Akins, Zoë (1886-1958). American poet, playwright, and screenwriter. Akins’ friendship with Cather started in 1909, when she submitted verse to McClure’s magazine, which Cather rejected, advising her to stay with playwriting. Akins subsequently moved from her hometown of St. Louis, MO, to New York City and achieved success as a playwright. She moved to California in the 1930s, adding screenwriting to her accomplishments. Her play The Old Maid (1935), an adaptation of an Edith Wharton novel, won the Pulitzer Prize for drama. In 1932, Akins married Captain Hugh Rumbold, a British theatrical designer and director; he died eight months later. Cather and Akins carried on a lifelong correspondence, with Cather writing affectionate letters that included both commentary on her own works and criticism of Akins’.

Beethoven, Ludwig van (1770-1827). German composer and pianist. Born in Bonn, in the Electorate of Cologne (later part of Germany), Ludgwig van Beethoven moved to Vienna, Austria, to study music composition with Joseph Haydn and became known as a virtuosic piano performer and one of the most important composers of his generation. Although his deteriorating hearing caused him to withdraw from conducting and public performance in 1811, many of his most admired works were composed after this withdrawal. He died in Vienna. Cather’s early journalism demonstrates her familiarity with Beethoven’s life and works, and she continued to enjoy listening to his works as a concertgoer.