American Writers | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/american-writers/RSS feed for American WritersenTue, 25 Aug 2026 17:57:22 +0000A New Statue Honors 'Moby-Dick' Author Herman Melville in the Massachusetts City Where His Whaling Adventures Beganhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-new-statue-honors-moby-dick-author-herman-melville-in-the-massachusetts-city-where-his-whaling-adventures-began-180989388/The 7.5-foot-tall bronze artwork stands in the heart of historic New Bedford, the 19th-century whaling port that inspired the author's famous 1851 novelTue, 25 Aug 2026 17:57:22 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-new-statue-honors-moby-dick-author-herman-melville-in-the-massachusetts-city-where-his-whaling-adventures-began-180989388/This 19th-Century Diary Written by an Enslaved Maryland Man Is a Crucial Record of His Life and Family History—and the Only One of Its Kind Found in the United Stateshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/this-19th-century-diary-written-by-an-enslaved-maryland-man-is-a-crucial-record-of-his-life-and-family-historyand-the-only-one-of-its-kind-found-in-the-united-states-180989146/Adam Francis Plummer’s chronicle is believed to be the country’s sole known example of a multigenerational journal begun by an enslaved person. It’s now on view at the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community MuseumFri, 17 Jul 2026 18:30:12 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/this-19th-century-diary-written-by-an-enslaved-maryland-man-is-a-crucial-record-of-his-life-and-family-historyand-the-only-one-of-its-kind-found-in-the-united-states-180989146/