Essayist
1. John Wilkins (1614)
Essayist
Seventeenth-century British clergyman, natural philosopher, and author. He is perhaps best remembered for his 1668 work, "An Essay Towards a Real Character and a Philosophical Language," which argues for the...
2. John Doran (1807)
Essayist
A nineteenth-century English author, he is known for his miscellaneous writings, essays, and contributions to the London Literary Chronicle. He wrote cleverly-titled works such as Knights and Their Days and...
3. Kelly Miller (1863)
Essayist
Remembered for his numerous racial equality-themed essays and articles, as well as for his book Out of the House of Bondage, this Washington, D.C.-based journalist, author, and prominent African-American intellectual...
4. Dt Suzuki (1870)
Essayist
Known for his numerous writings on Zen and Shin Buddhism and for his translations of ancient Japanese, Chinese, and Sanskrit texts, he was an extremely important figure in the introduction...
5. Vladimir Propp (1895)
Essayist
Though he also published such important essays as "The Magical Tree on the Tomb" and "Wonderful Childbirth," this Russian author and folklorist is most famous for his books Morphology of...
6. Jon Favreau (1981)
Essayist
Writer known for being the Director of Speechwriting for president Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013. He starting serving as Obama's chief speechwriter during his first presidential campaign.
7. Leonard Michaels (1970)
Essayist
An American writer of short stories, essays, and novels, he is known for such works as Going Places and I Would Have Saved Them If I Could.
8. Clayton Eshleman (1970)
Essayist
An Indiana-born author and editor, he is best known for his U.S. National Book Award-winning translation of Cesar Vallejo's poetry. His original works include Hotel Cro-Magnon (1989) and Companion Spider:...
9. Nassim Taleb (1960)
Essayist
Essayist whose work has primarily focused on risk management through probability and uncertainty. His 2007 book The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable became a New York Times' best-seller,...
10. Wayne Karlin (1970)
Essayist
Known for his historically-themed essays and short stories, he also earned accolades for such novels as Prisoners, Love After War, and The Wished-For Country. Also an editor, he worked on...
11. Aleksandar Prokopiev (1970)
Essayist
Macedonian author, academic, and musician who wrote a series of essays known, collectively, as Postmodern Babylon. His other publications include The Man with Four Watches, Fairytale on the Road, and...
12. Ken Mogi (1970)
Essayist
Japanese scientist who has gained fame for having written more than 50 books on a variety of topics, including neuroscience, philosophy, history, art, education and linguistics. He is also notable...
