Blue Smoke

John Cleland (/ˈkliːlənd/; baptised 24 September 1709 – 23 January 1789) was an English novelist best known as the author of Fanny Hill: or, the Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure. James Boswell called him “a sly, old malcontent”.[1] John Cleland was the eldest son of the Scot William Cleland (1673/4 – 1741) and Lucy […]

Marguerite Donnadieu, known as Marguerite Duras (French: [maʁ.ɡə.ʁit dy.ʁas]; 4 April 1914 – 3 March 1996), was a French novelist, playwright, screenwriter, essayist, and experimental filmmaker. Her script for the film Hiroshima mon amour (1959) earned her a nomination for Best Original Screenplay at the Academy Awards. Born in French Indochina, to two teachers (immigrants from […]

Paride da Ceresara (10 February 1466 – 1532) was an Italian humanist, poet, alchemist and astrologer. He was born in Ceresara and was descended from the Ceresara, a noble family. He was in the service of Isabella d’Este in Mantua and came up with the mythological, allegorical and celebratory themes for at least two of […]

Harlan Jay Ellison (May 27, 1934 – June 28, 2018)[4] was an American writer, known for his prolific and influential work in New Wave speculative fiction,[5] and for his outspoken, combative personality.[6] Robert Bloch, the author of Psycho, described Ellison as “the only living organism I know whose natural habitat is hot water”.[7] His published works […]

Jan Cremer (Dutch pronunciation: [jɑn ˈkreːmər]; born 20 April 1940, Enschede, Netherlands) is a Dutch author, photographer and painter. His best known work is the novel Ik, Jan Cremer [nl] (“I, Jan Cremer”; 1964) and the sequel Ik, Jan Cremer, tweede boek (“I, Jan Cremer, second book”; 1966). The publication of this book created scandal in […]