Samuel Barclay Beckett (1906 – 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, literary translator and poet. Beckett was a resident of Paris for most of his adult life and he wrote in both French and English. Beckett was a member of the French Resistance group Gloria SMH during WWII and he was awarded the Croix de Guerre. In 1961 he shared the inaugural Prix International with Jorge Luis Borges. In 1969 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. 

Maya Angelou (1928-2014) American writer, poet, singer, and civil rights activist

Etel Adnan (1925 – 2021) was a Lebanese-American poet, essayist, and visual artist born in Beirut, Lebanon. The daughter of a Greek Christian mother and a Syrian Muslim father. Adnan made visual works in a variety of media, such as oil paintings, films and tapestries, which have been exhibited at galleries across the world. Adnan served as the president of RAWI: Radius of Arab-American Writers Incorporated. She lived in Sausalito and Paris.

JOHN O'DONOHUE (1956 - 2008) was an Irish poet, philosopher and scholar, a native Gaelic speaker. He wrote numerous international best-selling books including: Anam Cara, Beauty, Eternal Echoes, and Benedictus: A Book of Blessings- Published in the US as To Bless the Space Between Us. John O'Donohue Official website

Quote Source: - Excerpt from John O’Donohue's book "Beauty"

Oscar Wilde - (1854 - 1900) Irish playwright, novelist, essayist, and poet. His work included his novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891), his comic masterpieces Lady Windermere’s Fan (1892) and The Importance of Being Earnest (1895). and several Plays and many Epigrams.

Quote source: De Profundis - a letter written during his imprisonment in Reading Gaol.

Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874 –1936) was an English writer,[philosopher, Christian apologist, and literary and art critic. He has been referred to as the "prince of paradox" Chesterton created the fictional priest-detective Father Brown,] and wrote on apologetics. Even some of those who disagree with him have recognized the wide appeal of such works as Orthodoxy and The Everlasting Man. Chesterton routinely referred to himself as an "orthodox" Christian, and eventually converted to Roman Catholicism from high church Anglicanism.

May Sarton was the pen name of Eleanore Marie Sarton (1912 – 1995), She was a prolific Belgian-American novelist and poet, with over 50 books published, including novels, poetry, nonfiction works, children's books, a play, and screenplays. Sarton taught at several colleges and universities, including Wellesley College and Harvard University. Her tombstone has a quote of her's : "I think my work is universal, and I think my value is as a maker of bridges ..."

From May Sarton's book Journal of a Solitude,

Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 - April 15, 1865)

Hannah Arendt ( 1906 - 1975 ) German-American historian and philosopher. She was one of the most influential political theorists of the 20th century. Her works cover a broad range of topics, but she is best known for those dealing with the nature of power and evil, as well as politics, direct democracy, authority, and totalitarianism. She is commemorated by institutions and journals devoted to her thinking, the Hannah Arendt Prize for political thinking, and on stamps, street names, and schools, amongst other things. More

Lin Yutang (1895 – 1976) was a Chinese linguist, novelist, philosopher, translator and inventor, He had an informal but polished style in both Chinese and English, and he made compilations and translations of classic Chinese texts into English made him one of the most influential writers of his generation. More

Marianne Craig Moore (1887 – 1972). American modernist poet, critic, translator, and editor. She is consider one of American literature’s foremost poets. Her poetry is noted for its precise diction, irony, and wit. She was nominated for the 1968 Nobel Prize in Literature.
Source: The Complete Prose of Marianne Moore

George Bernard Shaw (1856 – 1950), was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 1880s to his death and beyond. He wrote more than sixty plays, including major works such as Man and Superman (1902), Pygmalion (1913) and Saint Joan (1923). With a range incorporating both contemporary satire and historical allegory, Shaw became the leading dramatist of his generation, and in 1925 was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Read more