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.

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With author Albert Camus’ birthday being November 7, it seemed like a perfect time to reflect on the life (and impact) of this influential writer and philosopher. Camus’ most well-known philosophical contribution was his concept of “the absurd” – a term he used to describe the tension between humans desire for both meaning and the meaningless, indifferent universe they inhabit. He argued that while life has no inherent meaning, people must still find ways to live fully… a feeling that perhaps a few American citizens are feeling this week and need reminding of.

Born in 1913 in Mondovi, Algeria, Camus grew up in a rather modest household. His father died in World War I, leaving his mother alone to raise Albert under tough conditions. Despite these challenges, Camus excelled in school, eventually studying philosophy at the University of Algiers. Camus lived through some of the most intense periods of the 20th century. His early life, his experiences during World War II, and particularly his involvement with the French Resistance and his role as editor of the underground newspaper Combat, shaped his views on justice and human dignity and is almost tangible in some of his work.

In 1942, Camus published The Stranger, a novel that explores the idea mentioned above of “the absurd”—the confliction between our desire for meaning in life and the uncaring world around us. He delved deep into this theme in The Myth of Sisyphus, an essay that challenges us to confront life’s uncertainties with resilience and courage. Camus didn’t stop there… his novels The Plague and The Fall continued to explore human nature and morality, earning him widespread recognition. In 1957, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, becoming one of the youngest recipients of the prestigious award at the age of 44. Unfortunately, he died in a car accident just two short years later.

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Personally, I believe that what makes Camus’ work so powerful is its timeless relevance. His intense focus on existential themes and the human condition resonates even today… some might say particularly today. His work shows a commitment to principles like freedom, justice, and integrity that continues to inspire readers across generations. Camus encourages us to find meaning in life through our actions, our choices, and our connections with others… even when the world seems indifferent. As we mark what would be his 111th birthday, we honor Albert Camus not just for his literary genius, but for his message about what it means to live a meaningful life in a complicated world.

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Both Sylvia Plath and Dylan Thomas are towering figures in the world of 20th century poetry. Each are known for their distinct voices and both carry an emotional intensity to their work that is not always seen in poetry. Though there is no evidence that these poets ever met, Sylvia Plath’s admiration for Thomas’ work is well-documented. His influence seems especially visible in her earliest work, though in the end Plath went on to carve a poetic identity very distinct from Thomas’ notable style. With their shared upcoming birthday on the horizon (both were born on October the 27th, almost 20 years apart), we thought we’d look at how these two poets are connected, and honor their shared visions and experiences.

Dylan Thomas, a Welsh poet known for his rich language and vivid imagery, wrote in a rather romantic style, and often explored themes of life, death and the natural world. His poetry frequently expresses a fairly passionate celebration of life, and admiration of life’s fleeting beauty. That being said, he counters this positivity with a deep awareness of mortality and death. His popular poem Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night is a perfect example of this style. The way he used sound, rhythm and imagery generalizes him as a romantic modernist, since he blends traditional poetic techniques with powerful emotional depth.

Sylvia Plath, an American poet from a very different background from Thomas, came of age in the 1950s and 1960s, and began writing poetry from a young age. She was admittedly profoundly affected by Thomas’ work, and you can see evidence of his (almost) visceral imagery and romantic lyricism echoed in Plath’s early writing – poems like The Colossus, one of her most famous early works. Yet, where Thomas’ work might evoke a life-affirming energy and a focus on beauty, Plath’s work eventually took on a darker, more introspective tone. Plath, struggling with depression and her mental health, often focused her work on the self, on alienation and the eventual peace of death (obviously dissimilar to Thomas’ wish for us to rage against it). Her work diverged from the romanticism of Dylan Thomas in favor of her explorations of psychological trauma, gender and even the grotesque – whereas Thomas’ work focused more on a questioning of the personal and the political. While Thomas provided Plath with a solid foundation of poetry, her work would eventually grow into a voice more singular and ferocious. That being said, they shared poetic interests in language, mortality and the human psyche – no matter how distinct their eventual work is.

While as I stated earlier, these two poets came from such different backgrounds, they shared some similar experiences throughout their lives that perhaps explains their universal connection to their readership around the world. Both lives were marked with personal turmoil and struggles with mental health – most likely why their work focuses so heavily on their mortality. Both poets drew from their own inner conflicts and existential questions to display raw emotion in their writing, and each struggled with pressures of their own artistic expectations. And tragically, both met untimely, young deaths – Thomas from alcoholism at 39 and Plath by suicide at 30. Nevertheless, their work cemented them as literary icons that have stood the test of time.

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Poet, essayist, activist, teacher and Nobel Laureate Czesław Miłosz was born on June 30th, 1911. After not only surviving both World Wars in Eastern Europe, he eventually was exiled to France and later the United States for his outspoken condemnation of totalitarianism. He settled in California – right near our old haunts in Berkeley! On this day in 2004, he died in Krakow, Poland, at the age of 93. We wanted to salute this local (by way of Poland, Lithuania, Russia, and France) legend, Nobel Prize Winner, and powerful writer with a blog in his honor. 

Miłosz’s early life was marked by the dangerous political landscape that was Eastern Europe at the time. His experiences of wartime, fighting, anti-semitism and angst shaped his writing for the rest of his life. He eventually studied law at the University of Vilnius, where he became a key writer for an “underground” group of avant-garde poets known as the Žagary group. His early poetry is often marked by extreme symbolism and even surrealism as he wrote of themes of alienation, disillusionment and searching for meaning in a chaotic world (obviously taken from his own life experiences). In 1933 he published his first collection of poems Poemat o czasie zastygłym (or A Poem of Frozen Time).

The outbreak of World War II changed Miłosz’s life in many ways. After working at several radio stations in Poland, unafraid to denounce Hitler and anti-semitism, Miłosz began his escape from Poland early on in the German invasion. But when he heard that the girl he loved (and would eventually have two children with and marry) had stayed behind to be with her parents, he began his journey back to her – often on foot. During the war he worked for the Polish resistance and published underground literature of both his own writing and translations of authors like Shakespeare and T.S. Eliot. Along with his brother he helped several Jews escape occupied Poland. Immediately after the war in 1945 he published his fourth volume of poetry Ocalenie (or Rescue), which centers around his wartime experiences and contains several of his most critically acclaimed works.

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After the war, Miłosz served as a cultural attache for the Polish government in Paris and Washington D.C. But eventually, his disillusionment with an increasingly repressive regime in Poland caused him to realize he was no longer safe in his home country and he defected to France in 1951 and eventually the United States in 1960 – when McCarthyism had finally abated and he was offered a teaching position at the University of California, Berkeley. His writing during his exile is chock full of explorations of moral and spiritual crises in the modern world, and speaks to many to this very day. His book The Captive Mind, published in 1953 when Miłosz was living in France, inspects totalitarian ideologies and the hold they have on intellectuals – drawing from Miłosz’s own experience with the new Polish regime. This work threw Miłosz into the spotlight, as he became a leading voice in the critique of totalitarianism. This work is still one of his most widely read books, and is taught in political science courses to this day. Within months of his teaching at UC Berkeley Miłosz was offered tenure, as he had impressed both students and colleagues alike with his immediate triumph as a professor – a role in which he said he felt destined for and at home in.

In 1980, Miłosz was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. His work was praised for its “uncompromising clear-sightedness” and “passionate pursuit of truth” by the Nobel Committee, and as his work had been banned in Poland for a long time due to his condemnations of the regimes he found himself under, his win reintroduced him to the Polish people and he became a national treasure on multiple continents. Miłosz’s lasting influence is not only about his life experiences, but the fact that he used his unique understanding of humanity and morality, and added the complexities of history, religion and philosophy to describe the human condition. His work is truly one “of the people”.