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black humor

(Encyclopedia) black humor, in literature, drama, and film, grotesque or morbid humor used to express the absurdity, insensitivity, paradox, and cruelty of the modern world. Ordinary characters or…

Smith, Stevie

(Encyclopedia) Smith, Stevie (Margaret Florence Smith), 1902–71, English poet and novelist, b. Hull, Yorkshire. At first unnoticed as a poet, she worked in a London publisher's office until 1953.…

Adam de la Halle

(Encyclopedia) Adam de la HalleAdam de la HalleädäNˈ də lä äl [key] or Adam le BossuAdam le Bossulə bōsüˈ [key], c.1240–1287, French dramatist and poet-musician, one of the great trouvères. Many of…

Keats, Ezra Jack

(Encyclopedia) Keats, Ezra Jack, 1916–83, American author and illustrator of children's books, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., as Jacob Ezra Katz. During the Great Depression, he painted murals for the Works…

Homeric Hymns

(Encyclopedia) Homeric HymnsHomeric Hymnshōmĕrˈĭk [key], name applied to a body of 34 hexameter poems falsely attributed to Homer by the ancients. Composed probably between 800 and 300 b.c., they are…

Luks, George Benjamin

(Encyclopedia) Luks, George BenjaminLuks, George Benjaminl&oomacr;ks [key], 1867–1933, American portrait and genre painter, b. Williamsport, Pa., studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine…

Brome, Richard

(Encyclopedia) Brome, RichardBrome, Richardbr&oomacr;m, brōm [key], c.1590–1652, English dramatist. He was the friend, servant, and disciple of Ben Jonson. Primarily a writer of realistic satiric…

Respighi, Ottorino

(Encyclopedia) Respighi, OttorinoRespighi, Ottorinoôttōrēˈnō rāspēˈgē [key], 1879–1936, Italian composer, studied with Rimsky-Korsakov and Max Bruch. He was director (1924–25) of the Conservatory of…

Ball, Lucille

(Encyclopedia) Ball, Lucille, 1911–89, American actress and producer, b. Celoron, N.Y. At first promoted by Hollywood as another glamorous movie star, Ball was often cast as a spunky sidekick in…

Keaton, Buster

(Encyclopedia) Keaton, Buster (Joseph Francis Keaton), 1895–1966, American movie actor, b. Piqua, Kans. Considered one of the greatest comic actors in film history, Keaton used his considerable…