Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Andersson, Dan

(Encyclopedia)Andersson, Dan dän änˈdərsōnˌ [key], 1888–1920, Swedish poet, novelist, and short-story writer. Although his entire life was lived in extreme poverty, Andersson dealt in his works with religio...

anecdote

(Encyclopedia)anecdote ănˈĭkdōtˌ [key], brief narrative of a particular incident. An anecdote differs from a short story in that it is unified in time and space, is uncomplicated, and deals with a single episo...

Gadda, Carlo Emilio

(Encyclopedia)Gadda, Carlo Emilio kärˈlō āmēˈlyō gädˈdä [key], 1893–1973, Italian novelist. Although trained as an electrical engineer, Gadda devoted his energies to writing. His difficult style, delibe...

Janáček, Leoš

(Encyclopedia)Janáček, Leoš lĕˈôsh yäˈnächĕk [key], 1854–1928, Czech composer, theorist, and collector of Slavic folk music. He studied in Prague and Leipzig and founded a music conservatory at Brno in ...

Otranto

(Encyclopedia)Otranto ôˈträntō [key], town (1991 pop. 5,114), in Apulia, extreme S Italy, on the Strait of Otranto, which links the Adriatic and Ionian seas. It is a small fishing port and a seaside resort. Ori...

Mapu, Abraham

(Encyclopedia)Mapu, Abraham mäˈpo͞o [key], 1808–67, Lithuanian novelist who wrote in Hebrew. For many years an impoverished, itinerant schoolmaster, Mapu gained financial security when he was appointed teacher...

Mácha, Karel Hynek

(Encyclopedia)Mácha, Karel Hynek käˈrel hēˈnĕk mäˈkhä [key], 1810–36, Czech romantic poet. After studying law at the Univ. of Prague he became a civil servant. He published a number of promising poems an...

Lidman, Sara

(Encyclopedia)Lidman, Sara säˈrä lēdˈmän [key], 1923–2004, Swedish writer. Her novels The Tar Still (1953), Cloudberry Land (1955), and The Rain Bird (1958, tr. 1962), treating rural life in N Sweden, estab...

Kaverin, Veniamin Aleksandrovich

(Encyclopedia)Kaverin, Veniamin Aleksandrovich vĕnyəmēnˈ əlyĭksänˈdrəvĭch kəvyĕˈrĭn [key], 1902–89, Russian novelist and short-story writer. He was a member of the literary group that called itself ...

Larra, Mariano José de

(Encyclopedia)Larra, Mariano José de märyäˈnō hōsāˈ ᵺā läˈrä [key], 1809–37, Spanish satirist, b. Madrid. Using several pseudonyms, Larra wrote a series of satirical articles on Spanish politics and...

Browse by Subject