1931 in literature explained
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1931.
Events
- January 10 – A rare copy of Edgar Allan Poe's Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane, and Other Poems and first editions of The Scarlet Letter and Moby-Dick are stolen from New York Public Library by Samuel Dupree, on behalf of a crooked New York antiquarian book dealer, Harry Gold.[1]
- January 26 – The play Green Grow the Lilacs by Cherokee playwright Lynn Riggs, opens on Broadway. It is later adapted as Oklahoma! by Rodgers and Hammerstein.[2]
- March 27 – The English novelist Arnold Bennett dies of typhoid in London, shortly after a visit to Paris, where he drank local water in an attempt to prove it was safe.[3]
- April 11 – Gerald Brenan and Gamel Woolsey make a form of marriage in Rome.[4]
- June 1 – The Near v. Minnesota case in the Supreme Court of the United States affirms the principle that prior restraint is unconstitutional.
- July 4 – James Joyce marries his long-time partner Nora Barnacle at Kensington register office in London.
- October 4 – The Dick Tracy comic strip first appears, created by cartoonist Chester Gould.[5]
- October 5 – The first U.K. performance of Oscar Wilde's tragedy Salome (1891) is given at the Savoy Theatre, London, with Nancy Price as producer and as Herodias, and her daughter Joan Maude in the title role.[6]
- November – Federico García Lorca is appointed by the leftist Second Spanish Republic as director of a touring theatre company, Teatro Universitario La Barraca (The Shack), charged with taking a portable stage into rural areas to introduce audiences to classical Spanish theatre without charge.[7]
- unknown dates
New books
Fiction
Children and young people
Drama
Non-fiction
Births
- January 4 – José Triana, Cuban poet (d. 2018)[27]
- January 6
- January 9 – Algis Budrys, Lithuanian-American science fiction author (died 2008)[29]
- January 10 – Peter Barnes, English playwright (died 2004)[30]
- January 17 – Mark Brandis (Nikolai von Michalewsky), German journalist and science fiction author (died 2000)
- January 20 – Sawako Ariyoshi, Japanese novelist (died 1984)[31]
- January 24 – Leonard Baker, American historian and Pulitzer-winning author (died 1984)[32]
- January 27
- February 2 – Walter Burkert, German writer (died 2015)[36]
- February 6 – Mamie Van Doren, American actress and writer[37]
- February 9 – Thomas Bernhard, Dutch-born Austrian author (died 1989)
- February 11 – Larry Merchant, American author and boxing commentator
- February 12 – Janwillem van de Wetering, Dutch-American crime writer (died 2008)[38]
- February 18
- February 19 – Robert Sobel, American business writer (died 1999)
- March 2 – Tom Wolfe, American novelist (died 2018)[40]
-
- Rupert Murdoch, Australian-born publisher
- March 16 – Augusto Boal, Brazilian theater director and writer (died 2009)
- March 22 – Leslie Thomas, Welsh novelist (died 2014)[42]
- March 26 – Alison Prince, English-born Scottish children's writer and biographer (died 2019)
- April 1 – Rolf Hochhuth, German dramatist (died 2020)[43]
- April 12 – Chico Anysio, Brazilian actor, comedian, writer and composer (died 2012)
- April 15 – Tomas Tranströmer, Swedish poet and translator (died 2015)[44]
- April 21 – Gabriel de Broglie, French historian
- April 29 – Robert Gottlieb, American editor
- May 2 – Ruth Fainlight, American-born poet, short story writer, translator and librettist[45]
- May 7 – Gene Wolfe, American science fiction and fantasy writer (died 2019)[46]
- May 23 – Barbara Barrie, American actress and writer
- June 12 – Robin Cook (Derek Raymond), English crime novelist (died 1994)
- June 21 – Patricia Goedicke, American poet (died 2006)[47]
- June 26 – Colin Wilson, British novelist and philosopher (died 2013)[48]
- June 28 – Hans Alfredson, Swedish actor and writer and comedian (d. 2017)[49]
- July 4 – Sébastien Japrisot, French novelist and screenwriter (died 2003)
- July 6 – Emily Nasrallah, Lebanese writer and women's rights activist (died 2018)[50]
- July 7 – David Eddings, American novelist (died 2009)
- July 10
- July 14 – E. V. Thompson, English novelist (died 2012)
- July 15 – Clive Cussler, American thriller writer and underwater explorer (died 2020)[53]
- July 17 – Caroline Graham, English playwright, screenwriter and novelist
- August 2 – Karl Miller, British writer and literary editor (died 2014)
- August 12 – William Goldman, American novelist and screenwriter (died 2018)
- August 14 – Frederic Raphael, American-born English screenwriter, novelist and non-fiction author[54]
- August 16 – Marion Patrick Jones, Trinidadian writer (died 2016)
- August 22 - Maurice Gee, New Zealand novelist
- September 14 – Ivan Klíma, Czech novelist and dramatist
- September 15 – Kalim Siddiqui, Pakistani-born British writer and Islamic activist (died 1996)
- September 22
- October 8 – Dennis Silk, American-born English writer on literature and cricket, and first-class cricketer (died 2019)[56]
- October 13 – Janice Elliott, English novelist and children's writer (died 1995)
- October 19 – John le Carré (David John Moore Cornwell), English spy novelist (died 2020)[57]
- October 22 – Ann Rule, American true-crime writer (died 2015)[58] [59]
- October 23 – James McNeish, New Zealand novelist, playwright and biographer (died 2016)
- November 3 – Arun Sarma, Assamese playwright and novelist (died 2017)
- November 18 – Nikoloz Janashia, Georgian historian (died 1982)
- November 28
- December 2 – Nigel Calder, British science writer (died 2014)
- December 15 – Klaus Rifbjerg, Danish writer (died 2015)[62]
- December 17 – Krystyna Boglar, Polish writer known mostly for her work for children and young adults (died 2019)[63]
- December 24 – Walter Abish, Austrian-born American writer (died 2022)[64]
- December 31 – Bob Shaw, Irish science-fiction writer (died 1996)[65]
Deaths
[March 25]- [Ida B. Wells], American journalist and novelist (born [1862 in literature|1862]
- March 27 – Arnold Bennett, English novelist (born 1867)[67]
- April 4 – André Michelin, French originator of Michelin Guides (born 1853)[68]
- April 10 – Khalil Gibran, Lebanese-born American poet (born 1883)[69]
- June 29 – Nérée Beauchemin, French-Canadian poet (born 1850)
- July 2 – Harald Høffding, Danish philosopher (born 1843)[70]
- July 14 – Vasile Cijevschi, Bessarabian Romanian soldier, journalist and short-story writer (born 1880)
- August 1 – Bertha McNamara, German-born Australian pamphleteer and bookseller (born 1853)
- August 15 – Delfín Chamorro, Spanish poet and language teacher (born 1863)
- August 26 – Frank Harris, Irish-born American author and editor (born 1856)[71]
- August 31 – Hall Caine, Manx novelist and dramatist (born 1853)[72]
- September 8 – Sue A. Sanders, American teacher, clubwoman, and author (born 1842)[73]
- September 9 – Matilda Cugler-Poni, Romanian poet (born 1851)
- September 24 – Ethel Hillyer Harris, author (born 1859)
- September 30 – Jane Meade Welch, American historian (born 1854)
- October 13 – Ernst Didring, Swedish novelist (born 1868)
- October 21 – Arthur Schnitzler, Austrian dramatist (born 1862)[74]
- October 27 – Lucas Malet (Mary St Leger Kingsley), English novelist (born 1852)
- November 3 – Juan Zorrilla de San Martín, Uruguayan epic poet (born 1855)
- November 5 – Ole Edvart Rolvaag, Norwegian American writer (born 1876)
- November 19 – Xu Zhimo (徐志摩), Chinese poet (air accident, born 1897)
- December 5 – Vachel Lindsay, American poet (born 1879)[75]
- December 10 – Enrico Corradini, Italian novelist, essayist and journalist (born 1865)
- December 26 – Melvil Dewey, American inventor of library classification system (born 1851)[76]
- December 27 – Alfred Perceval Graves, Irish author and collector of songs and ballads (born 1846)[77]
- December 31 – Ieronim Yasinsky, Russian writer, poet and essayist (born 1850
Awards
Robert Gittings
Susan Glaspell, Alison's House
Robert Frost, Collected Poems
Margaret Ayer Barnes, Years of Grace
Notes and References
- Book: McDade, Travis . Thieves of Book Row: New York's Most Notorious Rare Book Ring and the Man Who Stopped It . New York . Oxford University Press . 2013 . 9780199922666 . registration .
- http://www.okfriends.net/riggs.htm Lynn Riggs: An Oklahoma Treasure
- 1959 . Straw for Silence . . 203 . 0038-6952 . F. C. Westley "In a Paris hotel he drank ordinary water from a carafe. The waiter protested, 'Ah, ce n'est pas sage, Monsieur, ce n'est pas sage....'". 1766325.
- Book: Justin Glenn. The Washingtons: A Family History: Volume 5 (Part One): Generation Nine of the Presidential Branch. 5 September 2014. Savas Publishing. 978-1-940669-30-4. 516.
- Web site: I Like 'Em Tough . Jim . Doherty . 2009 . ME.
- News: Ellis . Samantha . Salomé, Savoy Theatre, October 1931 . . London . 2003-03-26 . 2013-02-22.
- Book: Lisa Jackson-Schebetta. Traveler, There Is No Road: Theatre, the Spanish Civil War, and the Decolonial Imagination in the Americas. 15 June 2017. University of Iowa Press. 978-1-60938-490-6. 86.
- Book: Clegg's International Directory of the World's Book Trade. 1950. 445.
- News: Topics of the Times . . 1931-05-05 . 26.
- Book: Dov, Nitza . Agnon's art of indirection : uncovering latent content in the fiction of S.Y. Agnon . E.J. Brill . Leiden New York . 1993 . 9789004098633 . 6.
- Book: Catalog of Copyright Entries. New Series: 1932. Copyright Office, Library of Congress. 1932. 216.
- Book: Journal of Spanish Studies: twentieth century. Department of Modern Languages, Kansas State University. 1977. 192.
- Book: Stringer, Jenny . The Oxford companion to twentieth-century literature in English . Oxford University Press . Oxford New York . 1996 . 9780192122711 . 59.
- Book: Harald S. N•ss. A History of Norwegian Literature. 1 January 1993. U of Nebraska Press. 0-8032-3317-5. 261.
- Book: Alexandru Piru. Istoria literaturii române. 1994. Editura "Grai și Suflet - Cultura națională". 978-973-95573-4-4. 268. ro.
- Book: Neil Barron. Anatomy of Wonder: A Critical Guide to Science Fiction. 1987. Bowker. 978-0-8352-2312-6. 56.
- Book: Lynda G. Adamson. World Historical Fiction: An Annotated Guide to Novels for Adults and Young Adults. 1999. Greenwood Publishing Group. 978-1-57356-066-5. 154.
- Book: George Watson. Ian R. Willison. The New Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature. 1972. CUP Archive. 603.
- Book: Krystyna Clara Von Henneberg. The Construction of Fascist Libya: Modern Colonial Architecture and Urban Planning in Italian North Africa (1922-1943). 1996. University of California, Berkeley. 58.
- Book: Keating, H. R. F.. H. R. F. Keating. Whodunit? – a guide to crime, suspense and spy fiction. London. Windward. 1982. 0-7112-0249-4.
- Book: Bernard Alger Drew. The 100 Most Popular Young Adult Authors: Biographical Sketches and Bibliographies. 1997. Libraries Unlimited. 978-1-56308-615-1. 187.
- Book: Elke P. Frederiksen. Martha Kaarsberg Wallach. Facing Fascism and Confronting the Past: German Women Writers from Weimar to the Present. 8 June 2000. SUNY Press. 978-0-7914-4579-2. 42.
- Book: Bullock, Philip . The feminine in the prose of Andrey Platonov . Routledge, an imprint of Taylor and Francis . Boca Raton, FL . 2017 . 9781351197540 . 22.
- Book: Catherine Kenney. The Remarkable Case of Dorothy L. Sayers. 15 June 1991. Kent State University Press. 978-0-87338-458-2. 50.
- News: Why Babar the Elephant just can't forget his colonial past . The Times . 8 August 2006 . 25 August 2010 . London . Charles . Bremner.
- Book: Henry Clifford Darby. The Relations of History and Geography: Studies in England, France and the United States. 2002. University of Exeter Press. 978-0-85989-699-3. 250.
- News: Àlvarez. Johanna A.. Muere en París el poeta y dramaturgo cubano José Triana. 8 March 2018. El Nuevo Herald. 4 March 2018. es.
- Book: Joel Shatzky. Michael Taub. Emmanuel Sampath Nelson. Contemporary Jewish-American Novelists: A Bio-critical Sourcebook. 1997. Greenwood Publishing Group. 978-0-313-29462-4. 54.
- Book: L. Ron Hubbard. L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 24: The Best New Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year. 8 September 2008. Galaxy Press LLC. 978-1-59212-264-6. 1.
- News: Peter Barnes: Surprising and adventurous dramatist . https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/peter-barnes-6166201.html . 2022-05-01 . subscription . live . . 5 July 2004 . 5 September 2014 . Strachan, Alan.
- Encyclopedia: Ariyoshi Sawako, Japanese author. Encyclopedia Britannica. 2018-02-01. en.
- Book: Elizabeth A. Brennan. Elizabeth C. Clarage. Who's who of Pulitzer Prize Winners. 1999. Greenwood Publishing Group. 978-1-57356-111-2. 41.
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- Book: Reinhold Kramer. Mordecai Richler: Leaving St Urbain. 20 March 2008. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. 978-0-7735-7477-9. 19.
- Web site: Walter Burkert: Classical scholar whose fascinating books on Greek mythology and religion were packed with fresh insight. https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/walter-burkert-classical-scholar-whose-fascinating-books-greek-mythology-and-religion-were-packed-fresh-insight-10287963.html . 2022-05-01 . subscription . live. 31 May 2015. Robert Parker. The Independent. April 3, 2021.
- 1940 United States Census . 1940 . Sioux City, Iowa . 480 . 13 . 97-61B . February 13, 2014.
- Web site: Janwillem van de Wetering. October 14, 2008. The Guardian. Christopher Hawtree. September 10, 2021.
- Web site: Obituary: Toni Morrison . BBC News . 6 August 2019 . 6 August 2019.
- Book: Bloom, Harold . Tom Wolfe . Chelsea House Publishers . Philadelphia . 2001 . 9781438113517 . 193.
- Book: Contemporary authors. New Revision series . Gale Research . Detroit, Mich . 1981 . 9780810319929 . 123.
- Web site: Leslie Thomas. Daily Telegraph. May 7, 2014.
- Web site: Rolf Hochhuth Obituary . May 25, 2020. Michael Coveney. The Guardian. October 28, 2021.
- News: Brown. Andrew. Swedish Nobel laureate Tomas Tranströmer dies aged 83. 28 March 2015. The Guardian. 26 March 2015.
- Book: Contemporary Poets. Tracy Chevalier. St. James Press. 1991. 288.
- Web site: Gene Wolfe Obituary . April 29, 2019. John Clute. The Guardian. October 28, 2021.
- Book: Contemporary Poets. Tracy Chevalier. St. James Press. 1991. 350.
- News: Colin Wilson: Author (Obituary) . https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/colin-wilson-author-8991678.html . 2022-05-01 . subscription . live . The Independent . Marcus Williamson . Williamson . Marcus . 8 December 2013 . 17 January 2014 .
- News: Hans Alfredson är död . . Torbjörn . Ek . 10 September 2017 . 10 September 2017 . sv.
- News: Emily Nasrallah, Lebanese Novelist and Activist, Dies at 86. Sam. Roberts. 16 March 2018. The New York Times. 19 March 2018. https://archive.today/20180319084128/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/16/obituaries/emily-nasrallah-dead.html. 19 March 2018. live.
- Web site: Julian May (1931-2017). October 20, 2017. Locus Magazine. October 28, 2021.
- Book: Hallvard Dahlie. Alice Munro and Her Works. 1984. ECW Press. 1. 9780920802694.
- News: Cain . Sian . Clive Cussler, bestselling adventure novelist, dies aged 88 . April 11, 2020 . The Guardian . February 26, 2020.
- Book: The Routledge Encyclopedia of Jewish Writers of the Twentieth Century. Taylor & Francis. 2004. 9781135456078. 831.
- News: Armitstead . Claire . 2023-01-04 . Fay Weldon obituary . en-GB . The Guardian . 2023-03-31 . 0261-3077.
- Web site: Obituary: Dennis Silk, former president of MCC and warden of Radley College. July 16, 2019. Herald Scotland. November 21, 2021.
- News: John le Carré obituary. Homberger. Eric. The Guardian. 14 December 2020. 14 December 2020. 14 December 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201214022605/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/dec/14/john-le-carre-obituary. live .
- News: Ann Rule, 83, Dies: Wrote About Ted Bundy (a Friend) and Other Killers. Grimes. William. July 28, 2015. The New York Times. July 30, 2015.
- Web site: Ann Rule dies at 83; true-crime writer penned account of Ted Bundy. July 27, 2015. Los Angeles Times.
- News: Dervla Murphy obituary . Horwell . Veronica . 26 May 2022 . . London . 0261-3077 . 27 May 2022.
- Web site: Tomi Ungerer obituary. 28 February 2019. Joanna Carey. The Guardian. 13 July 2024.
- Book: Gray, Charlotte . Klaus Rifbjerg . Greenwood Press . New York . 1986 . 9780313250989 . 3.
- Web site: 2020-10-30 . Krystyna Boglar (17.12.1931 - 14.11.2019) . 2023-07-04 . wyborcza.pl.
- News: Walter Abish, Daring Writer Who Pondered Germany, Dies at 90. Alan. Cowell. The New York Times . May 31, 2022. NYTimes.com.
- News: 17 February 1996 . Bob Shaw Obituary . . https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary--bob-shaw-1319392.html . 2022-05-01 . subscription . live . 8 November 2011.
- Necrologies. Bulletin of the Pan American Union. The Union. 1931. 65. 322.
- Book: Arnold Bennett. Letters of Arnold Bennett. 1966. Oxford University Press. 978-0-19-212207-0. 618.
- Book: ((Chase's Editors)). Contemporary Books. Chase's Calendar of Events 2003. September 2002. McGraw-Hill. 978-0-07-139098-9. 55.
- Book: Kahlil Gibran. Robin Waterfield. The Voice of Kahlil Gibran: An Anthology. 1995. Arkana. 978-0-14-019506-4. xi.
- The Philosophical Review. Sage School of Philosophy. Notes. Cornell University Press. 1931. 505.
- Book: John Stokes. Oscar Wilde: Myths, Miracles and Imitations. 14 March 1996. Cambridge University Press. 978-0-521-47537-2. 87.
- Book: Susanne Stark. The Novel in Anglo-German Context: Cultural Cross-currents and Affinities : Papers from the Conference Held at the University of Leeds from 15 to 17 September 1997. 2000. Rodopi. 90-420-0698-6. 273.
- News: Active Life Ends . 28 January 2019 . newspapers.com . The Pantagraph . 8 September 1931 . 3.
- Book: Reinhard Urbach. Arthur Schnitzler.. 1973. Frederick Ungar A Book. 978-0-8044-2936-8. 11.
- Book: Masters, Edgar Lee . 1935 . Vachel Lindsay : A Poet in America . 361. 978-0819602398.
- Book: Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science, Second Edition - Volume II. Miriam Drake. Taylor & Francis. 2003. 848.
- Book: Robert Hogan. Macmillan Dictionary of Irish Literature. 12 January 2016. Macmillan International Higher Education. 978-1-349-07795-3. 269.