Reading between the perforations: Literary Arts stamps

As I often like to reiterate via the nonprofit I work with, literacy is an important skill that affects every aspect of life. Literacy reflects one’s overall education, of course. But it also greatly affects a person’s relationship to economics, poverty, crime, and health.

Not everyone can afford newspaper subscriptions and regular book purchases. But nearly everyone (excluding those without permanent addresses) can apply for a library card. Local libraries are havens of knowledge, learning, internet access, community resources, and much more. 

Speaking for myself, my library membership was a vital resource for my intellectual and mental wellbeing during the early months of the pandemic. And not coincidentally, I’ve checked out quite a few books since diving into my stamp collection, both related to philately and to my topics of collecting.

Even before I began collecting stamps in earnest, I regularly took note of the authors featured in the U.S. Literary Arts stamp series. Now that I am actively working on growing my collection, I thought it would be fun to learn more about them. 

This month, in honor of National Library Lovers Month, let’s take a look at the U.S. Literary Arts stamp series and the authors featured therein. 

What is the U.S. Literary Arts stamp series? 

Since 1979, the U.S. has regularly issued commemorative stamps as part of an ongoing Literary Arts series. Stamps feature American novelists, poets, and playwrights. In addition to a (usually) realistic portrait of the author, the background of the design is inspired by a theme from one or all of their works.

Usually, one stamp is issued per year. However, occasionally years have been skipped. Thirty-three Literary Arts stamps have been issued through 2021. Literary Arts series stamps now cover three-ounce postage rates, and are worth 98 cents. 

Which authors have been featured in this series? 

How do they choose the authors?

According to the USPS, “These skillful wordsmiths [featured in the series] spun our favorite tales—and American history along with them.” 

A lot of thought and care go into the topics the Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee chooses for upcoming stamps. For the Literary Arts series, the committee tries “to choose a wide range of literary figures, both in terms of diversity of gender, race, and in subject matter.” The goal of the stamps and their design is to both educate and intrigue. 

Which authors do I think should be included next?

In the United States, individuals aren’t honored with postage stamps until after their death. When brainstorming upcoming authors I would add to the Literary Arts series, that rules out greats like Stephen King and Judy Blume—hopefully for quite a while yet, at least. I also did a quick check on a few of the authors I had in mind to see if they already had commemorative stamps issued in their honor. Certainly, that wouldn’t preclude them from joining the Literary Arts series, but I wanted to highlight authors not yet honored at all.

Here are a few ideas I have on who should join the Literary Arts series next:

Ray Bradbury – Bradbury has been honored on stamps of several countries, but notably not his own. His range of genres—​​including fantasy, horror, mystery, science fiction, and realistic fiction—along with his work as a screenwriter, made him one of the most celebrated writers of the 20th century. Bradbury received many awards and accolades during his life, including the Prometheus Award for Fahrenheit 451 (1984). He also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and a moon crater named after one of his novels.

Octavia E. Butler – Continuing the science fiction theme, America would be remiss not to include Octavia Butler in her postage stamp cannon. Not only was she the winner of multiple Hugo and Nebula awards during her lifetime, Butler was also the first sci-fi writer to receive a MacArthur Fellowship. More than simply a genre writer, Butler’s works spilled over into Afrofuturism and other categories examining far-reaching issues of race, sex, and power. The literary world is a lesser place because her life was cut short at 58.

Philip K. Dick – Author of 44 novels and more than 120 short stories, Dick’s science fiction stories capture the zeitgeist of today as much as they did in the 1960s and ‘70s. He won numerous annual literary awards during his lifetime, including the prestigious Hugo Award for The Man in the High Castle (1963). He, too, was memorialized with an award, the Philip K. Dick Award. It has been presented annually since 1983 to the previous year’s best science fiction paperback original published in the U.S.

Jack Kerouac – There are Kerouac stamps floating around the internet, designed by fans who think he should have been honored with a commemorative stamp long ago. A founding member of the Beat generation, Kerouac famously invented the style of “spontaneous prose.” His novels and poetry made a significant impact on rock music of the 1960s. Kerouac was posthumously awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from the University of Massachusetts Lowell in his hometown. And a species of wasp and crater on Mercury are named in his honor.

What do you think? Do you collect literary stamps? Who else do you think should be featured in the Literary Arts series? Let me know your thoughts!