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Toussaint Louverture, François Dominique

(Encyclopedia)Toussaint Louverture or L'Ouverture, François Dominique fräNswäˈ dômēnēkˈ to͞osăNˈ lo͞ovĕrtürˈ [key], c.1744–1803, Haitian patriot and martyr. A self-educated slave freed shortly befo...

Gide, André

(Encyclopedia)Gide, André äNdrāˈ zhēd [key], 1869–1951, French writer. He established a reputation as an unconventional novelist with The Immoralist (1902, tr. 1930), a partly autobiographical work in which ...

Rolland, Romain

(Encyclopedia)Rolland, Romain rômăNˈ rôläNˈ [key], 1866–1944, French novelist, biographer, playwright, and musicologist. After studying in Paris he spent two crucial years in Rome, where he was influenced b...

Vondel, Joost van den

(Encyclopedia)Vondel, Joost van den yōst vän dĕn vônˈdəl [key], 1587–1679, Dutch poet and dramatist, b. Cologne. He is generally considered the greatest Dutch writer. During the emergence of the Dutch natio...

Swiss literature

(Encyclopedia)Swiss literature. The literature of Switzerland is written in German, French, Italian, and Romansh, with German predominating. The extensive literature in Romansh dialect (see Rhaeto-Romanic) is littl...

Inge, William

(Encyclopedia)Inge, William ĭnj [key], 1913–73, American playwright, b. Independence, Kans., grad. Univ. of Kansas, 1935. He was a teacher and newspaper critic before he won recognition as a dramatist. Inge's pl...

Ghelderode, Michel de

(Encyclopedia)Ghelderode, Michel de mēshĕlˈ də gĕldərōdˈ [key], 1898–1962, Belgian dramatist. He wrote in French and is noted for his colorful and avant-garde plays. He lived in obscurity until 1949, when...

Beauharnais, Hortense de

(Encyclopedia)Beauharnais, Hortense de də bōärnāˈ [key], 1783–1837, queen of Holland (1806–10), daughter of Alexandre and Josephine de Beauharnais and wife of Louis Bonaparte. She was the mother of Napole...

Icelandic literature

(Encyclopedia)Icelandic literature, the literature of Iceland. For the earliest literature of Iceland, see Old Norse literature. The 20th cent. saw the rise of a more introspective writing, influenced by Nietzsch...

Soupault, Philippe

(Encyclopedia)Soupault, Philippe fēlēpˈ so͞opōˈ [key], 1897–1990, French poet, novelist, critic, and political activist. He took an active role in the dadaist movement and later founded the surrealist movem...