(Encyclopedia) Pure Land Buddhism or Amidism, devotional sect of Mahayana Buddhism in China and Japan, centering on worship of the Buddha Amitabha. According to the Pure Land Sutras, composed in…
(Encyclopedia) Conrad III, c.1093–1152, German king (1138–52), son of Frederick, duke of Swabia, and Agnes, daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV; first of the Hohenstaufen dynasty. He joined his…
DEFENCESTOUGH ALPINESHIGH UP ON A HOSTXEROPHYTESHALOPHYTESFIND OUT MORESome plants have special features that help them to repel predators. Other plants can survive and even thrive in hostile…
Six down, one to go by Shmuel Ross Related Links Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: Quiz IHarry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: Quiz IINews Story: Sixth Harry Book Announced…
(Encyclopedia) Doctorow, E. L. (Edgar Lawrence Doctorow)Doctorow, E. L.dŏkˈtərōˌ [key], 1931–2015, American novelist, b. New York City. The author of a dozen novels, Doctorow is known for his…
(Encyclopedia) Morrison, Toni, 1931–2019, American writer, b. Lorain, Ohio, as Chloe Ardelia (later Anthony) Wofford; B.A. Howard Univ., 1953, M.F.A. Cornell, 1955. Her fiction is noted for its…
(Encyclopedia) Kushner, TonyKushner, Tonyk&oobreve;shˈnər [key], 1956–, American playwright, b. New York City. He was a little-known off-Broadway playwright with several interesting works, e.g.,…
(Encyclopedia) Wilder, Thornton Niven, 1897–1975, American playwright and novelist, b. Madison, Wis., grad. Yale (B.A., 1920), Princeton (M.A., 1925). He received most of his early education in China…
(Encyclopedia) Black Panthers, U.S. African-American militant party, founded (1966) in Oakland, Calif., by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale. Originally aimed at armed self-defense against the local…
And an oily smoke that rolls through the trees/ into the night of the last American summer . . . —Major Jackson compiled by David Johnson The summer's flower is to the…