Japanese diarist and poet Sei Shōnagon.

Sei Shonagon

(c. 966 - c. 1025)

Ambrose Bierce

Ambrose Bierce

(1842 - c. 1914)

Frances Warfield

(1884 - 1969)

Painting of Jean de la Bruyère wearing a red cape.

Jean de La Bruyère

(1645 - 1696)

color photograph of Victor Frankl with his hand on his chin looking pensive

Victor Frankl

(1905 - 1997)

Woody Allen in thick black rim glasses

Woody Allen

Joseph Heller

Joseph Heller

(1923 - 1999)

Dorothy Parker working at her typewriter.

Dorothy Parker

(1893 - 1967)

Black and white photograph of Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud with cigar.

Sigmund Freud

(1856 - 1949)

Ukrainian-born Russian novelist Nikolai Gogol.

Nikolai Gogol

(1809 - 1852)

Portrait of Chinese fiction writer Pu Songling.

Pu Songling

(1640 - 1715)

Portrait of Philip Dormer Stanhope wearing a blue sash.

Philip Dormer Stanhope

(1694 - 1773)

Color mosaic of earl Church father St. John Chrysostom.

St. John Chrysostom

(347 - 407)

Black and white photo of Lenny Bruce being frisked by an officer

Lenny Bruce

(1925 - 1966)

Portrait bust of presumed author of the Iliad and the Odyssey Homer.

Homer

(c. 800 BC - 725 BC)

Painting of François Rabelais.

François Rabelais

(1494 - 1553)

Colorized engraving of Voltaire wearing a wig.

Voltaire

(1694 - 1778)

Photograph of Charles Baudelaire

Charles Baudelaire

(1821 - 1867)

Depiction of Greek philosopher Plato.

Plato

(c. 427 BC - c. 347 BC)

Italian courtier, diplomat, and writer Baldassare Castiglione.

Baldassare Castiglione

(1478 - 1529)

Sculpture bust of Roman teacher and writer Quintilian.

Quintilian

(35 - c. 96)

Image of French poet François Villon.

François Villon

(1431 - c. 1463)

Portrait of George Vasey in a suit with a long white beard

George Vasey

(1822 - 1893)

Sepia toned photograph of Lewis Carroll in a suit, reading a book

Lewis Carroll

(1832 - 1898)

American feminist, activist, and editor Gloria Steinem.

Gloria Steinem

Lewis Lapham at his desk

Lewis H. Lapham

Oil painting portrair Michel de Montaigne in red robes and white collar

Michel de Montaigne

(1533 - 1592)

Photograph of African-American poet and writer Langston Hughes.

Langston Hughes

(1902 - 1967)

Black and white photo of Harry S. Truman holding a newspaper with the headline "Dewey defeats Truman"

Harry S. Truman

(1884 - 1972)

Pastel drawing of George Eliot.

George Eliot

(1819 - 1880)

Don DeLillo standing outside in a jacket, black and white photo

Don DeLillo

Robert Benchley

Robert Benchley

(1889 - 1945)

David Simon sitting outside wearing an Irish driver cap

David Simon

Henri Bergson

Henri Bergson

(1859 - 1941)

Jonathan Swift

Jonathan Swift

(1667 - 1745)

Samuel Beckett, 1977. Photograph by Roger Pic.

Samuel Beckett

(1906 - 1989)

Photograph of American author Ben Tarnoff.

Ben Tarnoff

black and white photo of Steve Martin wearing a white dinner jacket and black tie

Steve Martin

color oil painting of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in a red tunic with gray hair

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

(1756 - 1791)

Color photograph of comedian and writer Rob Delaney.

Rob Delaney

Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes.

Miguel de Cervantes

(1547 - 1616)

photograph of David Foster Wallace speaking at a podium

David Foster Wallace

(1962 - 2008)

Black and white photograph of American entertainer Joan Rivers.

Joan Rivers

(1933 - 2014)

black and white photo of Groucho Marx wearing glasses and smoking a cigar from the side of his mouth

Groucho Marx

(1890 - 1977)

black and white pencil drawing of Moliere in an ornate frame

Molière

(1622 - 1673)

Sepia colored photo of Oscar Wilde sitting on a rock with a book in his hand

Oscar Wilde

(1854 - 1900)

Engraving of William Shakespeare from the first folio edition.

William Shakespeare

(1564 - 1616)

Painting of Charles Lamb wearing a black suit against a red backdrop.

Charles Lamb

(1775 - 1834)

Black and white photograph of Mencken looking over his shoulder at the camera

H.L. Mencken

(1880 - 1956)

Photograph of President Abraham Lincoln sitting in a chair.

Abraham Lincoln

(1809 - 1865)

Juvenal

(c. 60 - c. 130)

Stanley Kubrick

(1929 - 1999)

Abu Nuwas

(c. 755 - c. 814)

Illustration of Plautus with red robes and hat

Plautus

(c. 254 BC - c. 184 BC)

Classical engraving of Aristophanes with a long beard.

Aristophanes

(c. 446 BC - c. 386 BC)

Kurt Vonnegut

(1922 - 2007)

Black and white photo of Herbert Spencer with long, hairy mutton chops and a stern expression

Herbert Spencer

(1820 - 1903)

Photograph of English professor and author Andrew McConnell Stott.

Andrew McConnell Stott

Calvin Trillin standing in front of a refrigerator in a black and white photograph

Calvin Trillin

Black and white photograph of a young Mark Twain with dark hair.

Mark Twain

(1835 - 1910)

Charlie Chaplin

(1889 - 1977)

Daniil Kharms looking serious with an intent stare

Daniil Kharms

(1905 - 1942)

Black and white image of French classical author La Rochefoucauld.

La Rochefoucauld

(1613 - 1680)

Photo of stone Aristotle statue face

Aristotle

(384 BC - 322 BC)

Billy Collins

black and white photograph of Sara Silverman performing at the Upright Citizens Brigad

Sarah Silverman

Photograph of Soviet author Mikhail Zoshchenko in military uniform.

Mikhail Zoshchenko

(1895 - 1958)

black and white photo of James Thurber lighting a cigarette in the new york times office

James Thurber

(1894 - 1961)

Flann O'Brien in an overcoat standing next to a Dublin Diversion sign

Flann O’Brien

(1911 - 1966)

Color drawing of Jane Austen sitting in a chair wearing a blue dress

Jane Austen

(1775 - 1817)

Image of Renaissance humanist and scholar Poggio Bracciolini.

Poggio Bracciolini

(1380 - 1459)

Painting of Thomas Hobbes

Thomas Hobbes

(1588 - 1679)