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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
Freeling, Nicolas
1927 - 2003
Nicholas Freeling was born Nicolas Davidson in London. His parents were English, but his mother had Dutch roots and the...
Further reading
Östergren, Klas
1955 -
Klas Östergren was born in Stockholm, where he grew up at Lilla Essingen, which also remained a typical working-class ...
Further reading
Hayder, Mo
1962 - 2021
The British thriller writer Mo Hayder, pen name for Clare Dunkel, grew up in Essex. She revolted against her academic...
Further reading
Oe, Kenzaburo
1935 - 2023
Japanese author Kenzaburo Oe was born in the village of Ose on the island of Shikoku where his family has lived for...
Further reading