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Gottsched, Johann Christoph

(Encyclopedia)Gottsched, Johann Christoph yōˈhän krĭsˈtôf gôtˈshĕt [key], 1700–1766, German literary critic, disciple of the Enlightenment. As professor of poetry and philosophy at the Univ. of Leipzig, ...

Tsvetayeva, Marina Ivanovna

(Encyclopedia)Tsvetayeva or Tsvetaeva, Marina Ivanovna tsvyĭtäˈyəvə [key], 1892–1941, Russian poet. She was a major Russian poet, who survived the civil war, emigrated to Prague and Paris, and returned to Ru...

Tungus

(Encyclopedia)Tungus to͝onko͝ozˈ [key], Siberian ethnic group, numbering perhaps 30,000. They are subdivided into the Evenki, who live in the area from the Yenisei and Ob river basins to the Pacific Ocean and fr...

Popol Vuh

(Encyclopedia)Popol Vuh pōpōlˈ vo͞oˈ [key] [Quiché,=collection of the council], sacred book of the Quiché. The most important document of the cosmogony, religion, mythology, migratory traditions, and history...

Psalmanazar, George

(Encyclopedia)Psalmanazar, George sălˌmənāˈzər [key], 1679?–1763, English literary imposter. His real name is not known. Born and educated in France, he developed a marked ability in learning languages. He ...

Punch and Judy

(Encyclopedia)Punch and Judy, famous English puppet play, very popular with children and given widely by strolling puppet players, especially during the Christmas season. It came to England in the 17th cent. by way...

Quapaw

(Encyclopedia)Quapaw kwôˈpô [key], Native North Americans, also called the Arkansas, whose language belongs to the Siouan branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). The Quapaw w...

Ostrovsky, Aleksandr Nikolayevich

(Encyclopedia)Ostrovsky, Aleksandr Nikolayevich əlyĭksänˈdər nyĭkəlīˈyəvĭch əstrôfˈskē [key], 1823–86, Russian dramatist. Ostrovsky's first play, The Bankrupt (1847; reworked as It's a Family Affai...

Oto

(Encyclopedia)Oto ōˈtō [key], Native North Americans, also called the Otoe, whose language belongs to the Siouan branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). The Oto had a Plains ...

Heller, Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Heller, Joseph, 1923–99, American writer, b. Brooklyn, N.Y. Heller is best known for his first novel, Catch-22 (1961). Set in World War II, it is a darkly humorous commentary on the illogic of war a...