Comedian, singer and poet, Stanley Holloway was born in Manor Park in Essex in 1890 and was one of the most popular celebrities of the early 20th century, famous for his comic poetic monologues and radio shows. Appearing in film classics such as Brief Encounter and The Titfield Thunderbolt, he wrote and performed some of […]

Largely credited for laying at least part of the foundations for the modern democratic country of Greece, Solon was a politician and poet who was prominent in Athens between 638 and 558 BC. As with many of his contemporaries, there is a dearth of documentary and archaeological evidence concerning the life of this Athenian statesman […]

Born in 1544 in the Italian city of Sorrento, poet Torquato Tasso is perhaps most well-known for his work Jerusalem Delivered which presented a mythical account of the First Crusade. Often noted as one of the most popularly read poets in Europe, Tasso suffered from mental health problems throughout his life. His father was a […]

Mostly known for his novels, writer Raymond Queneau was also an accomplished poet who was born in Le Havre in 1903. An only child, he was well educated and studied the classics and philosophy before going onto the Sorbonne in 1921 where he graduated in psychology and philosophy. He would, however, begin a lifelong love […]

Perhaps best known for being a scientist and inventor of some repute, Piet Hein was also a poet who often wrote under the name Kumbel. Born in Copenhagen in 1905, he composed a number of short poems or grooks that were published in the local newspaper Politiken particularly during the war when a large part […]