to themes of nature and spirituality. In Dog Songs (2013), she celebrates the companionship between human and canines with lines like, “Steadfastness is more about dogs than about us,” and “Everybody needs a safe place – both dog and owner.” Love and joy abound from start to finish in that collection. Similarly, in A Thousand Mornings (published in 2012), Oliver reminds us that beauty and joy are available if only we reach for them purposefully. In Poem of the World, she wrote “Everything sooner or later is a part of everything else,” a simple yet profound line that leaves her readers with the tangible thoughts of life’s interconnectedness. Her Pulitzer Prize winning American Primitive (published in 1984) and other works such as Wild Geese show her gift for joining humility and wisdom, and encouraging us to find forgiveness (and freedom) in nature’s liberating solutions.

All of these can help us make the statement that Oliver’s influence on the literary world is immense. She made poetry accessible to millions who might otherwise feel excluded from it, showing that the genre could be both profound and still approachable. Writers and readers can draw inspiration from her work, which continues to circulate widely in classrooms, spiritual gatherings, and on social media… proof that her voice remains deeply alive today!

To read Mary Oliver is a gift, and is to awaken every part of ourselves, exposed and hidden, and to rediscover our true selves in the process. We honor her on what would be her 90th birthday!

It’s back to school already! Every summer, high school students across the country crack open a familiar set of classic novels – books that have stood the test of time for good reasons. These stories aren’t just academic checkboxes (though they are often that, as well)… they’re full of big ideas (perfect for the growing youth), unforgettable characters and timeless themes that still resonate with readers today. Whether you enjoyed them or groaned through them, these five books have earned their spot on this list as summer reading staples – and in honor of the beginning of the new school year for those lucky enough to still have summer vacations, we thought we’d give them a once over!

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is not just a fabulous piece of required reading (and my personal favorite from the list) – it’s also a rather powerful look at the concept of justice and prejudice set in a coming-of-age story in the American South. Unfortunately, neither injustice nor prejudice have been erased from our daily lives, and through this story we regain our perspective, our youthful hopes and even our self-respect. Narrated by the unforgettable Scout, we experience life through the eyes of a child who is trying to make sense of the complexities of the world, and things she doesn’t necessarily understand. Between her father Atticus’ courtroom heroics and the mysterious (and ultimately lovable) Boo Radley, there’s never a dull moment in this beautiful novel.

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The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
How many ‘Holden Caulfields’ have we known in the years since we were first “introduced” to him? J.D. Salinger’s classic still resonates with readers today, with thanks to Caulfield – one of literature’s most iconic (and opinionated) narrators. Holden’s sarcastic, alienated voice guides us through his frustrations with adulthood, phoniness and the common aches of growing up. This book captures teen angst like few others… and despite Holden’s gripes, it’s hard not to find a little bit of ourselves in his struggle.

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1984 by George Orwell
Orwell’s dystopian vision of a totalitarian future may have been written decades ago, but 1984 continues to chill readers to the core. Through narrator Winston Smith we see a world where independent thought is dangerous, privacy doesn’t exist and even language is under control of a government. It’s a gripping and unsettling read… and a must for anyone interested in the power of government, media and the resilience of the human spirit. In all honesty, we sometimes think that perhaps 1984 should be required reading of all ages today, in lieu of daily news headlines.

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A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

This classic sci-fi and fantasy story takes us on a mind-bending adventure through time and space – and through some pretty big questions along the way. As Meg Murry and her brother and friend journey to rescue her father (a scientist who has gone missing while working on a strange project), they are joined by unforgettable characters and learn powerful lessons about love and the strength of the human spirit. L’Engle’s blend of science and heart has made this a favorite for generations – and ultimately questions the power of love and good over evil.

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The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Mark Twain couldn’t help but make this list! Friendship leading to personal growth is one of life’s most powerful gifts… and Mark Twain delivers this message with humor and heart in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. With a cast of beloved characters like Aunt Polly, Huckleberry Finn, and Becky Thatcher readers are swept into a somewhat mischievous charm of long ago. Tom Sawyer is a (relatively) light-hearted romp through childhood that also manages to say some meaningful things about growing up.

Honorable Mentions (we wouldn’t want to leave out anyone’s favorite!):

• Lord of the Flies by William Golding
• Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

From courtroom dramas to dystopian futures and mysterious and/or fun childhood adventures, these classics continue to challenge, inspire and entertain generations of students. Love them or loathe them, they’ve made their mark on us all at one time or another… and they’re likely to stick around on summer reading lists for years to come.

This week on July 30th, we honor a woman whose quiet, isolated life concealed the stormy intensity of her writing – Emily Brontë. Known best for her novel Wuthering Heights, Brontë is, in our opinion, one of the most enigmatic figures in English literature. Though her published work was limited, her legacy continues over the literary landscape even today.

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Emily was born in the West Yorkshire village of Thornton, but grew up in the rather isolated moorland town of Haworth, where her father, Patrick Brontë, worked as the local curate. A stern but loving presence, as a father Patrick acted as a literary influence – encouraging his children to read and write from early ages. The Brontë household was filled with tragedy as well as creativity, unfortunately. Emily lost her mother at a young age, followed by two older sisters shortly after. However, these early losses seemed to bind the surviving Brontë siblings (Charlotte, Anne, Emily, and their brother Branwell) into a close-knit, imaginative unit. Together, they created fictional worlds like Gondal and Angria, writing intricate stories, poems and even histories. Emily was especially drawn to nature and solitude, preferring the wild moors over social gatherings (same, honestly). As a young adult she briefly attended school and tried her hand at teaching, but struggled heavily with homesickness. Her time away only confirmed her attachment to home and the rugged natural landscape that would so deeply inform her writing.

In adulthood, Emily remained largely reclusive, focusing on writing and supporting her family instead of meeting people or trying her hand at courtship as others her age might have. In 1846, she and her sisters self-published a collection of poetry under the pseudonyms Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell (spoiler alert: it didn’t sell well). The sisters chose male-sounding pen names to avoid the gender bias of Victorian literary critics, fearing that women writers would not be taken seriously – if at all. While their relationships were loving, there did seem to be a gentle undertone of friendly competition among them, particularly between Charlotte and Emily. Each sister had a distinct voice, but they shared a fierce passion for writing and often read and critiqued each other’s work. Emily’s poems, now highly regarded, reveal her affinity for the metaphysical, the elements and the eternal life. Then, only a year after their published poetical works, she published Wuthering Heights – a dark, emotionally raw novel that challenged Victorian sensibilities with its portrayal of obsession, revenge, and destructive love. Critics at the time seemed puzzled (if not scandalized) by the book’s brutality and even its structure. Sadly, Emily would not live to see her novel’s eventual acclaim. She died of tuberculosis in December 1848 at the age of 30, just a year after its release.

Today Emily Brontë can be remembered as a literary trailblazer. Her fierce, unflinching voice (which all the Brontë siblings had, to a point) paved the way for generations of writers to explore human psychology and intense passion in their work. From Virginia Woolf to Sylvia Plath to contemporary gothic fiction, Brontë’s influence continues to echo in writers… especially ones who wish to embrace intensity over convention, or depth over decorum. Happy Birthday to Emily Brontë!

This Fourth of July (as we celebrate the United States and reflect on the ideals of resilience and renewal that our nation was built on) is a fitting time to revisit moments in our history that defined us as a country. Few chapters of US history did more to shape “modern” America than FDR’s New Deal – a bold response to one of the country’s darkest economic chapters. In honor of Independence Day, we’re taking a quick moment to look back at how this program gave Americans not just work and wages, but something just as crucial… hope.

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By the time President Franklin Delano Roosevelt took office in 1933, the Great Depression had left millions of Americans jobless, hungry and uncertain about their futures. This “New Deal”, rolled out in two major phases, aimed to provide immediate relief, economic recovery and lasting reform to citizens. Programs like the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and Works Progress Administration (WPA) put people back to work building the very bones of the nation – roads, bridges, parks and even public buildings. Financial reforms, including the creation of the FDIC and new banking regulations, helped stabilize a system that had collapsed. The Social Security Act of 1935 laid a foundation of support for the elderly and unemployed that has continued ever since. For those living at the time (especially the new waves of immigrants entering the country), the New Deal became an icon of a new era, and sparked a desire to give back and show appreciation for the country that had accepted them and given them the opportunity to better their lives. Not everyone was a fan, even at the time – critics on both sides debated the power of Roosevelt’s policies. That being said, the legacy of his administration’s New Deal remains deeply embedded in American life and helped pull us out of the Great Depression.

And yes, if the words “New Deal” have you thinking of little orphan Annie, you’re not wrong. “A new deal for Christmas” was much more than just a catchy lyric. The hopeful spirit captured in song form in 1977 (based, however on a 1924 comic strip) truly mirrored the broader scope of Roosevelt’s programs, which in all honesty seemed to aim not only towards patching up a sinking economy but towards lifting the national mood. It gave an entire generation a reason to be grateful to their leaders, their government and their country. This week as we commemorate the birth of our nation it is worth remembering that the fight for respect, stability and dignity didn’t end in 1776. It has been renewed over and over, especially in times of crisis. America’s 92-year-old New Deal reminds us that with a little faith in tomorrow, even the hardest days can be overcome. Happy Fourth, bibliophiles!

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June 9th marks the anniversary of Charles Dickens’ death, and a moment to pause and appreciate our main man, and one of the most unforgettable storytellers the world’s ever known. Though he passed away in 1870, Dickens is anything but forgotten. His books are still read, his characters still quoted, and his messages still ring true.

Dickens had a knack for making readers care. He didn’t just write about the poor or the powerless – he gave them names, faces, and unforgettable voices. Whether it was the scrappy Oliver Twist or the ghost-haunted Scrooge, his stories dug into big issues with heart, humor, and just the right amount of drama.

Dickens’ influence stretches far beyond just literature. He helped shape the way we think about the holidays, social justice, and the power of redemption. And honestly… without him? Well… Christmas might be just a little less merry!

In the grand scheme of things, Dickens gave us much more than just stories – he gave us perspective. His influence spilt far beyond only literature. Dickens helped shape our ideas about Christmas cheer, yes, but also about child-welfare laws, and he even serialized storytelling as we know it. Put simply – every time we root for an underdog… we owe him thanks.

So today, we tip our hats to the novelist who set some truly Great Expectations for all the storytellers who have followed. Here’s to remembering him with gratitude today!

This week on June 3rd we celebrated Allen Ginsberg’s birthday – so it is a perfect time to reflect on the life (and legacy) of one of America’s most unforgettable poets. Ginsberg wasn’t just a writer – he was a cultural force. His work and his activism pushed the limits of what could be said, written, and accepted in mid-20th-century America. As a fierce advocate for free expression, an icon of the Beat Generation, and a controversial figure whose work challenged the very core of American values in his time… he is definitely worth remembering!

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Born in 1926 in Newark, New Jersey, Ginsberg grew up in a household shaped by both creativity and chaos. His mother, Naomi, struggled with mental illness, an experience that left a deep impression on him and became central to his later work (most notably in his powerful poem “Kaddish”). As a teen, Ginsberg wrote in to the New York Times about various political issues, and joined the Merchant Marines in order to afford his tuition to Columbia University. While studying literature at Columbia University, he met key figures like Jack Kerouac and William S. Burroughs, and together they became known as the Beat Generation (a social and literary movement that focused on rejecting traditional values and building individual expression). Over time, Ginsberg’s interests expanded to encompass Eastern philosophy – particularly Tibetan Buddhism – which informed both his writing and his activism.

Ginsberg’s poetry was intense, personal, and unapologetically honest. His breakout poem “Howl” published in 1956 shook the literary world with a raw look at sexuality, mental health, and the search for meaning in a consumer driven society. The poem actually sparked an obscenity trial that ended in a landmark ruling for artistic freedom – as the judge’s ruling in its favor established an important precedent for freedom of speech in the arts. From that moment on, Ginsberg became known not just for his words, but for what he was willing to stand up for. Ginsberg’s openness about his own homosexuality and his long-term relationship with Peter Orlovsky was groundbreaking bravery for the time.

Beyond his bold and deeply personal poetry, he lived a life of activism. Ginsberg protested the Vietnam War, pushed back against censorship in the arts and in politics, criticized imperial policies, and fought for individual rights. Just as passionate in person as he was on the page, in 1974 he co-founded the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics in Boulder, Colorado – an institution that welcomed outsider voices and experimental thinking. Even late in his life, he documented moments of unrest, such as the 1988 Tompkins Square Park riot.

Ginsberg’s travels took him around the world, including visits to communist countries like China, Cuba, and Czechoslovakia – where he was sympathetic to communist ideals. However, even in places that shared some of his political leanings, his outspoken views on sexuality and personal freedom got him expelled. He often aligned himself with causes that many considered radical. He supported marijuana legalization (yet spoke out against cigarette smoking) – and, most notably, controversially defended the North American Man/Boy Love Association – positions that sparked ongoing debate and criticism (and in regards to the latter… remain disturbing to many).

Despite the contradictions in his beliefs and actions, there’s no denying the impact Ginsberg had on American culture. He helped open up conversations that were previously off-limits in society and encouraged people to look at the world differently – even if they didn’t always agree with him. His work challenged, provoked, and inspired an entire generation to speak more freely and think more deeply, and his willingness to confront taboo topics and advocate for individual liberty helped expand the boundaries of artistic and political discourse in America. He didn’t just reflect the turbulence of his time – he helped define it!

Evelyn Waugh, one of the sharpest pens of the 20th century, was a writer whose life looked every bit as colorful as the characters he created. Known for his sharp and biting satire, elegant prose, and complex relationship with faith and society… Waugh left behind a legacy that still captivates readers today. While his name might suggest a genteel English lady sipping tea, Evelyn was anything but – his writing style often cut deep through the hypocrisy of the upper-class. On the anniversary of his death on April 10th 1966, we remember the man behind the books, and the wit behind his words!

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Born in 1903 to a family deeply invested in literary tradition, Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (what a mouthful) grew up surrounded by books – and an expectation to do something clever with them. His father, a publisher, supported Evelyn’s literary interests, though perhaps he didn’t foresee just how sharp Evelyn’s words would become. Waugh attended Oxford, where he mingled with the Bright Young Things (the 1920s version of Instagram influencers, minus the selfies), and began honing his rather sardonic view of the world. Although he initially dabbled in art and teaching, it was the failure of those pursuits (plus the chaos of a brief and disastrous first marriage to one Evelyn Gardner) that pushed him headfirst into writing. Turns out, misery makes good material. Waugh’s early works, like Decline and Fall and Vile Bodies, are comedic masterpieces that use what looks like effortless flair to run through the absurdity of British society with a literary knife.

As Waugh matured with age, so too did his writing. He converted to Catholicism in 1930 after the dissolution of his marriage, stating that the world was “unintelligible and unendurable without God” – a shift that deeply influenced his later work and worldview. His wartime experiences as an officer in World War II, meanwhile, showed itself as a darker and more introspective tone in his post-war novels. Despite his increasing curmudgeon tendencies in his later years (he once described a holiday as “a time when one’s wife and children get extra chances to annoy one another”), he remained a literary heavyweight. He rose to fame early and quickly, but it never seemed to soften his critical edge – if anything, it perhaps sharpened it.

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Waugh’s most celebrated novels are Brideshead Revisited, a nostalgic and spiritual exploration of a fading English aristocracy, and Scoop, a rather hilarious satire on journalism that somehow feels more relevant with each passing year. Beyond simple satire and entertainment, Waugh’s writing often challenged readers to look beneath the surface – to see the rot beneath the glamour and the sadness behind the mask. His influence can still be felt in modern satire and literary fiction, reminding us that sometimes the best way to say something very serious is to make people laugh first. You can see this style in modern writing and even screenwriting for television and movies. In a world increasingly obsessed with appearances and irony, Waugh’s work feels oddly current – proving that even the most buttoned-up, serious man can still throw a punchline that lands nearly a century later.

An author whose name immediately brings up visuals of the “open road” in American culture was born on this day in 1922… 103 years ago! The Beat Generation authors (of which Jack Kerouac was a heavy influence) helped shape the world we know today, with their lack of interest in convention and the societal rules and conventions followed by their parents. On his birthday, we wanted to bring some attention to Kerouac and the way he helped shape the world.

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Born on March 12th, 1922 in Lowell, Massachusetts, Jack Kerouac grew up in a working-class French-Canadian family, speaking French before he ever learned English. His early years saw both tragedy and discipline, as his older brother Gerard died when Jack was just four – an event that deeply affected him and would later influence his writing. His mother was a devout Catholic, and Kerouac maintained a spiritual (though not strictly Catholic) streak throughout his life, even as he rebelled against societal norms in his later years. A voracious reader, he read everything from adventure novels to the works of Thomas Wolfe, and developed a passion for storytelling at an early age. Since it wasn’t enough to be academically minded, Kerouac was also a gifted athlete – earning himself a football scholarship to Columbia University in 1940. Unfortunately, a leg injury and a deepening dissatisfaction with what seemed to him to be a structured life (a typical – sport, education, job, family, work till you die… you know, the usual kind of life) soon steered him away from sports and into the more alternative world of writing. His time in New York City proved immensely important, however – not for his studies, but for the people he met while he was there. He fell in with a group of similar-minded artists, authors and bohemians, most notably Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, and Neal Cassady. This core group, along with Kerouac himself, would later become known as the Beat Generation, a movement that challenged post-war materialism and celebrated personal freedom, spiritual exploration, and, of course… jazz fueled cross-country road trips.

Kerouac’s arguably most defining work, On the Road (1957), was written in a flurry of inspiration on a single scroll of paper – supposedly fueled by caffeine, cigarettes and pure momentum. The novel, a supposedly semi-autobiographical account of adventures he had with his friend Neal Cassady, captured the rather restless energy of a generation searching for meaning outside the constraints of mainstream America (and that structured life Kerouac had decided against back at Columbia). Though it initially received mixed reviews, the book soon became a cultural phenomenon – sealing Kerouac’s fate as the voice of the disaffected youths of America. However, fame wasn’t something Kerouac embraced easily. As the Beat movement gained followers, he struggled with the attention – eventually retreating (quite young) into alcohol and isolation. Despite publishing several more works, including The Dharma Bums and Big Sur, he never really adapted to the literary celebrity that followed him. By the time of his early death in 1969, at just 47, his influence had already spread far beyond what he might have imagined, or even wanted.

Kerouac’s impact on literature is hard to overstate – the Beat generation’s themes and spirits of spontaneity, self-exploration, and rebellion truly seemed to pave the way for countercultural movements in the 1960s, and therefore have helped shape our current world. From Hunter S. Thompson to Bob Dylan, writers have recognized Kerouac as an inspiration to them, and his rhythmic (almost jazz-like) prose has influenced countless storytellers of both the written and spoken word.

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The Beat Generation were more than just poets with a longing for typewriters and open roads, though… they were literary revolutionaries (and that is not a phrase we use lightly). They broke away from rigid literary structures to embrace a more raw, unfiltered kind of storytelling that captured the fairly chaotic energy of post-war America. Their general themes of nonconformity, mysticism and wanderlust continue to resonate in modern literature, music, and film… and while their era may be long past, their ideas about freedom, authenticity, and rejecting the status quo remain rather unmistakably relevant. After all, if Kerouac taught us anything, it’s that sometimes the best way to find yourself is to simply start moving – and maybe bring a notebook along for the ride! 🙂

Happy Birthday to Jack Kerouac!

George Meredith isn’t the first name that comes to mind when people think of Victorian literature, but perhaps it should be in the top ten! A novelist and poet with a sharp wit and a love for psychological depth in his writing, he influenced some of the biggest literary figures of his time. Though he never reached Dickens-level fame, his works remain a fascinating blend of humor, social critique, and deep character studies.

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Born on February 12th, 1828 in Portsmouth, England, Meredith’s early life seemed shaped by both hardship and intellectual curiosity. His father ran a struggling naval outfitting business, and then after his mother passed away when he was just five years old, young George was sent to school in Germany. There, he developed an early appreciation for literature and philosophy (though whether or not he appreciated the strict discipline is another story). Upon his return to England, he initially pursued a career in law but quickly realized that long hours in a legal office were not his calling. Instead, he turned to writing, first gaining attention for his poetry and later his novels. His personal life, however, was anything but simple. His first marriage to writer Mary Ellen Peacock ended in separation after she left him for another man. While painful, that experience inspired Modern Love (1862), a brutally honest and emotionally intense poetry collection that remains one of his most powerful works.

As a novelist, Meredith was ahead of his time. His books were dense, filled with intricate sentences, psychological depth, and sharp social critique. One of his most famous works, The Egoist (1879), is a satirical masterpiece that skewers male vanity through the character of Sir Willoughby Patterne, a self-absorbed aristocrat who assumes women exist solely to admire him. (If a Victorian novel could double as an 1800s-style dating horror story, this would be it.) While Meredith’s unique style made his novels more challenging to read than those of his contemporaries, his wit and insight rewards those who persevere. Of course, some readers may have felt they deserved a medal after making it through one of his more complex paragraphs, but literary greatness isn’t always easy!

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His influence stretched beyond his own readership, too. Writers like Thomas Hardy, Virginia Woolf, and even Oscar Wilde all admired his work, with Hardy once crediting Meredith’s support as a turning point in his own career. Despite not achieving widespread popular success, Meredith’s ability to blend comedy with deep psychological realism made him rather an important bridge between Victorian literature and the modernist literary movement. Though his works require patience, they offer a rare mix of humor, wisdom, and social insight that still feels relevant today.