Initially Trivia Quiz

Answer: Cummings

Edward Estlin Cummings (1894-1962) was an American poet, artist and playwright born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. One of the most famous poets of the 20th century, Cummings is connected with "modernist free-form poetry" with distinctive syntax and lower case spelling, e.g., "e.e. cummings" and the lower case "i" to represent himself.

His first use of this unusual style was a collection of poetry titled "Tulips and Chimney" (1923). He also made use of racial slurs in his work.

Answer: Escher

Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898-1972) was a Dutch graphic artist who made woodcuts and lithographs that were mathematically and surrealistically inspired. While Escher's works were popular, it took the art world a long time before his skill was recognized and praised by the art world. M.C.'s work is easily recognizable and unlike any other. Among his most well-known pieces are "Drawing Hands" from 1948, "Ascending and Descending" (1960) and "Waterfall" (1961).

Answer: Barrie

Scottish novelist Sir James Matthew Barrie (1860-1937) moved to London where he created one of the most famous fictional characters, i.e, "Peter Pan", the boy who never grows up. Peter first appeared in the 1902 novel "The Little White Bird". In 1906, some of the chapters were published separately in "Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens".

However, the 1904 eponymous stage play presented the familiar characters we have come to know. Before he died, Barrie gave the rights to the Peter Pan works to Great Ormond Steet Hospital for Children.

Answer: Hinton

American novelist Susan Eloise Hinton was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1948. She specialized in young adult novels. Possibly her most famous book, 1967's "The Outsiders", set in Oklahoma in the 1960s, was written when she was just a teenager herself. She followed that, in 1971, with "That Was Then, This Is Now" and "Rumblefish" in 1975.

In 1988 Hinton was awarded the first Margaret Edwards Award from the American Library Association for her works.

Answer: Eliot

Thomas Stearns Eliot (1888-1965) was born in St. Louis, Missouri but moved to England in 1914, at the age of twenty five. He was an author, playwright, poet, publisher and critic. Among his most famous poems are: "The Wasteland" (1922), "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock (1915) and "The Hollow Men" (1925).

His 1939 book "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats", about feline sociology, is the basis for the long-running hit Broadway musical "Cats".

Answer: Abrams

American comic book writer and filmmaker Jeffrey Jacob Abrams was born in New York, NY in 1966. He has worked primarily in the genres of action and science fiction, writing or producing movies such as: "Armageddon" (1998), "Cloverfield" (2006), "Star Trek" (2009) and "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" (2015).

His TV shows include "Felicity", "Alias" and "Lost". J.J. won two Emmy Awards for "Lost", i.e., Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series and Outstanding Drama Series.

Answer: Sabathia

Major League Baseball NY Yankee left-handed pitcher Carsten Charles Sabathia Jr. was born in Vallejo, California in 1980. C.C. made his major league debut with the Cleveland Indians on April 8, 2001. In 2008 he played for the Milwaukee Brewers; he was traded to the Yankees the following year. C.C. is a six time All-Star, an MVP, Cy Young Award winner and, on April 30, 2019, he became just the seventeenth pitcher in MLB history to reach 3,000 strikeouts.

Answer: Hughley

Darryl Lynn Hughley is an actor, comedian, author and radio host. He was born in Portsmouth, Virginia in 1963, and was one of Spike Lee's four "Original Kings of Comedy", along with Bernie Mac, Cedric the Entertainer and Steve Harvey. D.L. was also the original host of BET's "ComicView" (1992 and 1993).

He's come a long way from his gang life with the Bloods when he was a teenager. In 2008 he hosted the BET Awards, and he was chosen to give the eulogy at the funeral for Bernie Mac.

Answer: Stine

Robert Lawrence Stine was born in Columbus, Ohio in 1943. He is a writer, editor and producer, best know for his "Goosebumps" series. He has authored hundreds of books in the horror genre, and has been called the "Stephen King of children's literature".

In 1986 he wrote his first horror novel, "Blind Date". In 1989 he began writing "Fear Street" books and, in 1992, "Goosebumps" was launched. As of 2008, his books have sold over 400 million copies.

Answer: Montgomery

Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942) was a Canadian author best known for her 1908 book "Anne of Green Gables", with orphaned Anne Shirley as the protagonist. She followed the novel with a series of sequels, including twenty novels, short stories, poems and essays, most of which are set in Prince Edward Island, Canada's smallest province.

In 1935, L.M. was made an Officer of Order of the British Empire.

Answer: Wells

Herbert George Wells (1866-1946) was a famous prolific British novelist known for his satire and social commentary. Many of his books were subsequently made into movies, e.g., "War of the Worlds" and "The Time Machine". His versatility showed in the disparate genres of his works, e.g., history, biography and even two books about recreational war games. Along with Jules Verne, he is sometimes referred to as "the father of science fiction".

Answer: Salinger

Jerome David Salinger (1919-2010) was a reclusive author born and raised in Manhattan, NY. He is most famous for his 1951 book "The Catcher in the Rye". Unlike Margaret Mitchell and Harper Lee, he wrote more than one novel, but the fame of that masterpiece overshadowed all his future works.

In 1948, his story "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" appeared in the "New Yorker" magazine. Salinger's anti-hero, Holden Caulfield, continues to be the role model for adolescent alienation.

Answer: Milne

Alan Alexander Milne (1882-1956) was a British author and playwright, best known for his children's books about Winnie the Pooh and Christopher Robin. Prior to "Winnie-the-Pooh" books, Milne graduated from Cambridge University, served in World War I, and was a published author and playwright.

His son Christopher was born in 1920. In 1925, A.A.'s collection of short stories called "A Gallery of Children" was published and became part of the "Winnie-the-Pooh" books.

Answer: White

Elwyn Brooks White (1899-1985) was an American writer and contributor to New Yorker magazine. He is also known for works as varied as "The Elements of Style" and his children's novels, e.g., "Charlotte's Web" and "Stuart Little". In 2012, in a "School Library Journal" survey, "Charlotte's Web" came in number one of the top one hundred children's novels. White's first article was published in the New Yorker magazine in 1925, and he continued to write for almost sixty years.

Answer: Rowling

Lastly, we have Joanne K (for her grandmother Kathleen) Rowling, an English novelist, producer and philanthropist born in Yate, UK in 1965. She reached fame and fortune with her franchise about the young wizard Harry Potter. In 2012, according to the "Guinness Book of Records", the franchise became the best-selling book series in history, having sold over 500 million copies. According to Forbes magazine in 2004, she became the first billionaire author. Did you know she also writes crime novels under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith?