Toni Morrison
February 18th, 1931

Notable Awesomeness: Great American novelist of Sula, Tar Baby, Beloved and the highly anthologized short story Recitatif. It’s hard to sum up what’s so awesome about Morrison. What I can say is that she has the skill to present humanity with such a startling clarity, it sometimes makes you want to avert your eyes. Reading The Bluest Eye in high school, was the catalyst for my decision to become a writer. 

Yoko Ono
February 18th, 1933

Notable Awesomeness: She’s not just John Lennon’s widow nor should she be known as “the woman who broke up The Beatles.” Ono was a pretty successful artist before she met Lennon. Her avant-garde music, art, and films have always pushed the envelope and have always expressed her passion for activism. And she’s still quite the activist! Lately, she’s become vocal about her opposition to fracking.