Events on January 31, 2007:

Author Birthdays: Mailer & Oe

Today is the birthday of Norman Mailer (1923), pugnacious author who has become perhaps better known for his literary wars and misalliances than his works (The Naked and the Dead, Executioners Song).

Today is also the birthday of Kenzaburo Oe (1935), who was born in Ehime, Japan. Awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1994, Oe's works include The Silent Cry, A Personal Matter, and A Quite Life.