National Author's Day – November 1, 2019

History of National Author's Day

The renowned French philosopher, Michel Foucault, once asked, “What is an author?” He argued that the idea of authorship – of accrediting the work to a single individual – has deep affects on its interpretation by the reader. Further, heady, philosophical arguments ensued but the bottom line remains – authors are creators, through and through.

They are, more or less, the ones who have written novels, poems, graphic novels, text books, and so much more. From William Shakespeare being the most famous of authors (and, debatably, a number of authors operating under one pen name), back in the 1500s, enthralling and satirizing royalty and common people in ways that still resonate today; all the way to J.K. Rowling and Stephen King, who can create both fantastical and horrifying worlds and landscapes that allow us to reflect and provide insight on our own more mundane realities.

Regardless of what time period or where they’re from, authors have always had the ability to teach, entertain, and move us – even back to old, blind Homer, telling his Odyssey without even writing it down.

That brings us back to Foucault’s question. Homer never actually wrote a word. He recited his poems aloud to whomever would listen and, as he gained followers, they committed his words to paper. Yet history has forgotten the writers and gifted us Homer as the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey.

So what is an author? Well, historically and permanently, it’s someone who uses their words to move their followers.