Authors, Poets & Novelists Posters & Prints, “Ben...-Bes...-”
for the literature, language arts and social studies classrooms and homeschoolers.

Jacinto Benavente y Martinez
b. 8-12-1866; Madrid, Spain
d. 7-14-1954; Madrid

Jacinto Benavente y Martinez, a Spanish dramatist, was awarded the 1922 Nobel Prize for Literature “for the happy manner in which he has continued the illustrious traditions of the Spanish drama.”

Jacinto Benavente quotes ~
• “You meet the warrior when in battle, but it is not until victory that you meet the gentleman.”

Stephen Vincent Benét
b. 7-22-1898; Fountain Hill, PA
d. 3-13-1943; NYC

Stephen Vincent Benét wrote in both poetry and prose, combining detailed accounts of historical events with fiction and folklore. His short story, “The Devil and Daniel Webster” is a language arts curriculum staple and was awarded the O. Henry Prize; he also won Pulitizer Prizes for “John Brown's Body” and “Western Star.” Benét also wrote the short story The Sobbin' Women, which was the inspiration for the musical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

Stephen Vincent Benét quotes ~
• “Life is not lost by dying; life is lost minute by minute, day by dragging day, in all the thousand small uncaring ways.”
• “We thought, because we had power, we had wisdom.”
• “Honesty is as rare as a man without self-pity.”

• Stephen Vincent Benét Selected Works

Cyrano de Bergerac
b. 3-6-1619; Paris, France
d. 7-28-1655; Paris

Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac, a dramatist and soldier, is best remembered for his “witty, passionate and full of vitality” character in works of fiction which have been inspired by his life story. His image is also characterized by the exagerated size of his nose which was popularized by Edmond Rostand's play.

Cyrano de Bergerac quote ~
• “A kiss is a rosy dot over the 'i' of loving.”

Henri Bergson
b. 10-18-1859; Paris, France
d. 1-4-1941; Paris

Henri Bergson was a major philosophical influence in the first half of the 20th century. Bergson served as a philosophy professor and was awarded the 1927 Nobel Prize in Literature “in recognition of his rich and vitalizing ideas and the brilliant skill with which they have been presented”.

Henri Bergson quotes:
• “To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly.”
• “There is no greater joy than that of feeling oneself a creator. The triumph of life is expressed by creation.”

• Creative Evolution

John Berryman
née John Allyn Smith, Jr.
b. 10-25-1914; McAlester, OK
d. 1-7-1972; Minnesota

John Berryman was a major figure of the “confessional” school of poetry which “emphasizes the intimate, and sometimes unflattering, information about details of the poet's personal life, such as in poems about illness, sexuality, and despondence”.

John Berryman quotes ~
• “I didn't want to be like Yeats; I wanted to be Yeats.”
• “The artist is extremely lucky who is presented with the worst possible ordeal which will not actually kill him. At that point, he's in business.”
• “We must travel in the direction of our fear.”

Annie Besant (née Wood)
b. 10-1-1847; London, England
d. 9-20-1933; India

Annie Besant was a political and women's rights activist, writer, and Theosophist, or one who holds that each religion holds a portion of truth to help humanity evolve to greater perfection.

Annie Besant quotes ~
• “Better remain silent, better not even think, if you are not prepared to act.”
• “Refusal to believe until proof is given is a rational position; denial of all outside of our own limited experience is absurd.”
• “Liberty is a great celestial Goddess, strong, beneficent, and austere, and she can never descend upon a nation by the shouting of crowds, nor by arguments of unbridled passion, nor by the hatred of class against class.”

• Annie Besant: An Autobiography