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Born around 1558 in the West Ham area of London, Thomas Lodge was an Elizabethan writer who is often considered one of England’s earliest satirists with works such as A Fig for Momus. Lodge was raised in an educated family – his father was Lord Mayor of London – and he went to Merchant Taylor’s School before progressing to Oxford University. There ...
Thomas Nashe was an Elizabethan pamphleteer who courted controversy but, during his short life, was also one of the most prolific and influential satirists and poets of the time. He was born in Lowestoft in 1567, his father a curate who later gained a post at West Harling where the family moved when Nashe was just six years old. At the age ...
Born in 1778, in Zakynthos, Italian poet, soldier and revolutionary Ugo Foscolo was an atheist who believed in the ‘eternal void’ and was an illuminist and pre-Romantic known for various translations and his poem Dei Sepolcri. His father worked as a doctor in Croatia but died when Foscolo was just ten years old, an event that then led the family to ...
Phoebe and her sister Alice were 19th century American poets who grew up writing together, Alice being the older by four years. They initially published their poetry jointly before eventually producing separate bodies of work once both names were established amongst the American literati. It has been suggested by many critics that Phoebe was a more able poet than her sister although ...
Rabiʿah al-Basri was also known as Rabiʻa al-ʻAdawiyya al-Qaysiyya and it is believed that she lived in Basra, in Iraq, in the first century AD. Her name “al-Basri” certainly suggests that she was a native of Basra but, as with all historical records from so long ago, much of what has been written down relies on speculation and legends passed down. It ...
Now here is what can best be described as a somewhat understated American poet. Robert Francis lived a long life spanning most of the 20th century and wrote mostly gentle, lyrical poetry. There were no strident, political statements from him; no revolutionary ranting. He just wrote as clearly and concisely as he could and many have compared his style to that of ...
Katharine Tynan was an Irish Nationalist author of over 150 books including novels and poetry. Her novels were mostly aimed at female readers and some were written in Gothic style but there were common themes in her work. She was a great supporter of feminist causes and was concerned for the poor people of her country, especially when the First World War ...
Lola Ridge was an Irish-born poet who eventually settled in America. Her writing style was heavily influenced by the difficult circumstances in which she lived all her life. She was an active feminist who contributed regularly to Marxist-based publications and her behaviour often bordered on anarchy. She was a great supporter of lost causes and her Jewish background almost certainly shaped her, ...
Poet and puritan minister Michael Wigglesworth was born in Lincolnshire, England, in 1631 but sailed to the Americas when he was just seven years old, settling first in Massachusetts and then Connecticut. Whilst he enjoyed school for a couple of years, his puritan father later became ill and the young Wigglesworth had to forsake his education for a while to help ...
One of the lesser known Great War poets, Julian Grenfell was born in London in 1888 and was unusual because he had joined the army nearly four years before hostilities broke out. He came from a privileged background, his father a famous sportsman and his mother well known for hosting society occasions. Brought up in Buckinghamshire he fell in love with poetry ...
