Sonia Sanchez formed the Broadside Quartet. She was an activist for racial equality, pioneered black studies and has written poetry, plays and kids’ books.
1934-
Jean-Paul Sartre was a 20th century intellectual, writer and activist who put forth pioneering ideas on existentialism.
1905-1980
1926-
William Shakespeare, often called the English national poet, is widely considered the greatest dramatist of all time.
1564-1616
1856-1950
Known for his lyrical and long-form verse, Percy Bysshe Shelley is one of the most highly regarded English Romantic poets of the 19th century. His works include The Masque of Anarchy and Queen Mab.
1792-1822
Sam Shepard is a prolific, Oscar-nominated actor and playwright who’s won the Pulitzer Prize.
1943-
Writer for stage and screen Neil Simon penned some of America's most popular plays, including Barefoot in the Park (1963) and The Odd Couple (1965).
1927-
Noble Sissle was a pioneering jazz singer, bandleader and composer known for his work on the musical Shuffle Along, among other productions.
1889-1975
1934-
Sir Tom Stoppard is a Czech-born British playwright whose famous works include Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1964) and Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (1978). He co-wrote the screenplay for the 1998 Academy Award winning film Shakespeare in Love.
1937-
Preston Sturges is regarded as the first Hollywood figure to successfully move from screenwriting to directing his own scripts.
1898-1959
1871-1909
1952-
1902-1934
Poet, novelist and short-story writer Jean Toomer was a major figure during the Harlem Renaissance. He is best known for his first book, Cane.
1894-1967
Peter Ustinov was an English actor, writer and director who is known for his Oscar-winning performances in Spartacus (1960) and Topkapi (1964).
1921-2004
1932-
Gore Vidal was best known as a prolific American writer, but was also famous for frequent talk-show appearances and witty political criticisms.
1925-2012
1749-1832
1930-
Wendy Wasserstein was an award-winning playwright of such works as The Sisters Rosensweig and An American Daughter.
1950-2006
Thornton Wilder is a multiple Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and playwright known for works like The Bridge of San Luis Rey, The Ides of March and Our Town.
1897-1975
Tennessee Williams was an American writer, whose signature works include A Streetcar Named Desire, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and The Glass Menagerie.
1911-1983
Playwright August Wilson won two Pulitzer Prizes for his plays Fences (1987) and The Piano Lesson (1990).
1945-2005
1881-1975
Thomas Wolfe was an American author known for writing the autobiographical piece Look Homeward, Angel before his untimely death at the age of 37.
1900-1938
William Butler Yeats was one of the greatest English-language poets of the 20th century and received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923.
1865-1939
1817-1893
Stefan Zweig was an Austrian writer and novelist popular in the 1920s and 1930s.
1881-1942