“Only those with tenacity can march forward in March”
― Ernest Agyemang Yeboah

March is the month that heralds the arrival of spring in the northern hemisphere and autumn in the southern hemisphere. It is the time when the world slowly starts changing its colors. Originating from the Roman month, Martian, March is named after the Roman God of War, Mars. March remained the first month of the year for the Romans, Russians, and Brits for a long period of time before most of the world adopted the Gregorian calendar.

The month of March holds special importance to many. It is in March that many of our favorite authors were born. These stalwarts of the literary world have made inimitable contributions to the literary world and shaped many of our childhoods with their amazing works.

This March, let us reminisce about some of our favorite literary luminaries born in March.

Ralph Waldo Ellison

Birth: March 1, 1914

Born on March 1, 1914, Ralph Waldo Ellison is the first African American author who won the National Book Award. The American author, critic, and scholar was honored with the award for his 1952 novel, Invisible Man. Ellison is famous for writing deeply engrossing and vivid coming-of-age novels.

Dr. Seuss

Birth: March 2, 1904

Who has not heard of Dr. Seuss? Born on March 2, 1904, Theodor Seuss Geisel, popularly known as Dr. Seuss, is one of the most renowned children’s authors, illustrators, and poets. Each of his sixty books is a classic in its own right. Fun, colorful, yet packed with a lesson, his books are a must-read for children. How Grinch Stole Christmas, If I Ran The Zoo, The Cat In The Hat, and Green Eggs and Ham, among many others, are some of his notable works.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Birth: March 6, 1806  

Elizabeth Barrett Browning is one of the daring ladies who beat all odds and made a name for herself in the patriarchal Victorian Era. Born on March 6, 1806, Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote poems that made her widely popular on both sides of the Atlantic during her lifetime. She was famous for upholding gender equality and supporting the abolition of slavery through her works. How Do I Love Thee? is one of my favorite poems by Barrett Browning.

Gabriel García Márquez

Birth: March 6, 1928

Gabriel Garcia Marquez is perhaps the most famous Latin American author. Born on March 6, 1928, the Colombian author, screenwriter, and journalist is known for his use of magic realism. Marquez won the coveted Nobel Prize in Literature in 1982. One Hundred Years of Solitude, Chronicle of Death Foretold, and Love in the Time of Cholera, among others, are some of his best-known works.

Kenneth Grahame

Birth: March 8, 1859

Kenneth Grahame, a supremely talented children’s author, was born on March 8, 1859. He penned the classic children’s book, The Wind in the Willows in 1908. Disney later adapted The Wind in the Willows and The Reluctant Dragon into films.

Jack Kerouac

Birth: March 12, 1922

Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac, better known as Jack Kerouac, is a well-known novelist and poet. Born on March 12, 1922, he authored fifteen novels and a number of poetry books. Travel, poverty, jazz, drugs, promiscuity, and spirituality are some of the predominant themes in his works. His On the Road, a story revolving around a father and his son, is one of my favorites.

Ovid

Birth: March 20, 43 BC

Publius Ovidius Naso, popularly known as Ovid, is an ancient Roman poet born on March 20, 43 BC. His epic poetry, Metamorphosis, is an expansive work that is said to be the inspiration of a plethora of writers. Though Metamorphosis tells the stories of Gods and demi-gods, it has an inherent human aspect to it. After all, change is the key theme of the work. It is no wonder that many consider Ovid’s Metamorphosis one of the cornerstones of Western Literature.

Henrik Ibsen

Birth: March 20, 1828

Known as the Father of Realism, Henrik Johan Ibsen was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director born on March 20, 1928. Ibsen is renowned for bringing modernism to the theater. His A Doll’s House is one of my favorite plays.

Flannery O’Connor

Birth: March 25, 1925

Born on March 25, 1925, Flannery O’Connor is a well-known American author, best known for his Southern Gothic Style of writing. Her works still manage to give us the chills. Out of her two novels and thirty-one short stories, my favorite is Wise Blood.

Tennessee Williams

Birth: March 26, 1911

A Streetcar Named Desire is known to most literary and drama enthusiasts. Tennessee Williams is the creator of this classic. Thomas Lanier Williams III, popularly known as Tennessee Williams, was born on March 26, 1911. In addition to A Streetcar Named Desire, the talented playwright and novelist wrote masterpieces like The Roma Spring of Mrs. Stone and The World of Reason. Many of his works have on-screen adaptations.

Robert Frost

Birth: March 26, 1874

Robert Frost is the only poet who has been the recipient of four Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry to date. Born on March 26, 1874, Frost is known for his depiction of nature in his poems and plays. One of his most iconic poems is The Road Not Taken. I still remember reading about the fork in the road leading to two different paths while in school.

Anna Sewell

Birth: March 30, 1820

The equine novel, Black Beauty, has been a childhood staple for many of us. The evergreen masterpiece was penned by Anna Sewell as a book for horse lovers. Born on March 30, 1820, Black Beauty is the only book written by Sewell. Sadly, she passed away only months after her book’s publication in 1877.

Conclusion  

March is the month that often straggles between summer and winter. The bright sunshine on a March morning and a soothing breeze in the evening can completely make your day. Conversely, the baffling weather can also leave you in a lurch. It is no wonder that only the tenacious can march through March.

Do comment and let me know which of the tenacious March-born writers have touched your heart with their amazing works.