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Heaney, Seamus

(Encyclopedia)Heaney, Seamus (Seamus Justin Heaney) shāˈməs, hēˈnē [key], 1939–2013, Irish poet, one of the finest contemporary English poets, b. Londonderry (now Derry), Northern Ireland, grad. Queen's Uni...

Deloria, Vine Victor Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Deloria, Vine, Jr., 1933–2005, American author, theologian, historian, and activist, b. Marin, S.Dak. Considered by some to be the leading intellectua...

circus

(Encyclopedia)circus [Lat.,=ring, circle], historically, the arena associated with the horse and chariot races and athletic contests known in ancient Rome as the Circensian games. The Roman circus was a round or ov...

pendulum

(Encyclopedia)pendulum, a mass, called a bob, suspended from a fixed point so that it can swing in an arc determined by its momentum and the force of gravity. The length of a pendulum is the distance from the point...

Woolf, Virginia

(Encyclopedia)Woolf, Virginia, 1882–1941, English novelist and essayist, b. Adeline Virgina Stephen; daughter of Sir Leslie Stephen. A successful innovator in the form of the novel, she is considered a significan...

figwort

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Figwort, Scrophularia lanceolata figwort, common name for some members of the Scrophulariaceae, a family comprising chiefly herbs and small shrubs and distributed widely over all continents. T...

bacteria

(Encyclopedia)bacteria [pl. of bacterium], microscopic unicellular prokaryotic organisms characterized by the lack of a membrane-bound nucleus and membrane-bound organelles. Once considered a part of the plant king...

Fitzgerald, F. Scott

(Encyclopedia)Fitzgerald, F. Scott (Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald), 1896–1940, American novelist and short-story writer, b. St. Paul, Minn. He is ranked among the great American writers of the 20th cent. Fitzgeral...

Franconia

(Encyclopedia)Franconia frăngkōˈnēə [key], Ger. Franken, historic region and one of the five basic or stem duchies of medieval Germany, S Germany. The region was included in the Frankish kingdom of Austrasia, ...

Stein, Gertrude

(Encyclopedia)Stein, Gertrude, 1874–1946, American author and patron of the arts, b. Allegheny (now part of Pittsburgh), Pa. A celebrated personality, she encouraged, aided, and influenced—through her patronage...