Literature
| Name | Class year | Notability | References |
|---|---|---|---|
| Horatio Alger, Jr. (1832–1899) | College 1852 | Novelist | |
| Margaret Atwood (born 1939) | Radcliffe A.M. 1962 | Novelist | |
| Peter Benchley (1940–2006) | College 1961 | Novelist | |
| Robert Benchley (1889–1945) | College 1912 | Comedian | |
| John Berendt (born 1939) | College 1961 | Writer | |
| Robert Bly (born 1926) | College 1950 | Poet | |
| Marita Bonner | Radcliffe College 1922 | Harlem Renaissance writer, essayist, poet | |
| Bill Branon | College 1959 | Novelist | |
| Harold Brodkey (1930–1996) | College 1952 | Novelist | |
| George Hardin Brown | College 1971 | Medieval scholar | |
| Thomas Bulfinch (1796–1867) | College 1814 | Mythologist | |
| William S. Burroughs (1914–1997) | College 1936 | Writer | |
| Ethan Canin (born 1960) | Medical 1989 | Author | |
| Steven R. Covey (1932–2012) | Business 1975 | Author and self-help guru | |
| Michael Crichton (1942–2008) | College 1964; Medical 1969 | Novelist, best known for Jurassic Park and the television series ER | |
| E. E. Cummings (1894–1962) | College 1915; A.M. 1916 | Poet | |
| Guy Davenport (1927–2005) | Ph.D. | Writer, artist, critic | |
| Paul de Man (1919–1983) | Ph.D. 1960 | literary critic | |
| Joseph Dennie (1768–1812) | College 1790 | Author, editor | |
| John dos Passos (1896–1970) | College 1916 | Novelist | |
| Edward Eager (1911–1964) | College c. 1932 | Writer of children's literature | |
| Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) | College 1821; Divinity 1829 | Writer; gave name to Emerson Hall | |
| Berry Fleming (1899–1989) | College 1922 | Writer of novels | |
| Al Franken (born 1951) | College 1973 | Comedian, United States Senator | |
| Edward Gorey (1925–2000) | College 1950 | Writer, Illustrator | |
| Donald Hall (born 1928) | College 1951 | 14th U.S. Poet Laureate | |
| James D. Hart (died 1990) | Writer, Professor | ||
| Mark Helprin (born 1947) | College, Graduate School | Writer | |
| Julie Hilden | College 1989 | Author | |
| Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809–1894) | College; Ph.D. 1836; professor | Poet, physician | |
| Angela Hur | College 2002 | Author | |
| Gregg Hurwitz | College 1995 | Novelist, comics writer | |
| Uzodinma Iweala (born 1982) | College 2004 | Author | |
| Gish Jen (born 1955) | College 1977 | Author | |
| Helen Keller (1880–1968) | Radcliffe 1904 | Deafblind author, activist, and lecturer | |
| H.T. Kirby-Smith (born 1938) | A.M. 1964 | Poet and Author | |
| Maxine Kumin (born 1925) | College 1946; A.M. 1948 | Poet | |
| Jean Kwok | College | Author | |
| Ursula K. Le Guin (born 1929) | Radcliffe 1951 | Novelist | |
| Hunter Lewis (born 1947) | A.B. 1969 | Author | |
| James Russell Lowell (1819–1891) | College 1838 | Poet, abolitionist | |
| Alison Lurie (born 1926) | Radcliffe 1947 | Novelist | |
| Norman Mailer (1923–2007) | College 1943 | Novelist | |
| F.O. Matthiessen (1902–1950) | M.A. 1926 Ph.D 1927 | Harvard Teacher | |
| Anne McCaffrey (1926–2011) | Radcliffe 1947 | Novelist | |
| Charles Murray (born 1943) | College 1965 | Writer | |
| Howard Nemerov (1920–1991) | College 1941 | Poet | |
| Frank O'Hara (1926–1966) | College 1950 | Poet | |
| George Plimpton (1927–2003) | College 1948 | Writer, journalist, actor | |
| Adrienne Rich (born 1929) | Radcliffe 1951 | Poet | |
| E. San Juan, Jr. | A.M.; Ph.D. | Poet, cultural scholar | |
| Erich Segal (born 1937) | College 1958; A.M. 1959; Ph.D. 1965 | Author, screenwriter | |
| Maximo V. Soliven (born 1933) | Ph.D. 1951 | Decorated Writer; Chevalier (knight) of the National Order of Merit | |
| Susan Sontag (1933–2004) | A.M. 1957 | Writer, activist | |
| Thomas Sowell (born 1930) | College 1958 | Writer, economist | |
| Gertrude Stein (1874–1946) | Radcliffe 1897 | Poet, novelist | |
| Ernest Thayer (1863–1940) | College 1885 | Poet | |
| Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862) | College 1837 | Journalist, philosopher, writer | |
| Sergio Troncoso (born 1961) | College 1983 | Novelist and writer of short stories | |
| Lily Tuck (born 1938) | Radcliffe College 1960 | Novelist, winner of the 2004 National Book Award. | |
| Scott Turow (born 1949) | Law 1978 | Novelist, lawyer | |
| John Updike (1932–2009) | College 1954 | Novelist | |
| Kaavya Viswanathan (born 1987) | College 2008 | Novelist, noted plagiarist | |
| Andrew Weil (born 1942) | College 1964; Medical School 1968 | Medical writer | |
| Richard Wilbur (born 1921) | A.M. 1947; professor | Poet | |
| Thomas Wolfe (1900–1938) | A.M. 1922 | Novelist | |
| Elizabeth Wurtzel (born 1967) | College 1989 | Writer | |
| A. B. Yehoshua (born 1936) | Novelist, essayist, and playwright |
Read more about this topic: List Of Harvard University People
Famous quotes containing the word literature:
“The use of literature is to afford us a platform whence we may command a view of our present life, a purchase by which we may move it.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“I did toy with the idea of doing a cook-book.... The recipes were to be the routine ones: how to make dry toast, instant coffee, hearts of lettuce and brownies. But as an added attraction, at no extra charge, my idea was to put a fried egg on the cover. I think a lot of people who hate literature but love fried eggs would buy it if the price was right.”
—Groucho Marx (1895–1977)
“Since people no longer attend church, theater remains as the only public service, and literature as the only private devotion.”
—Franz Grillparzer (1791–1872)