This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1941.

Events

* January 3 – A decree (''Normalschrifterlaß'') issued in

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

by Martin Bormann on behalf of

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

calls for replacement of blackletter

typeface A typeface (or font family) is the design of lettering that can include variations in size, weight (e.g. bold), slope (e.g. italic), width (e.g. condensed), and so on. Each of these variations of the typeface is a font. There are thousands o ...

s by Antiqua. * January 20 – Chittadhar Hridaya begins a six-year sentence of imprisonment in

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

for writing poetry in

Nepal Bhasa Newar (), or Newari and known officially in Nepal as Nepal Bhasa, is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken by the Newar people, the indigenous inhabitants of Nepal Mandala, which consists of the Kathmandu Valley and surrounding regions in Nepa ...

, during which time he secretly composes his Buddhist epic '' Sugata Saurabha'' in that language. *

January 21 Events Pre-1600 * 763 – Following the Battle of Bakhamra between Alids and Abbasids near Kufa, the Alid rebellion ends with the death of Ibrahim, brother of Isa ibn Musa. * 1525 – The Swiss Anabaptist Movement is founded when ...

– 23 – A failed " Legionary Rebellion" in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

, opposing loyalists of the Ion Antonescu government to the radically fascist Iron Guard, doubles as a pogrom against

Romanian Jews The history of the Jews in Romania concerns the Jews both of Romania and of Romanian origins, from their first mention on what is present-day Romanian territory. Minimal until the 18th century, the size of the Jewish population increased after ...

. Avant-garde poet Ion Barbu joins a rebel squad storming into the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

; meanwhile, his colleague

Ion Vinea Ion Vinea (born Ioan Eugen Iovanaki, sometimes Iovanache; April 17, 1895 – July 6, 1964) was a Romanian poet, novelist, journalist, literary theorist, and political figure. He became active on the modernist scene during his teens—his poetic wo ...

protects a Jewish friend, the novelist

Sergiu Dan Sergiu Dan (; born Isidor Rotman or Rottman; December 29, 1903 – March 13, 1976) was a Romanian novelist, journalist, Holocaust survivor and political prisoner of the communist regime. Dan, the friend and collaborator of Romulus Dianu, was noted ...

. The destruction of Jewish life and property is documented from inside the Jewish community by the photojournalist

F. Brunea-Fox F. Brunea-Fox (born Filip Brauner; January 18, 1898–June 12, 1977) was a Romanian reporter, journalist and translator. Born into a Romanian Jews, Jewish family in Roman, Romania, Roman, his parents were Simcha Brauner and Leia (''née'' Gelbe ...

, and by

Marcel Janco Marcel Janco (, ; common rendition of the Romanian name Marcel Hermann Iancu ; 24 May 1895 – 21 April 1984) was a Romanian and Israeli visual artist, architect and art theorist. He was the co-inventor of Dadaism and a leading exponent of Const ...

. Janco's brother-in-law, essayist Jacques G. Costin, survives, but his brother is tortured and killed by the Guard; the murder prompts Janco to leave for British Palestine in February. *Spring – ''

The Antioch Review ''The Antioch Review'' is an American literary magazine established in 1941 at Antioch College in Ohio. The magazine was published on a quarterly basis. One of the oldest continuously published literary magazines in the United States prior to it ...

'' is founded as a literary magazine at

Antioch College Antioch College is a private liberal arts college in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Christian Connection, the college began operating in 1852 as a non-sectarian institution; politician and education reformer Horace Mann was its ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. *March –

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and lit ...

is released from prisoner-of-war camp on health grounds. *

April 6 Events Pre–1600 *46 BC – Julius Caesar defeats Caecilius Metellus Scipio and Marcus Porcius Cato (Cato the Younger) at the Battle of Thapsus. * 402 – Stilicho defeats the Visigoths under Alaric in the Battle of Pollentia. *13 ...

– The

National Library of Serbia The National Library of Serbia ( sr, Народна библиотека Србије, Narodna biblioteka Srbije) is the national library of Serbia, located in the capital city of Belgrade. It is the biggest library, and oldest institution in Ser ...

is destroyed by bombing. *

April 19 Events Pre-1600 * AD 65 – The freedman Milichus betrays Piso's plot to kill the Emperor Nero and all the conspirators are arrested. * 531 – Battle of Callinicum: A Byzantine army under Belisarius is defeated by the Persi ...

– Bertolt Brecht's play ''

Mother Courage and Her Children ''Mother Courage and Her Children'' (german: Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder, links=no) is a play written in 1939 by the German dramatist and poet Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956), with significant contributions from Margarete Steffin. Four theatrica ...

(Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder)'' is launched at the

Schauspielhaus Zürich The Schauspielhaus Zürich ( en, Zürich playhouse) is one of the most prominent and important theatres in the German-speaking world. It is also known as "Pfauenbühne" (Peacock Stage). The large theatre has 750 seats. The also operates three s ...

in Switzerland, with

Therese Giehse Therese Giehse (; 6 March 1898 – 3 March 1975), born Therese Gift, was a German actress. Born in Munich to German-Jewish parents, she first appeared on the stage in 1920. She became a major star on stage, in films, and in political cabaret. In t ...

in the title rôle. *

May 5 Events Pre-1600 * 553 – The Second Council of Constantinople begins. *1215 – Rebel barons renounce their allegiance to King John of England — part of a chain of events leading to the signing of the Magna Carta. *1260 – Kub ...

–

Kingsley Amis Sir Kingsley William Amis (16 April 1922 – 22 October 1995) was an English novelist, poet, critic, and teacher. He wrote more than 20 novels, six volumes of poetry, a memoir, short stories, radio and television scripts, and works of social a ...

and

Philip Larkin Philip Arthur Larkin (9 August 1922 – 2 December 1985) was an English poet, novelist, and librarian. His first book of poetry, ''The North Ship'', was published in 1945, followed by two novels, ''Jill'' (1946) and ''A Girl in Winter'' (1947 ...

meet while both reading English at St John's College, Oxford. *

May 21 Events Pre-1600 * 293 – Roman Emperors Diocletian and Maximian appoint Galerius as ''Caesar'' to Diocletian, beginning the period of four rulers known as the Tetrarchy. * 878 – Syracuse, Sicily, is captured by the Muslim Aghlabi ...

– The 1941 theatre strike in Norway begins. Actors in the Norwegian professional theater strike in response to the revocation of work permits for six actors who refuse to perform on state radio for the

Quisling regime The Quisling regime or Quisling government are common names used to refer to the fascist collaborationist government led by Vidkun Quisling in German-occupied Norway during the Second World War. The official name of the regime from 1 February 19 ...

during the

occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until th ...

. *June – Noël Coward's comedy '' Blithe Spirit'' is premièred at

Manchester Opera House The Opera House in Quay Street, Manchester, England, is a 1,920-seater commercial touring theatre that plays host to touring musicals, ballet, concerts and a Christmas pantomime. It is a Grade II listed building. The Opera House is one of the mai ...

in England. Opening in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

on July 2, its run of 1,997 consecutive performances sets a record for non-musical plays in the

West End theatre West End theatre is mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in and near the West End of London.Christopher Innes, "West End" in ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 1194–1 ...

, which will not be surpassed for more than twenty years. The original cast stars

Kay Hammond Dorothy Katherine Standing, Lady Clements (18 February 1909 – 4 May 1980), known professionally as Kay Hammond, was an English stage and film actress. Family Kay Hammond was born in London, England as Dorothy Katherine Standing, the daught ...

as Elvira,

Margaret Rutherford Dame Margaret Taylor Rutherford, (11 May 1892 – 22 May 1972) was an English actress of stage, television and film. She came to national attention following World War II in the film adaptations of Noël Coward's ''Blithe Spirit'', and Oscar ...

as Madame Arcati, Cecil Parker as Charles and

Fay Compton Virginia Lilian Emmeline Compton-Mackenzie, (; 18 September 1894 – 12 December 1978), known professionally as Fay Compton, was an English actress. She appeared in several films, and made many broadcasts, but was best known for her stage per ...

as Ruth. The

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

première takes place on November 5 at the Morosco Theatre. *

June 22 Events Pre-1600 * 217 BC – Battle of Raphia: Ptolemy IV Philopator of Egypt defeats Antiochus III the Great of the Seleucid kingdom. * 168 BC – Battle of Pydna: Romans under Lucius Aemilius Paullus defeat Macedonian King Perseus ...

– Among those fleeing the

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...

attack on the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

is a Moldovan Jewish poet, Alexandru Robot, declared missing, presumed dead by August. *

June 29 Events Pre-1600 * 226 – Cao Rui succeeds his father as emperor of the Kingdom of Wei. *1149 – Raymond of Poitiers is defeated and killed at the Battle of Inab by Nur ad-Din Zangi. * 1194 – Sverre is crowned King of Norway, ...

**For unknown reasons, the Hungarian philosopher

György Lukács György Lukács (born György Bernát Löwinger; hu, szegedi Lukács György Bernát; german: Georg Bernard Baron Lukács von Szegedin; 13 April 1885 – 4 June 1971) was a Hungarian Marxist philosopher, literary historian, critic, and aesth ...

is arrested by the

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...

and held at

Lubyanka Building The Lubyanka ( rus, Лубянка, p=lʊˈbʲankə) is the popular name for the building which contains the headquarters of the FSB, and its affiliated prison, on Lubyanka Square in the Meshchansky District of Moscow, Russia. It is a large Ne ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

; he will be released on

August 26 Events Pre-1600 * 683 – Yazid I's army kills 11,000 people of Medina including notable Sahabas in Battle of al-Harrah. *1071 – The Seljuq Turks defeat the Byzantine army at the Battle of Manzikert, and soon gain control of most ...

, possibly after a plea made by

Mátyás Rákosi Mátyás Rákosi (; born Mátyás Rosenfeld; 9 March 1892
– 5 February 1971) was a Hungarian communis ...

. **The

Iași pogrom The Iași pogrom (, sometimes anglicized as Jassy) was a series of pogroms launched by governmental forces under Marshal Ion Antonescu in the Romanian city of Iași against its Jewish community, which lasted from 29 June to 6 July 1941. Accordin ...

in Nazi-allied Romania is witnessed by the Italian war correspondent

Curzio Malaparte Curzio Malaparte (; 9 June 1898 – 19 July 1957), born Kurt Erich Suckert, was an Italian writer, filmmaker, war correspondent and diplomat. Malaparte is best known outside Italy due to his works ''Kaputt'' (1944) and ''La pelle'' (1949). The f ...

, who recounts it in a chapter of his novel ''Kaputt'' (

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...

), for long the only work to deal with the events. * August 6 –

C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univers ...

begins a series of

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...

broadcasts that give rise to ''

Mere Christianity ''Mere Christianity'' is a Christian apologetical book by the British author C. S. Lewis. It was adapted from a series of BBC radio talks made between 1941 and 1944, originally published as three separate volumes: ''Broadcast Talks'' (1942), ...

''. *

August 18 Events Pre-1600 * 684 – Battle of Marj Rahit: Umayyad partisans defeat the supporters of Ibn al-Zubayr and cement Umayyad control of Syria. * 707 – Princess Abe accedes to the imperial Japanese throne as Empress Genmei. *1304 & ...

– Pilot Officer John Gillespie Magee, Jr., a 19-year-old poet of American paternity serving in Britain with the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

, makes a high-altitude test flight in a Spitfire V from RAF Llandow in Wales, and then by September 3 completes the sonnet "High Flight" about the experience. On December 11 he dies in an air collision over England. *Fall – ''

Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine ''Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine'' is a bi-monthly American digest size fiction magazine specializing in crime fiction, particularly detective fiction, and mystery fiction. Launched in fall 1941 by Mercury Press, ''EQMM'' is named after the fict ...

'' is launched under the editorship of

Frederic Dannay Ellery Queen is a pseudonym created in 1929 by American crime fiction writers Frederic Dannay and Manfred Bennington Lee and the name of their main fictional character, a mystery writer in New York City who helps his police inspector father solve ...

, by Lawrence E. Spivak's Mercury Publications in New York City. *September – In Nazi-allied Romania,

George Călinescu George Călinescu (; 19 June 1899, Bucharest – 12 March 1965, Otopeni) was a Romanian literary critic, historian, novelist, academician and journalist, and a writer of classicist and humanist tendencies. He is currently considered one of the mos ...

publishes his companion to

Romanian literature Romanian literature () is literature written by Romanian authors, although the term may also be used to refer to all literature written in the Romanian language. History The development of the Romanian literature took place in parallel with tha ...

(''Istoria literaturii române de la origini până în prezent''). It is condemned in the far-right press for including entries on Romanian Jewish writers, whose work has been explicitly banned. It is eventually withdrawn from circulation, but its own racist undertones are criticized by intellectuals such as the Jewish ( Felix Aderca and

Mihail Sebastian Mihail Sebastian (; born Iosif Mendel Hechter; October 18, 1907 – May 29, 1945) was a Romanian playwright, essayist, journalist and novelist. Life Sebastian was born to a Jewish family in Brăila, the son of Mendel and Clara Hechter. After ...

) and the Romanian ( Șerban Cioculescu,

Mihai Ralea Mihai Dumitru Ralea (also known as Mihail Ralea, Michel Raléa, or Mihai Rale;Straje, p. 586 May 1, 1896 – August 17, 1964) was a Romanian social scientist, cultural journalist, and political figure. He debuted as an affiliate of Poporanism, th ...

and Vladimir Streinu). *

September 6 Events Pre-1600 * 394 – Battle of the Frigidus: Roman emperor Theodosius I defeats and kills Eugenius the usurper. His Frankish ''magister militum'' Arbogast escapes but commits suicide two days later. *1492 – Christopher Colu ...

– 7 – Under

Nazi occupation German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 ...

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ve ...

poet Abraham Sutzkever is among the

Polish Jews The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Ashkenazi Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the l ...

interned in the

Vilna Ghetto The Vilna Ghetto was a World War II Jewish ghetto established and operated by Nazi Germany in the city of Vilnius in the modern country of Lithuania, at the time part of the Nazi-administered Reichskommissariat Ostland. During the approximat ...

. *c. October – The first known reference to Babi Yar in poetry is written soon after the

Babi Yar Babi Yar (russian: Ба́бий Яр) or Babyn Yar ( uk, Бабин Яр) is a ravine in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and a site of massacres carried out by Nazi Germany's forces during its campaign against the Soviet Union in World War II. T ...

massacres, the work of the young

Jewish-Ukrainian The history of the Jews in Ukraine dates back over a thousand years; Jewish communities have existed in the territory of Ukraine from the time of the Kievan Rus' (late 9th to mid-13th century). Some of the most important Jewish religious and ...

poet from

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Kyi ...

and an eyewitness, Liudmila Titova; her poem "Babi Yar" will be discovered only in the 1990s. *

October 27 Events Pre-1600 * 312 – Constantine is said to have received his famous Vision of the Cross. * 1275 – Traditional founding of the city of Amsterdam. * 1524 – French troops lay siege to Pavia. * 1553 – Condemned as ...

–

F. Scott Fitzgerald Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age—a term he popularize ...

's novel ''

The Last Tycoon ''The Last Tycoon'' is an unfinished novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald. In 1941, it was published posthumously under this title, as prepared by his friend Edmund Wilson, a critic and writer. According to ''Publishers Weekly,'' the novel is "generally ...

'', unfinished on his death in

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * Januar ...

, is edited by

Edmund Wilson Edmund Wilson Jr. (May 8, 1895 – June 12, 1972) was an American writer and literary critic who explored Freudian and Marxist themes. He influenced many American authors, including F. Scott Fitzgerald, whose unfinished work he edited for publi ...

and published by

Charles Scribner's Sons Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner's or Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing American authors including Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Marjorie Kinnan R ...

in New York City. *November –

Brendan Behan Brendan Francis Aidan Behan (christened Francis Behan) ( ; ga, Breandán Ó Beacháin; 9 February 1923 – 20 March 1964) was an Irish poet, short story writer, novelist, playwright, and Irish Republican activist who wrote in both English an ...

is released from

Borstal A Borstal was a type of youth detention centre in the United Kingdom, several member states of the Commonwealth and the Republic of Ireland. In India, such a detention centre is known as a Borstal school. Borstals were run by HM Prison Service ...

in England and deported back to Ireland. *December Vvedensky after arrest in 1941

**During the Siege of Leningrad, Yakov Druskin, ill and starving, and Maria Malich, second wife of Russian avant-garde poet Danil Kharms (arrested this summer for treason and imprisoned in the psychiatric ward at Leningrad Prison No. 1, where he will die in

1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in w ...

), trudge to Kharms' bombed-out apartment building to collect a trunk of manuscripts, so preserving his work and that of Alexander Vvedensky's for decades until it can be circulated. Vvedensky, arrested in September in

Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.pleurisy Pleurisy, also known as pleuritis, is inflammation of the membranes that surround the lungs and line the chest cavity ( pleurae). This can result in a sharp chest pain while breathing. Occasionally the pain may be a constant dull ache. Other sy ...

on the way. **

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.first story book in its

Puffin Books Puffin Books is a longstanding children's imprint of the British publishers Penguin Books. Since the 1960s, it has been among the largest publishers of children's books in the UK and much of the English-speaking world. The imprint now belongs t ...

children's

paperback A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) books are bound with cardboard covered with cloth, ...

imprint: ''

Worzel Gummidge Worzel Gummidge is a scarecrow in British children's fiction, who originally appeared in a series of books by the English novelist Barbara Euphan Todd.

'' by

Barbara Euphan Todd Barbara Euphan Todd (9 January 1890 – 2 February 1976) was an English writer widely remembered for her ten books for children about a scarecrow called Worzel Gummidge. These were adapted for radio and television. The title story was chosen as ...

. The series editor is

Eleanor Graham Eleanor Graham (9 January 1896, in Walthamstow, England – 8 March 1984, in London) was a book editor and children's book author. She worked for Muriel Paget's aid mission in Czechoslovakia before becoming an editor for publishers Heinemann an ...

. *''unknown dates'' **The new

National and University Library of Slovenia The National and University Library ( sl, Narodna in univerzitetna knjižnica, ), established in 1774, is one of the most important national educational and cultural institutions of Slovenia. It is located in the centre of Ljubljana, between Aue ...

building in

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the are ...

, designed by

Jože Plečnik Jože Plečnik () (23 January 1872 – 7 January 1957) was a Slovene architect who had a major impact on the modern architecture of Vienna, Prague and of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, most notably by designing the iconic Triple Bridge an ...

in 1930/1931, is completed and opened to the public. ** Biblioteca Cantonale (Cantonal Library) at

Lugano Lugano (, , ; lmo, label=Ticinese dialect, Ticinese, Lugan ) is a city and municipality in Switzerland, part of the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino. It is the largest city of both Ticino and the Italian-speaking southern Switzerland. Luga ...

in the Italian-speaking Canton of Ticino in neutral Switzerland, designed by Rino and Carlo Tami, is completed. **The Bosnian Serb writer

Branko Ćopić Branko Ćopić ( sr-cyrl, Бранко Ћопић, ; 1 January 1915 – 26 March 1984) was a Serbian, Bosnian and Yugoslavian writer. He wrote poetry, short stories and novels, and became famous for his stories for children and young adults, oft ...

joins the

Yugoslav Partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene: , or the National Liberation Army, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska (NOV), Народноослободилачка војска (НОВ); mk, Народноослобод� ...

. **The poet Ezra Pound applies unsuccessfully to return to the U.S. from Italy. He begins appearing on Rome Radio with antisemitic broadcasts sympathetic to the

Axis powers The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...

. **The '' Classic Comics'' series is launched in the United States with a version of ''

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' (french: Les Trois Mousquetaires, links=no, ) is a French historical adventure novel written in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is in the swashbuckler genre, which has heroic, chivalrous swordsmen who fight ...

''.

New books

Fiction

Margery Allingham Margery Louise Allingham (20 May 1904 – 30 June 1966) was an English novelist from the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", and considered one of its four "Queens of Crime", alongside Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers and Ngaio Marsh. Alli ...

– ''

Traitor's Purse ''Traitor's Purse'' is a crime novel written by Margery Allingham. It was originally published in 1941 in the United Kingdom by Heinemann, London and in the United States by Doubleday, New York as ''The Sabotage Murder Mystery''. It is the elev ...

'' * Isaac Asimov – '' Nightfall'' (novelette) *

William Attaway William Alexander Attaway (November 19, 1911 – June 17, 1986) was an African-American novelist, short story writer, essayist, songwriter, playwright, and screenwriter. Biography Early life Attaway was born on November 19, 1911, in Greenvil ...

– '' Blood on the Forge'' * Pierre Benoit – '' The Gobi Desert'' * Frans G. Bengtsson – ''

The Long Ships ''The Long Ships'' or ''Red Orm'' (original Swedish: ''Röde Orm'' meaning ''Red Serpent'' or ''Red Snake'') is an adventure novel by the Swedish writer Frans G. Bengtsson. The narrative is set in the late 10th century and follows the advent ...

'', part 1 (''Röde Orm'', originally translated as ''Red Orm'') *

Maurice Blanchot Maurice Blanchot (; ; 22 September 1907 – 20 February 2003) was a French writer, philosopher and literary theorist. His work, exploring a philosophy of death alongside poetic theories of meaning and sense, bore significant influence on pos ...

– ''Thomas l'Obscur (Thomas the Obscure)'' *

Godfried Bomans Godfried Jan Arnold Bomans (2 March 1913 – 22 December 1971) was a Dutch author and television personality. Much of his work remains untranslated into English. Life and career Godfried Bomans was born in The Hague and grew up in and arou ...

– ''

Erik of het klein insectenboek ''Eric in the Land of the Insects'', originally called ''Erik of het klein insectenboek'' (English: Erik or the small book of insects) in Dutch, is a 1941 Dutch children's novel by Godfried Bomans. It is widely seen as a children's classic and Bo ...

'' (Erik and His Little Insect Book) *

Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo (; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, as well as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known b ...

– ''

The Garden of Forking Paths "The Garden of Forking Paths" (original Spanish title: "El jardín de senderos que se bifurcan") is a 1941 short story by Argentine writer and poet Jorge Luis Borges. It is the title story in the collection ''El jardín de senderos que se bifurca ...

'' (''El Jardín de senderos que se bifurcan'', short stories) * Phyllis Bottome – '' London Pride'' *

Christianna Brand Mary Christianna Lewis (née Milne; 17 December 1907 – 11 March 1988), known professionally as Christianna Brand, was a British crime writer and children's author born in British Malaya. Biography Christianna Brand was born Mary Chris ...

** ''

Death in High Heels ''Death in High Heels'' is a 1947 British crime film directed by Lionel Tomlinson and starring Don Stannard, Elsa Tee and Veronica Rose. It was based on the 1941 novel of the same title by Christianna Brand. It was a very early Hammer Films ...

'' ** '' Heads You Lose'' *

Pearl S. Buck Pearl Sydenstricker Buck (June 26, 1892 – March 6, 1973) was an American writer and novelist. She is best known for ''The Good Earth'' a bestselling novel in the United States in 1931 and 1932 and won the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel, Pulitze ...

– ''China Sky'' *James M. Cain – ''Mildred Pierce'' *Joyce Cary – ''Herself Surprised'' *John Dickson Carr **''The Case of the Constant Suicides'' **''Death Turns the Tables'' **''Seeing is Believing (novel), Seeing is Believing'' (as by Carter Dickson) *Peter Cheyney ** ''It Couldn't Matter Less'' ** ''Your Deal, My Lovely'' *Agatha Christie **''Evil Under the Sun'' **''N or M?'' * J. Storer Clouston – ''Beastmark the Spy'' *Colette – ''Julie de Carneilhan (novel), Julie de Carneilhan'' *John Creasey – ''Salute the Toff (novel), Salute the Toff'' * Freeman Wills Crofts – ''James Tarrant, Adventurer'' *A. J. Cronin – ''The Keys of the Kingdom'' *Eric Cross (writer), Eric Cross – ''The Tailor and Ansty'' *L. Sprague de Camp – ''Lest Darkness Fall'' (complete novel) *August Derleth – ''Someone in the Dark'' *Walter D. Edmonds – ''The Matchlock Gun'' *Ilya Ehrenburg – ''The Fall of Paris'' («Падение Парижа», ''Padeniye Parizha'') *

(posthumously) – ''

'' *Anthony Gilbert (author), Anthony Gilbert ** ''The Vanishing Corpse'' ** ''The Woman in Red (novel), The Woman in Red'' *Marcus Goodrich – ''Delilah (novel)'' *Patrick Hamilton (writer), Patrick Hamilton – ''Hangover Square'' *Robert A. Heinlein – ''Methuselah's Children'' *James Hilton (novelist), James Hilton – ''Random Harvest'' *Soeman Hs – ''Kawan Bergeloet'' (Playmate, collected short stories) *Hammond Innes – ''Attack Alarm'' *Michael Innes – ''Appleby on Ararat'' *Anna Kavan – ''Change the Name'' *

– ''The Screwtape Letters'' *Janet Lewis – ''The Wife of Martin Guerre'' *E. C. R. Lorac – ''Case in the Clinic'' *Compton Mackenzie – ''The Red Tapeworm'' *Hugh MacLennan – ''Barometer Rising'' *Ngaio Marsh ** ''Death and the Dancing Footman'' ** ''Surfeit of Lampreys'' *W. Somerset Maugham – ''Up at the Villa'' *Oscar Micheaux – ''The Wind From Nowhere'' *Betty Miller (author), Betty Miller – ''Farewell, Leicester Square'' *Henry Miller – ''The Colossus of Maroussi'' *Gladys Mitchell ** ''Hangman's Curfew'' ** ''When Last I Died'' *Edgar Mittelholzer – ''Corentyne Thunder'' *Vilhelm Moberg – ''Ride This Night (Rid i natt)'' *Paul Morand – ''The Man in a Hurry (L'Homme pressé)'' *Vladimir Nabokov – ''The Real Life of Sebastian Knight'' *Flann O'Brien – ''An Béal Bocht'' *E. Phillips Oppenheim – ''The Shy Plutocrat'' *Rafael Sabatini – ''Columbus (novel), Columbus'' *Budd Schulberg – ''What Makes Sammy Run?'' *Anya Seton – ''My Theodosia'' *Georges Simenon – ''Strange Inheritance (novel), Strange Inheritance'' *Armstrong Sperry – ''Call It Courage'' * Cecil Street ** ''Death at the Helm'' ** ''They Watched by Night'' *Phoebe Atwood Taylor **''The Perennial Boarder'' **''The Hollow Chest'' (as by Alice Tilton) *Kylie Tennant – ''The Battlers'' *Franz Werfel – ''The Song of Bernadette (novel), The Song of Bernadette (Das Lied von Bernadette)'' *Rex Warner – ''The Aerodrome'' *Eudora Welty – ''A Curtain of Green'' *Virginia Woolf (posthumously) – ''Between the Acts''

Children and young people

*Enid Blyton **''The Adventurous Four'' **''The Twins at St. Clare's'' *Walter D. Edmonds – ''The Matchlock Gun'' *Mary Grannan – ''Just Mary'' *Robert McCloskey – ''Make Way for Ducklings'' *Arthur Ransome – ''Missee Lee'' *H. A. Rey and Margret Rey – ''Curious George (book), Curious George'' (first in the ''Curious George'' series of seven books) *Mary Treadgold – ''We Couldn't Leave Dinah'' *Dorothy Vicary – ''Lucy Brown's Schooldays'' etc. *Laura Ingalls Wilder – ''Little Town on the Prairie''

Drama

*Jean Anouilh **''Eurydice (Anouilh play), Eurydice'' **'':fr:Le Rendez-vous de Senlis, Le Rendez-vous de Senlis'' * Bertolt Brecht **''

'' **''The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui'' (written) * Noël Coward – '' Blithe Spirit'' * Kenneth Horne (writer), Kenneth Horne – ''Love in a Mist (play), Love in a Mist'' * Molly Keane – ''Ducks and Drakes (play), Ducks and Drakes'' *Esther McCracken – ''Quiet Weekend (play), Quiet Weekend'' *Pablo Picasso – ''Desire Caught by the Tail'' (''Le Désir attrapé par la queue'', written) *Enrique Jardiel Poncela – ''We Thieves Are Honourable (play), We Thieves Are Honourable'' (''Los ladrones somos gente honrada'') *Vernon Sylvaine **''Warn That Man!'' **''Women Aren't Angels (play), Women Aren't Angels'' *Xavier Villaurrutia – ''Invitación à la muerte'' *Richard Wright (author), Richard Wright and Paul Green (playwright), Paul Green - ''Native Son (play), Native Son'' produced by Orson Welles at the St. James Theatre NYC, on March 24.

Poetry

*W. H. Auden – ''New Year Letter'' (British edition of 'The Double Man') *William Rose Benét – ''The Dust which is God'' *Laurence Binyon – ''The North Star and Other Poems'' *T. S. Eliot – ''The Dry Salvages'' (third of the ''Four Quartets''; in February ''New English Weekly'') *''A Choice of Kipling's Verse'' by T. S. Eliot (published December) *G. S. Fraser – ''The Fatal Landscape and Other Poems'' *Patrick Kavanagh – ''The Great Hunger'' * John Gillespie Magee, Jr. – "High Flight" *John Pudney – "For Johnny"

Non-fiction

*Frank Buck (animal collector), Frank Buck with Ferrin Fraser – ''All in a Lifetime'' *

– ''Istoria literaturii române de la origini până în prezent'' *Joyce Cary **''The Case for African Freedom'' **''A House of Children'' *Leonora Eyles – ''For My Enemy Daughter'' *Victor Gollancz – ''Russia and Ourselves'' *Louis MacNeice – ''The Poetry of W. B. Yeats'' *''The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations'' *Michael Richey (sailor), Michael Richey – "Sunk by a Mine. A Survivor's Story" *Vita Sackville-West – ''English Country Houses'' *Antal Szerb – ''A világirodalom története'' (History of World Literature) *Robert Vansittart, 1st Baron Vansittart, Robert Vansittart – ''Black Record. Germans Past and Present'' *Rebecca West – ''Black Lamb and Grey Falcon, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon: a journey through Yugoslavia'' *Stefan Zweig – ''Brasilien. Ein Land der Zukunft'' (Brazil, Land of the Future)

Births

*January 19 – Colin Gunton, English theologian and academic (died 2003 in literature, 2003) *January 24 – Gary K. Wolf, American humorist *March 13 **Mahmoud Darwish, Palestinian poet (died 2008 in literature, 2008) **Donella Meadows, American environmentalist (died 2001 in literature, 2001) *March 22 – Billy Collins, American poet *April 10 – Paul Theroux, American novelist and travel writer *May 13 – Miles Kington, Northern Irish-born humorist and journalist (died 2008 in literature, 2008) *May 19 – Nora Ephron, American novelist and screenwriter (died 2012 in literature, 2012) *May 24 – Bob Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, American singer-songwriter, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature *June 5 – Spalding Gray, American screenwriter and dramatist (died 2004 in literature, 2004) *June 27 – James P. Hogan (writer), James P. Hogan, English-born American science fiction author (died 2010 in literature, 2010) *July 9 – Cirilo Bautista, Filipino poet, author and critic (died 2018 in literature, 2018) *July 12 – John Lahr, American-born author and critic *August 9 **Shirlee Busbee, American novelist **Jamila Gavin, Anglo-Indian children's writer *September 1 – Gwendolyn MacEwen, Canadian poet (died 1987 in literature, 1987) *September 3 – Sergei Dovlatov, Russian short-story writer and novelist (died 1990 in literature, 1990) *September 15 – Lindsay Barrett, Jamaican novelist, poet and journalist *October 2 – John Sinclair (poet), John Sinclair, American poet *October 4 – Anne Rice, American horror/fantasy writer *October 10 – Ken Saro-Wiwa, Nigerian writer (executed 1995 in literature, 1995) *October 13 – John Snow (cricketer), John Snow, English cricketer and poet *October 20 – Stewart Parker, Northern Irish poet and playwright (died 1988 in literature, 1988) *October 25 – Anne Tyler, American novelist *

– Gerd Brantenberg, Norwegian novelist, author and feminist *November 23 – Derek Mahon, Irish poet (died 2020 in literature, 2020) *December 5 – Sheridan Morley, English biographer and critic (died 2007 in literature, 2007) *''unknown dates'' **Jonathan Aaron, American poet **John Mole (poet), John Mole, English poet and musician **Pepetela, Angolan novelist **Jay Rubin, American scholar and translator

Deaths

*January 4 – Henri Bergson, French philosopher (born 1859 in literature, 1859) *January 6 **Franz Hessel, German writer and translator (born 1880 in literature, 1880) **F. R. Higgins, Irish poet and theatre director (born 1896 in literature, 1896) *January 13 – James Joyce, Irish novelist and poet (born 1882 in literature, 1882) *January 23 – William Arthur Dunkerley (John Oxenham), English journalist, novelist and poet (born 1852 in literature, 1852) *February 7 – Banjo Paterson, Australian bush poet (born 1864 in literature, 1864) *February 9 – Elizabeth von Arnim, Australian-born English novelist (born 1866 in literature, 1866) *February 22 – G. E. Trevelyan, English novelist, died of injuries sustained in air raid (born 1903 in literature, 1903) *February 24 – Robert Byron, English travel writer (born 1905 in literature, 1905; torpedoed) *March 13 – Elizabeth Madox Roberts, American novelist and poet (born 1881 in literature, 1881) *March 28 – Virginia Woolf, English novelist and writer (born 1882 in literature, 1882; suicide) *June 1 – Sir Hugh Walpole, New Zealand-born English novelist (born 1884 in literature, 1884) *June 15 – Evelyn Underhill, English poet, mystic and pacifist (born 1875 in literature, 1875) *June 27 – Ieremia Cecan, Bessarabian journalist and Christian polemicist (born 1867 in literature, 1867; shot) *July 4 **Tadeusz Boy-Żeleński, Polish writer, translator and gynecologist (born 1874 in literature, 1874) **Luella Dowd Smith, American educator and author (born 1847 in literature, 1847) *August 7 – Rabindranath Tagore, Bengali polymath and writer (born 1861 in literature, 1861) *August 31 – Marina Tsvetaeva, Soviet Russian poet (born 1892 in literature, 1892; suicide) *September 19 – Henrietta Elizabeth Marshall, H. E. Marshall, Scottish history writer for children (born 1867 in literature, 1867) *October 17 – May Ziadeh, Lebanese-Palestinian poet, essayist and translator (born 1886 in literature, 1886) *November 8 – Gaetano Mosca, Italian political scientist and public servant (born 1909 in literature, 1909) *November 18 – Émile Nelligan, French Canadian poet (born 1879 in literature, 1879) *''unknown date'' – Anne Elliot (novelist), Anne Elliot, English novelist (born 1856 in literature, 1856)

Awards

*Carnegie Medal (literary award), Carnegie Medal for children's literature: Mary Treadgold, ''We Couldn't Leave Dinah'' *Frost Medal: Robert Frost *James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction: Joyce Cary, ''A House of Children'' *James Tait Black Memorial Prize for biography: John Gore, ''George V of the United Kingdom, King George V'' *Newbery Medal for children's literature: Armstrong Sperry, ''Call It Courage'' *Nobel Prize for literature: not awarded *Pulitzer Prize for Drama: Robert E. Sherwood, ''There Shall Be No Night'' *Pulitzer Prize for Poetry: Leonard Bacon (poet), Leonard Bacon: ''Sunderland Capture'' *Pulitzer Prize for the Novel: ''No award given''

References

1941 books, Years of the 20th century in literature {{DEFAULTSORT:1941 In Literature