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Hobsbawm, Eric John Ernest

(Encyclopedia)Hobsbawm, Eric John Ernest , 1917–2012, British Marxist historian, b. Alexandria, Egypt. Educated at Cambridge (Ph.D., 1951), he joined the Communist party there in 1936. He served in the British ar...

folk drama

(Encyclopedia)folk drama, noncommercial, generally rural theater and pageantry based on folk traditions and local history. This form of drama, common throughout the world, declined in popularity in the West (althou...

Dove, Rita

(Encyclopedia)Dove, Rita, 1952–, American poet, b. Akron, Ohio, studied Iowa Writers' Workshop (M.F.A., 1977). Her first poetry collection, Ten Poems, was published in 1977. Her verse is at once concise, precise,...

Catton, Bruce

(Encyclopedia)Catton, Bruce, 1899–1978, American historian, b. Petoskey, Mich. He studied at Oberlin College and then entered upon a varied career as a journalist (1926–42) and public official (1942–52). His ...

Littré, Maximilien Paul Émile

(Encyclopedia)Littré, Maximilien Paul Émile mäksēmēlyăNˈ pōl āmēlˈ lētrāˈ [key], 1801–81, French lexicographer. Known as a positivist philosopher and as professor of history and geography at the Éc...

Clavijero, Francisco Javier

(Encyclopedia)Clavijero, Francisco Javier fränsēsˈkō hävyĕrˈ klävēhāˈrō [key], 1731–87, Mexican scholar and historian. A Jesuit, he taught in Mexico until the expulsion of the order (1767). From his r...

Pogodin, Mikhail Petrovich

(Encyclopedia)Pogodin, Mikhail Petrovich mēkhəyēlˈ pētrôˈvĭch pəgôˈdyĭn [key], 1800–1875, Russian historian and publisher. His conservative journal The Muscovite (1841–56) defended the policies of N...

Tuchman, Barbara Wertheim

(Encyclopedia)Tuchman, Barbara Wertheim, 1912–89, American historian, b. New York City. She won the Pulitzer Prize for history twice, for The Guns of August (1962), about the onset of World War I, and for Stilwel...

Varchi, Benedetto

(Encyclopedia)Varchi, Benedetto bānādĕtˈtō värˈkē [key], 1502?–1565, Italian poet and historian. A protégé of Filippo Strozzi and Cosimo de' Medici, he was commissioned to write the history of Florence....

Japanese music

(Encyclopedia)Japanese music, the highly eclectic musical culture of the Japanese islands. Over the years, Japan has borrowed musical instruments, scales, and styles from many neighboring areas. The indigenous musi...