Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

134 results found

ode

(Encyclopedia)ode, elaborate and stately lyric poem of some length. The ode dates back to the Greek choral songs that were sung and danced at public events and celebrations. The Greek odes of Pindar, which were mod...

Antioch College

(Encyclopedia)Antioch College, at Yellow Springs, Ohio; coeducational; chartered 1852, opened 1853. Horace Mann, Antioch's first president, envisioned a program stressing the development not only of the intellect b...

Maecenas

(Encyclopedia)Maecenas (Caius Maecenas) mĭsēˈnəs, mē– [key], d. 8 b.c., Roman statesman and patron of letters. He was born (between 74 b.c. and 64 b.c.) into a wealthy family and was a trusted adviser of Oct...

Russell, George William

(Encyclopedia)Russell, George William, pseud. A. E., 1867–1935, Irish author, b. Lurgan, educated in Dublin. An active member of the Irish nationalist movement, he edited the Irish Homestead (1904–23) and the I...

Rudolph, Paul Marvin

(Encyclopedia)Rudolph, Paul Marvin, 1918–97, American modernist architect, b. Elkton, Ky. Rudolph taught at several universities and served as chair of the Yale architecture department from 1958–65. He was one ...

Montagu, Lady Mary Wortley

(Encyclopedia)Montagu, Lady Mary Wortley, 1689–1762, English author, noted primarily for her highly descriptive letters. She was the daughter of the first duke of Kingston. In 1712 she married Edward Wortley Mont...

carpe diem

(Encyclopedia)carpe diem kärˈpĕ dēˈĕm [key], a descriptive term for literature that urges readers to live for the moment [from the Latin phrase “seize the day,” used by Horace]. The theme, which was widel...

letters

(Encyclopedia)letters, in literature, written messages, ranging from those addressed to the public and those sent from lover to lover, to business letters and thank-you notes. The common quality they share is a liv...

Boileau-Despréaux, Nicolas

(Encyclopedia)Boileau-Despréaux, Nicolas nēkôläˈ bwälōˈ-dāprāōˈ [key], 1636–1711, French literary critic and poet. He was the spokesman of classicism, drawing his principles from his contemporaries, a...

Bond, Julian

(Encyclopedia)Bond, Julian (Horace Julian Bond), 1940–2015, U.S. civil-rights leader, b. Nashville, Tenn. As a student at Morehouse College, he participated in sit-ins at segregated Atlanta restaurants. He was a ...

Browse by Subject