We keep you updated on the world of poetry with our news roundups.
Yehudah HaLevi was a medieval Spanish poet and philosopher who is known by a number of names including the Hebrew Judah Ha-Levi and the Arabic version, Abu al-Ḥasan al-Lawi. It is believed that he was born around the years 1085 or 1086 in Toledo in the southern Castile region. These were turbulent times in that part of Spain with the Christian King Alfonso ...
The 16th century poet, philosopher, civil servant and educator Yi Hwang is known as one of the Joseon Dynasty's most notable Confucian scholars from Korea. Besides a considerable output of written work he was responsible for the establishment of a private academy known as both Dosan Seowon and also the Yeongnam School. His work was published under his own name and at least two pen names – ...
Yuán Méi was an 18th century Chinese poet, artist and expert in gastronomy who lived during the Qing Dynasty. It was originally thought that he would have a career as a civil servant but he tried that, and then gave it up, preferring instead to follow his literary ambitions. He was born sometime during the year 1716 in Qiantang, a place which is ...
Zoë Akins was an American poet and playwright who won the Pulitzer Prize for one of her plays in 1935. That decade was one of sterling success for her, with many of her plays attracting big names in entertainment and some were turned into Hollywood movies. She was born Zoë Byrd Akins on the 30th October 1886 in the Missouri town of Humansville into ...
The Urdu poet Sheikh Muhammad Ibrahim Zauq was better known by his nom de plume, “Zauq”. He lived at the time of the Mughal empire when poets were judged more on the technical structure of their work than the content and, as such, he was a very popular poet. Some say he outshone another poet by the name of Ghalib, even though the latter ...
Zabel Asadour was an Armenian poet who is usually better known by one of her pseudonyms - Madame Sibil or Sybille. Other names used were Zabel Khanjian and Zabel Asadour. Additionally she was a teacher at various locations in the provinces, as well as Constantinople. She wrote novels and dramatic works and published her own and others work. She was also considered ...
The multi-talented W. S. Gilbert, or to give him his full title Sir William Schwenck Gilbert, was a poet, illustrator, dramatist and librettist whose collaboration with Sir Arthur Sullivan on numerous comic operas (the so-called Savoy Operas) ensures that his name will sit proudly for evermore amongst the true greats of British writers. One could even compare him to William Shakespeare ...
Zora Bernice May Cross was an Australian poet, teacher, journalist, occasional actor and novelist. Her love-sonnets shocked some, being much too explicit for the time, with other subjects including child birth and war also covered. In contrast she wrote a number of charming poems for children. She was born on the 18th May 1890 at Eagle Farm, Brisbane. Her parents were second generation settlers, ...
William Roscoe was an English poet whose most famous piece of work was a children’s poem called The Butterfly's Ball, and the Grasshopper's Feast. He had strong religious beliefs, as a Unitarian and Presbyterian, and he was a leading campaigner for the abolition of slavery. He spoke out vehemently against this trade even though his home town prospered on it. At different times ...
William Shenstone was an 18th century British poet and landscape gardener. He can be recalled alongside the famous Capability Brown as one of the first landscape gardeners, with Shenstone being responsible for significant work that was carried out at his estate near Halesowen, The Leasowes, which lies in England’s West Midlands. He was born on the 18th November 1714 at Leasowes into very comfortable ...
