As Anglo-Irish tensions tore his country apart, William Butler Yeats sought to give Ireland songs of identity rooted in the island's particular history and myth. Invoking a strong sense of place and folk tradition, Yeats attempted to counter the rapid growth of industry and materialism that he saw as

Lyrical, Modernist poetry, Mythic, Rebel, Sublime, Tragic

For any literary teenager in the '60s, reading Kerouac's "On the Road" was a must. But immediately following that came Hermann Hesse's study of the Buddha's early life, "Siddhartha." It comes as no surprise, for Hesse was one of the major literary influences on the Beat generation ("Siddhartha" was

Contemplative, Modernist literature, Mythic, Self-reflection, Sincere, Spiritual

The work of Jacob Lawrence brings African American history to the walls of museums and galleries when many American schools neglect to bring it into the classroom. Early in life, he became a student of African American history and depicted its richness in his colorful narratives: the "Toussaint L'Ouv

African american fiction, Composed, Eclectic, Geometric, Harlem renaissance art, Mythic, Polychromatic

According to photographer Cindy Sherman, "The male half of society has structured the whole language of how women see and think about themselves." In "Untitled Film Stills" (1977-1980), Sherman featured herself in various guises that resemble stock characters from Hollywood melodramas, providing a Po

Cartoonish, Composed, Conceptual photography, Death, Deconstructive, Feminine, Grotesque, In-your-face, Layered, Mythic, Political, Women's literature