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Gracián, Baltasar

(Encyclopedia)Gracián, Baltasar bältäsärˈ gräthyänˈ [key], 1601–58, Spanish Jesuit philosopher and writer. A scholar, satirist, and epigrammatist, Gracián frequently ran afoul of Jesuit authority. El hé...

De Forest, John William

(Encyclopedia)De Forest, John William də fôrˈəst, fŏrˈ– [key], 1826–1906, American author, b. Seymour, Conn. He served in the Civil War, chiefly as a captain. His vivid accounts of battle scenes in Louisi...

Döblin, Alfred

(Encyclopedia)Döblin, Alfred älˈfrĕt döblĭnˈ [key], 1878–1957, German novelist and physician. His experiences as a psychiatrist in the workers' district of Berlin served as the basis for his experimental n...

Espinel, Vicente Martínez

(Encyclopedia)Espinel, Vicente Martínez vēthānˈtā märtēˈnāth āspēnĕlˈ [key], 1550–1624, Spanish writer, musician, and adventurer. Espinel was notorious for his dissolute life, which his holy vows, ta...

Heym, Georg

(Encyclopedia)Heym, Georg gāˈôrkh hīm [key], 1887–1912, German poet and novelist of early expressionism. Rebelling against the new romanticism, Heym created the “demon” metropolis. This became his symbol ...

Harrison, Frederic

(Encyclopedia)Harrison, Frederic, 1831–1923, English jurist and sociologist. He served on various law commissions and was (1877–89) professor of jurisprudence and international law under the Council of Legal Ed...

Hayashi, Fumiko

(Encyclopedia)Hayashi, Fumiko fo͞oˈmēˈkō häˈyäˈshē [key], 1903–51, Japanese novelist and short-story writer. The daughter of an itinerant peddlar, Hayashi was raised in abject poverty. After finishing s...

Steffen, Albert

(Encyclopedia)Steffen, Albert älˈbĕrt shtĕfˈən [key], 1884–1963, Swiss novelist, poet, and playwright, who wrote in German. His works are concerned with the martyrdom and redemption of Christ. To Steffen th...

Söderberg, Hjalmar

(Encyclopedia)Söderberg, Hjalmar yälˈmär söˈdərbĕrˌyə [key], 1869–1941, Swedish writer. He is known for a lyrical but melancholic and disillusioned mood. Söderberg's first novel, Martin Birck's Youth (...

Wägner, Elin

(Encyclopedia)Wägner, Elin āˈlĭn vĕgˈnĕr [key], 1882–1949, Swedish novelist. Wägner was a leading feminist of her day. In early works such as Pennskaftet [the penholder] (1910), she deals with the social,...