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Fenollosa, Ernest Francisco

(Encyclopedia)Fenollosa, Ernest Francisco fĕnəlōˈsə [key], 1853–1908, American Orientalist, educator, and poet, b. Salem, Mass., grad. Harvard, 1874. A pioneer in the study of Asian art, he lived much of his...

Green, Paul

(Encyclopedia)Green, Paul, 1894–1981, American dramatist, b. Lillington, N.C., grad. Univ. of North Carolina, 1921. He is known for his realistic plays depicting the lives of blacks and white tenant farmers. His ...

Matthews, Brander

(Encyclopedia)Matthews, Brander (James Brander Matthews), 1852–1929, American author and teacher, b. New Orleans. Matthews was a well-known figure in theatrical and literary circles in Paris and London as well as...

Li Ang

(Encyclopedia)Li Ang shûr sho͞o-dwän [key], 1952–, Taiwanese writer. After graduating from college in Taiwan she studied drama in the United States in the 1970s. Her fiction, which includes the novella The But...

Philoctetes

(Encyclopedia)Philoctetes fĭlŏktēˈtēz [key], in Greek mythology, son of Poias. He acquired, by gift, the bow and arrow of Hercules by lighting the pyre on which the hero was consumed alive. On his way to the T...

Adams, Maude

(Encyclopedia)Adams, Maude, 1872–1953, American actress, b. Salt Lake City, Utah. Her father's name was Kiskadden, but she used her mother's maiden name. She began acting at an early age and became leading lady t...

Uhland, Ludwig

(Encyclopedia)Uhland, Ludwig lo͝otˈvĭkh o͞oˈlänt [key], 1787–1862, German poet, leader of the Swabian group. He studied and practiced law at Tübingen, held various official posts, and taught German literat...

Terence

(Encyclopedia)Terence (Publius Terentius Afer) tĕrˈəns [key], b. c.185 or c.195 b.c., d. c.159 b.c., Roman writer of comedies, b. Carthage. As a boy he was a slave of Terentius Lucanus, a Roman senator, who brou...

Théâtre Libre

(Encyclopedia)Théâtre Libre tāätˈrə lēbˈrə [key], French theatrical company founded in Paris in 1887 by André Antoine. Inspired by the work of the Meiningen Players, Antoine's theater became a showcase fo...

black humor

(Encyclopedia)black humor, in literature, drama, and film, grotesque or morbid humor used to express the absurdity, insensitivity, paradox, and cruelty of the modern world. Ordinary characters or situations are usu...