How to Visit Literary Sites in Ohio

Ohio has produced a number of literary figures, from the witty writing and illustrations of James Thurber to the popular fiction of Louis Bromfield and Zane Grey. Many of the places that influenced these writers' work still stand and some even welcome visitors. Below are just a few of Ohio's literary sites.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Visit Malabar Farm. In 1939, Pulitzer Prize-winning author (for "Early Autumn) Louis Bromfield returned to his Mansfield, Ohio, roots at the peak of his fame. He purchased a farm there and was one of the early proponents of sustainable farming. He also entertained his Hollywood friends there, including Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart who said "I do" at the estate. Today, Malabar Farm is a state park and visitors can tour the main house and view the farm, which is managed much the way it was in Bromfield's day.
2. Tour the Thurber House. Columbus-born author James Thurber is best known for his witty stories of family life accompanied by crude line drawings. The two-story house, located just north of downtown, where he lived as a student at The Ohio State University was restored and opened as a museum in 1984. It houses many of his papers, manuscripts, a typewriter and other Thurber memorabilia.
3. Explore Winesburg, Ohio. Ohio author Sherwood Anderson's best known work is "Winesburg, Ohio" (aka Clyde, Ohio), the story of his boyhood years in a small Ohio town. Although almost a century has passed, Main Street in Clyde, located in North Central Ohio, is much as it was when Anderson lived there.
4. Attend a performance at Cleveland's Karamu House Theater. Missouri-born Langston Hughes is well-known as being a part of the 1930s Harlem Renaissance. Less widely known is his contribution to Cleveland's Karamu House, the oldest African-American theater in the United States. Hughes wrote several plays especially for the theater, including "Black Nativity," which is still performed there each year during the holiday season.