Want to impress your clever friends with your knowledge but have an embarrassing gap when it comes to French writers? Look no further than our beginner’s guide to France’s most esteemed thinks and authors - or at least the ones who are name-dropped the most often! You’ll come out armed with some key facts and interesting information tidbits to amaze and awe your listeners.   Albert Camus Albert Camus was born in 1913, in Algeria. He attended the University of Algiers, where he studied philosophy, where he became involved in leftist politics and joined the Algerian Communist Party. He later shifted towards more anarchist and libertarian socialist ideas. His first collection of essays, "L'Envers et l'Endroit" (The Wrong Side and...

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  Despite being one of the most renowned writers in the world, the life of the poet Kahlil Gibran is somewhat shrouded in mystery. Who was the real man behind some of the most captivating poetry of the early 20th century? In this article, we will explore his humble beginnings and the extraordinary events that led him to become a legendary figure in literature - the third best-selling poet of all time. Gibran was born in Bsharri, in a mountainous village in what is now modern-day Lebanon on January 6th, 1883. He was one of four children. When he was eight years old, he father was imprisoned for embezzlement, so his mother decided  to move Kahlil and his siblings to...

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A hundred and forty years after his death, Ralph Waldo Emerson retains his role as the father of Transcendentalism, one of several thinkers and writers of his time who created a whole  new way of looking at the world. Despite the world being a very different place from Emerson’s day, his words still ring true and new readers continue to find inspiration and illumination in them.      But where did Emerson come from, and what was his background?   Read my short bio to find out more about America’s greatest philosopher-thinker.   Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1857   Emerson was born in 1803 in Boston, Massachusetts, and was one of five children. His father was a Unitarian minister. He died...

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