Bookish birthdays for the week of March 14, 2021

Here are the literary birthdays to celebrate over the week of March 14, 2021.

Alice Hoffman (March 16, 1952): Hoffman has written more than thirty works of fiction, including Practical Magic (which also became a movie), The Dovekeepers (adapted into a miniseries), and Here on Earth.

Wilfred Owen (March 18, 1893): Owen received posthumous fame for the poems he wrote while fighting in World War I, including “Dulce et Decorum Est,” “The Sentry,” and “To A Friend (With an Identity Disc).”

John Updike (March 18, 1932): Updike is best known for Rabbit, Run — which led to two Pulitzer Prize-winning novels, the follow-ups Rabbit Is Rich and Rabbit at Rest — and The Witches of Eastwick.

Irving Wallace (March 19, 1916): Wallace began his career as a screenwriter and went on to write thirty books, including the novels The Chapman Report, The Prize, and The Nympho and Other Maniacs.

Philip Roth (March 19, 1933): Portnoy’s Complaint established Roth’s career; he went on to win a Pulitzer Prize for American Pastoral and three PEN/Faulkner Awards (for Operation Shylock, The Human Stain, and Everyman).

Henrik Ibsen (March 20, 1828): Ibsen was among the first to write contemporary and realistic plays that highlighted social evils, including his well-known A Doll's House and Hedda Gabler.

Birthdays sourced from Calendar of Literary Facts; biographical information sourced from Encyclopedia Britannica, Poetry Foundation, and author websites. Did we miss someone? Email and let us know!