Benjamin Franklin

An item at American Writers Museum

A writer, inventor, publisher, and politician, Benjamin Franklin was a key figure during the American Revolution and its aftermath. He helped write the Declaration of Independence and later served as ambassador to France, where his simple dress, wit, and shrewd intelligence came to represent America to Europeans.

Franklin's influence on American literature is profound. For over half a century, he offered homespun wisdom through his immensely popular magazine Poor Richard's Almanack (1732-1758). Meanwhile, his Autobiography (1791), which freely embellishes the truths of his life, helped establish the American myth of the "self-made man."

AMERICAN VOICES

An exhibit at American Writers Museum

American writing is distinctive, diverse, and comes in many forms from across the nation. The 100 authors featured here represent the evolution of American writing. Learn more about each writer on the timeline by turning the panels below their portraits. Explore centuries of writing by pulling, turning, and touching the interactive elements on the counter.

This is not meant to be a list of the greatest or most influential writers. Instead, we present authors and works as part of the American story as it grows and changes. Taken together, this rich literary heritage reflects America in all of its complexity: its energy, hope, conflict, disillusionment, and creativity.

American Writers Museum