Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
Authors Who Live(d) in My State (Pennsylvania)
I absolutely love the topic for this week. It was interesting to learn about the authors who lived near me during their lives. Some of these I knew had lived in PA, but there were many I had no clue about. Here are authors who were either born or lived in Pennsylvania during their lives, who I have read at least one written work from.
1. Lloyd Alexander- Lloyd Alexander wrote over 40 books which were mostly fantasy novels for children and young adults. He was most known for his The Chronicles of Prydain series. The first two books in this series were what the Disney movie The Black Cauldron was based on. I adore The Chronicles of Prydain and have read many more of his books over the years.
2. Stephen Chbosky- Stephen Chbosky is a novel writer, film director, and screenwriter. I have only read one of Stephen Chbosky’s books but it is definitely a favorite. The Perks of Being a Wallflower was one of my favorite books that I read in college and I also love the movie version with Logan Lerman and Emma Watson. The novel is an epistolary novel told through letters the main character, Charlie, is writing to a friend. It is a beautiful coming of age novel which I adored so much.
3. Lurlene McDaniel- Lurlene McDaniel has written over 70 young adults books and is known for writing inspirational stories where young adults are struggling with chronic illness. I read many of her books in middle school and high school, particularly her One Last Wish series.
4. Madeline Miller- Madeline Miller is a writer, teacher, and director of Shakespearean plays. She is most famous for her takes on classic Greek Mythology stories such as The Song of Achilles which is about the Trojan war and focuses on Patroclus and Achilles, Circe which tells the life of the sorceress through her own voice, and Galatea which is a novella that reimagines the myth of Galatea and Pygmalion. Her books are some of my favorites in Greek Mythology retellings. I look forward to her take on Persephone and Shakespeare’s The Tempest.
5. Louisa May Alcott- Louisa May Alcott was a novelist, short story writer, and poet who was best known for her semi-autobiographical novel Little Women and its sequels. It is loosely based on her own childhood experiences with her sisters, Abigail May Alcott Nieriker, Elizabeth Sewall Alcott, and Anna Alcott Pratt. She published over 30 novels, along with short story and poetry collections.
6. Gertrude Stein- Gertrude Stein was a novelist, poet, playwright, and art collector. She was famous for experimental writing, patronage of the arts in Paris, and also for her unique literary style. Along with her writing, she was known for coining the phrase “Lost Generation” to describe the intellectuals of the time who rejected the values of the world post World War 1 and moved to Paris from America to live a more bohemian life. I read many of her works in some of my favorite classes in college.
7. Kate DiCamillo- Kate DiCamillo is an author who has written over 30 books for young readers. Some of her most famous books are Because of Winn-Dixie and The Tale of Despereaux, which have both been andapted into movies. I remember Because of Winn-Dixie being one of my favorite books as a child. The librarian at our elementary school read it to us in our library class. It is still a book I fondly remember to this day.
8. Edgar Allen Poe- Edgar Allan Poe was a writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who was best known for his macabre writing and mysteries. Poe has been one of my favorite writers ever since middle school. I will always remember the first time I read one of his stories “The Tell-Tale Heart” and how creepy it was. My favorite poem is his “Annabel Lee” which is a poem about a man mourning the death of his beloved. It is so beautiful and enduring.
9. Walt Whitman- Walt Whitman was a poet and essay writer best known for his poetry collections: Leaves of Grass and Song of Myself. Leaves of Grass was considered revolutionary because he wrote in a free verse style and celebrated American spirit and the individual. Some of his most famous poems are “O Captain! My Captain!” (which he wrote after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln) and “I Sing the Body Electric.”
10. Hannah Nicole Maehrer- Hannah Nicole Maehrer is the writer of the series Assistant to the Villain. I thought I would pick an author I read for the first time this year on this list and saw that Hannah was from Pennsylvania. Last month, I read both books that are out in the series and enjoyed them quite a bit. I’m looking forward to picking up the third Accomplice to the Villain when it comes out later this year.
