NOTES ON THE AUTHOR

1850

Kate Chopin (Katherine O'Flaherty) born on

February 8 to Thomas O'Flaherty, an Irish

immigrant, and Eliza Faris, a Creole.

1855

Kate's father dies in a rail accident. Kate begins school

at Academy of the Sacred Heart in St. Louis.

1868

Kate graduates from the Academy of the Sacred

Heart.

KATE CHOPIN

1870

Kate marries Oscar Chopin on June 9 in St. Louis. 

1871

Jean Chopin, the first of Kate's six children, is born on May 22.

1882

Kate's husband dies of malaria.

1894

Bayou Folk published. Kate writes "Story of an Hour.“

1904

Kate visits the Louisiana Purchase Exposition on August 18, where she suffers a stroke. She dies two days later.

PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 27 Aug. 2014.

KATE CHOPIN

Born on February 27, 1902, in Salinas, California

Steinbeck decided to become a writer at the age of 14, often locking himself

in his bedroom to write poems and stories.

In 1919, Steinbeck enrolled at Stanford University.

Over the next six years, Steinbeck drifted in and out

of school, eventually dropping out for good in 1925, without a degree.

JOHN STEINBECK

Following Stanford, Steinbeck tried to make a go of it as a freelance writer.

John Steinbeck served as a war correspondent for the New York Herald Tribune during World War II.

 In 1962, the author received the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Steinbeck died of heart disease on December 20, 1968, at his home in New York City.

Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 25 Aug. 2014.

JOHN STEINBECK

Haruki Murakami was born in Kyoto in 1949.

Following the publication of his first novel in Japanese in 1979, he sold the jazz bar he ran with his wife and became

a full-time writer.

It was with the publication of Norwegian Wood – which has to date sold more than 4 million copies in Japan alone – that the author was truly

catapulted into the limelight.

HARUKI MURAKAMI

Known for his surrealistic world of mysterious (and often disappearing) women, cats, earlobes, wells, Western

culture, music and quirky first-person narratives, he is now Japan’s best-known novelist abroad.

Nine novels, four short story collections and two works of non-fiction are currently available in English translation.

"Biography." - Haruki Murakami. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Aug. 2014.

HARUKI MURAKAMI

1809 Edgar Poe born in Boston to

actors David and Eliza Poe, 19 January

1811 Eliza Poe, on theatrical tour,

dies in Richmond, 8 December 

Edgar is taken in by John and Frances Allan

1815 In England with the Allan's

(1815–20) 

Attends school in London and suburban Stoke-Newington

EDGAR ALLAN POE

1821 Continues schooling in Richmond (1821–25) 

Shows aptitude for Latin, poetry, acting and swimming

1825 Secretly engaged to Sarah Elmira Royster

1826 Student at the University of Virginia 

Excels in ancient and modern languages 

Incurs gambling debts

EDGAR ALLAN POE

1827 Quarrels with John Allan 

Leaves for Boston 

Enlists in U.S. Army as “Edgar A. Perry” 

Publishes Tamerlane and Other Poems in Boston

1829 Frances Allan dies, 28 February 

Poe transferred to Fortress Monroe, Virginia 

Promoted to Sergeant Major 

Discharged from the army in March Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane, and Minor Poems

EDGAR ALLAN POE

1834 John Allan dies, 27 March

1836 Marries Virginia Clemm (age 13) in Richmond, 16 May 

1839 Becomes assistant editor of Burton’s Gentleman’s Magazine in June 

1846 Moves to Fordham, New York 

“The Cask of Amontillado” (story) 

1849 

Engaged to widow Sarah Elmira (Royster) Shelton, former fiancée 

Found delirious in Baltimore, 3 October 

Dies, 7 October 

"Poe's Life." Edgar Allan Poe Museum : Poe's Life, Legacy, and Works : Richmond, Virginia. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Aug. 2014.

EDGAR ALLAN POE