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Possible definitions for wicken

Aiken
U.S. writer. Born in Savannah, Ga., he was traumatized as a child when his father killed his mother and then himself. Educated at Harvard Univ. he wrote most of his fiction in the 1920s and '30s. His works are influenced by early psychoanalytic theory. Generally more successful than his novels were his short stories, notably "Strange Moonlight" from Bring! Bring! (1925) and "Silent Snow, Secret Snow" and "Mr. Arcularis" from Among the Lost People (1934). His best poetry, incl. "Preludes to Definition," is in his Collected Poems (1953).


Eucken
German philosopher. He taught primarily at the Univ. of Jena (1874-1920). Eucken maintained that it is a human duty and privilege to overcome nature by incessant active striving after the spiritual life. A strident critic of naturalism, he held that the human soul differentiated humans from the rest of the natural world and that the soul could not be explained by natural processes. He was known as an interpreter of Aristotle, and he wrote works in ethics and religion, incl. Socialism (1920) and Individual and Society (1923). He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1908.


Ickes
U.S. social activist and public official. Born in Frankstown Township, Pa., he practiced law in Chicago, doing frequent pro bono work and fighting for municipal reform. As a liberal Republican, he helped swing progressive votes to the Democrats in 1932. Appointed secretary of the interior by F. Roosevelt (1933-46), he fought for the preservation of natural resources against private exploitation. He also headed the Public Works Administration (1933-39), spending over $5 billion on highways, public buildings, and dams. His scrutiny of each project ensured that it was graft-free but delayed the intended economic stimulus.


lichen
Any of about 15,000 species of small, colorful, scaly plants that consist of a symbiotic association of algae (usually green) and fungi (see fungus). These extremely hardy, slow growers often are pioneer species in sparse environments such as mountaintops and the far North. Fungal cells, anchored to the substrate with hairlike growths (rhizines), form the base. In the body (thallus), numerous algal cells are distributed among fewer fungal cells. Through photosynthesis the algal cells provide simple sugars and vitamins for both partners in this symbiotic association. The fungal cells protect the algal cells from environmental extremes. Lichens may form a thin, crustlike, tightly bound covering over their substrate (e.g., cracks in rocks), or they may be small and leafy, with loose attachments to the substrate. Their colors range from brown to bright orange or yellow. In far N Europe and Asia, lichens provide two-thirds of caribou and reindeer food. They have been the source of medicines and dyes.


Michener
U.S. novelist and short-story writer. Michener was a foundling discovered in Doylestown, Pa., and raised as a ...

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