Famous Writers Mural at Barnes & Nobles
Barnes & Noble’s choice to feature these authors on their murals reflects their commitment to celebrating the literary giants who have shaped literature, culture, and human thought. The selection is carefully curated to highlight authors and poets whose works have stood the test of time and whose contributions span a wide range of genres, themes, and styles. Here’s why these authors might have been chosen:
1. Literary Impact and Influence
These authors are celebrated for their transformative influence on literature. Figures like Virginia Woolf and James Joyce revolutionized narrative styles, while authors like George Orwell and Mark Twain brought sharp societal critiques to their works. Their writing has profoundly influenced both their contemporaries and subsequent generations of writers.
2. Timelessness
The works of these authors resonate across generations. For example, Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass and Emily Dickinson’s poetry explore universal themes of nature, individuality, and the human spirit, making them perennially relevant.
3. Diversity of Genres and Perspectives
Barnes & Noble’s selection includes a range of genres — novels, poetry, plays, and essays — and a variety of perspectives. From the groundbreaking modernist prose of D.H. Lawrence to Langston Hughes’ contributions to the Harlem Renaissance, the list showcases a spectrum of voices that appeal to different tastes and interests.
4. Historical and Cultural Significance
Some authors were chosen for their role in shaping cultural or historical movements. Langston Hughes is a key figure of the Harlem Renaissance, George Bernard Shaw’s works challenged societal norms, and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is often hailed as the first science fiction novel. These authors are not just literary icons but cultural trailblazers.
5. Educational Value
These authors are staples in academic settings, often included in school and university curricula. Featuring them connects Barnes & Noble to readers who have encountered these works in their studies, fostering a sense of intellectual and cultural engagement.
6. Inspiration for Readers
By featuring these luminaries, Barnes & Noble inspires readers to explore classic literature. The murals serve as visual reminders of the enduring power of great storytelling, encouraging readers to pick up a book by Hemingway, Kafka, or Wharton.
7. Celebration of Artistic Excellence
The authors and poets on the murals are celebrated not only for their storytelling but also for their linguistic artistry. Figures like T.S. Eliot and Pablo Neruda are included for their ability to elevate language into an art form.
8. Accessibility to a Wide Audience
The mural includes authors whose works are widely recognized and accessible to a broad audience. From the adventurous tales of Rudyard Kipling to the thought-provoking dystopias of George Orwell, their books are engaging and available to readers at every level.
Barnes & Noble’s murals celebrate the enduring legacy of these authors, encouraging readers to discover — or rediscover — their timeless works. It’s a tribute to literature’s ability to transcend time and connect humanity through stories, ideas, and art.
- Thomas Hardy
“Happiness is but a mere episode in the general drama of pain.” - George Bernard Shaw
“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” - Henry James
“Try to be one of those on whom nothing is lost.” - Rudyard Kipling
“If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you…” (from If — ) - D.H. Lawrence
“The essential American soul is hard, isolate, stoic, and a killer. It has never yet melted.” - Franz Kafka
“A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us.” - Edith Wharton
“There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.” - Langston Hughes
“Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.” - Mark Twain
“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” - Raymond Chandler
“Chess is as elaborate a waste of human intelligence as you can find outside an advertising agency.” - Ernest Hemingway
“Courage is grace under pressure.” - Virginia Woolf
“A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.” - Dorothy Parker
“I hate writing, I love having written.” - James Joyce
“A man of genius makes no mistakes. His errors are volitional and are the portals of discovery.” - George Orwell
“In a time of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” - John Steinbeck
“I wonder how many people I’ve looked at all my life and never seen.” - William Faulkner
“You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose sight of the shore.” - T.S. Eliot
“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” - Carl Sandburg
“Nothing happens unless first we dream.” - Anthony Trollope
“Success is the necessary misfortune of life, but it is only to the very unfortunate that it comes early.” - Rabindranath Tagore
“You can’t cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water.” - Walt Whitman
“Be curious, not judgmental.” - Emily Dickinson
“Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul.” - Isaac Bashevis Singer
“We know what a person thinks not when he tells us what he thinks, but by his actions.” - Zora Neale Hurston
“There are years that ask questions and years that answer.” - Herman Melville
“It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.” - Mary Shelley
“Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful.” - Pablo Neruda
“You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep Spring from coming.” - Vladimir Nabokov
“I think it is all a matter of love: the more you love a memory, the stronger and stranger it becomes.” - Oscar Wilde
“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” - George Eliot
“It is never too late to be what you might have been.” - Thomas Hardy
- George Bernard Shaw
- Henry James
- Rudyard Kipling
- D.H. Lawrence
- Franz Kafka
- Edith Wharton
- Langston Hughes
- Mark Twain
- Raymond Chandler
- Ernest Hemingway
- Virginia Woolf
- Dorothy Parker
- James Joyce
- George Orwell
- John Steinbeck
- William Faulkner
- T.S. Eliot
- Carl Sandburg
- Anthony Trollope
- Rabindranath Tagore
- Walt Whitman
- Emily Dickinson
- Isaac Bashevis Singer
- Zora Neale Hurston
- Herman Melville
- Mary Shelley
- Pablo Neruda
- Vladimir Nabokov
- Oscar Wilde
- George Eliot
