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It is 125 years today since Yasunari Kawabata was born.
Yasunari Kawabata was a Japanese novelist and short story writer born in Osaka. He came from an educated, wealthy family, but he lost his parents at an early age and his only sibling, a sister, died when he was nine years old. These childhood traumas came to inform his writing. After growing up with his maternal grandfather in the countryside, Kawabata read English and Japanese literature at...
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It is 113 years today since Victor Canning was born.
Victor Canning was a British author of humorous adventure stories and thrillers. He was born in Plymouth, Devon. At the outbreak of the First World War, while his father was doing his military service, he went with his mother and siblings to live with his uncle in Calstock, a few miles north of Plymouth. This was where Canning fell in love with the English countryside, which features prominently...
Sample of Authors
Grisham, John
1955 -
American author, lawyer and politician born in Jonesboro, Arkansas. His father was a construction worker who travelled...
Further reading
Celan, Paul
1920 - 1970
The Romanian Jewish poet who wrote under the pen name Paul Celan was born as Paul Antschel. He grew up in Chernivtsi,...
Further reading
Amis, Martin
1949 - 2023
Martin Amis was the son of author Kingsley Amis and his wife Hilary. He had a younger sister, Sally, and an older brother,...
Further reading
Vian, Boris
1920 - 1959
French author born in the Paris suburb of Ville-d'Avray. Boris Vian went to school in Paris and trained as an engineer at...
Further reading