April Literary Birthdays
Need a reason to celebrate? Who doesn’t these days? Let’s commemorate and celebrate (some of the) authors whose birthdays occur in April and whose works provide endless consolation and inspiration in the best and worst of times. So, lift a glass (and a book) to the following literary lights:
Jane Goodall, April 3, 1934 (Author and tireless environmental activist, best known for her decades long studies of chimpanzees in Tanzania)- Reason for Hope
Maya Angelou, April 4, 1928-May 28, 2014 (Award winning American poet, singer, memoirist, playwright and civil rights activist.)- Letter to My Daughter
Barbara Kingsolver, April 8, 1955 (Thought provoking American novelist, essayist and poet whose works focus on the intersection of family, history and the environment)- Unsheltered
Tom Clancy, April 12, 1947-October 1, 2013 (Best selling American novelist known for his technically detailed espionage and military-science depictions set during and after the Cold War.)- Without Remorse
Charlotte Bronte, April 21, 1816-March 31, 1855 (English novelist and poet, author of the timeless classic, Jane Eyre, and sister to Anne and Emily)
William Shakespeare, April 23, 1564 – April 23, 1616 (The Great Bard – what else is there to say?)- Romeo and Juliet
Sue Grafton, April 24, 1940-December 28, 2017 (Wildly popular American author best known for her “alphabet” mystery series, featuring private investigator Kinsey Millhone in the fictional city of Santa Teresa, California.)- Y is for Yesterday
Bernard Malamud, April 26, 1914-March 18, 1986 (One of the best known American Jewish authors of the 20th century. His baseball novel, The Natural, was adapted into a 1984 film starring Robert Redford.)
Harper Lee, April 28, 1926-February 19, 2016 ( Best known for her classic and beloved 1960 novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, which won the 1961 Pulitzer Prize.
Annie Dillard, April 30, 1945 (Dillard won the 1975 Pulitzer Prize for Pilgrim at Tinker Creek.)