American Writers
Martha Gellhorn Was The Only Woman to Report on the D-Day Landings From the Ground
In June 1944, the veteran journalist hid on a hospital ship so she could report firsthand as Allied soldiers fought their way onto the beaches of Normandy
At Her Globe-Spanning Nightclubs, This Black Entertainer Hosted a 'Who’s Who' of the 20th Century
Ada "Bricktop" Smith, who operated venues in Rome, Paris and Mexico City, brushed shoulders with the likes of Langston Hughes, Salvador Dalí and Gertrude Stein
Call Oregon's Poetry Hotline to Hear a New Poem Every Day This Month
The hotline, created by the state's poet laureate, has already received thousands of callers
This Play Within a Play Confronts the Power Dynamic Between Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson
In "Sally & Tom," Pulitzer Prize winner Suzan-Lori Parks continues her investigation of American myths
36 Famous Authors Co-Wrote a Pandemic Novel. Can You Guess Who Drafted Each Section?
Margaret Atwood, R.L. Stine and John Grisham are among the writers who collaborated on "Fourteen Days," which follows a group of New Yorkers who gather on a Manhattan rooftop to swap stories beginning in March 2020
What Is the Dominant Emotion in 400 Years of Women's Diaries?
A new anthology identifies frustration as a recurring theme in journals written between 1599 and 2015
N. Scott Momaday Built the Foundations of Native American Literature
Smithsonian scholars offer their reflections on the author, who died last week at age 89, and his impact on a new generation of Native writers
The Real History Behind 'Feud: Capote vs. the Swans'
Ryan Murphy's new mini-series dramatizes the "In Cold Blood" author's betrayal of an insular group of Manhattan socialites
Our Top Ten Stories of 2023
From the world's oldest dog to the real history behind "Oppenheimer," these were the magazine's most-read articles of the year
The Books We Loved
Smithsonian editors choose their favorite (mostly) nonfiction of (mostly) 2023
Rare Poem by 'Big Sleep' Author Raymond Chandler Found in a Shoebox
A magazine editor rediscovered the work among the papers his family donated to the University of Oxford
How America's First Banned Book Survived and Became an Anti-Authoritarian Icon
The Puritans outlawed Thomas Morton's "New English Canaan" because it was critical of the society they were building in colonial New England
The Smithsonian Acquires Major Works by and About Phillis Wheatley
The stunning trove of texts sheds new light on Wheatley, the first African American to publish a book of poetry
Why the Pulitzer Prizes Are Expanding Eligibility to Non-U.S. Citizens
The prestigious awards will soon be open to permanent residents and those who call the U.S. their "longtime primary home"
Ernest Hemingway and His Wife Survived Two Plane Crashes Just One Day Apart
The novelist recounted the harrowing ordeal in a letter, which just sold for $237,055 at auction
A Lost Edith Wharton Play Debuts on Stage for the First Time
After more than 100 years, the renowned writer's script resurfaced in a Texas archive
'The Outsiders' Musical Is Coming to Broadway
The greasers and Socs from S.E. Hinton's popular novel will spar on stage this spring
The Misunderstood Visionary Behind the Black Panther Party
Huey P. Newton has been mythologized and maligned since his murder 34 years ago. His family and friends offer an intimate look inside his life and mind
Swifties Can Now Study Literature (Taylor's Version)
At a Belgian university, Taylor Swift fans can expect intertextual analysis beyond their wildest dreams
Tennessee Williams and Jack Kerouac Once Found Refuge in the Dune Shacks of Cape Cod. Now, Longtime Residents Are Being Forced Out
The National Park Service plans to lease out some of the structures, which have long been used by artists and writers
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