Born in 1772 towards the back end of the Le Dynasty in Vietnam, Ho Xuan Huong is considered one of the country’s greatest poets. Brought up at a time of turmoil and conflict, little is known about her life but her work earned her the title of The Queen of Nom Poetry. Considered one of the cultural icons of Vietnam, ...
Edith Nesbit was an English writer who used the shortened “E. Nesbit” on her book covers. She was an active socialist who transferred her political ideals into her stories that were, on the whole, for children. She did this by moving away from children’s story telling methods used by the likes of Lewis Carroll and Kenneth Grahame. These authors created alternative, ...
From a family of rich New England bankers, Harry Crosby was born in 1898 in Boston, a poet who came to epitomize what Ernest Hemingway described as the Lost Generation. He was brought up in the exclusivity of the Back Bay area of the city and his uncle was then one of the richest men in America. He lived a ...
Born in Oregon in 1852, poet Edwin Markham preached love and social reform in his verses, often in stark contrast to some of his more pessimistic contemporaries. Although he was a late comer to poetry success, not publishing his first works until his late thirties, Markham became one of the most popular and widely read literary figures of the twentieth century, ...
Christopher Smart was an 18th century English poet who wrote for various popular magazines using a number of pseudonyms such as "Kit Smart", "Kitty Smart", and "Jack Smart", and he also adopted the persona of midwife "Mrs. Mary Midnight". He was best known though for his high spiritual ideals, bordering on religious fanaticism at times. The fact that he was confined to ...
Amy Clampitt was born in Iowa in 1920 and grew up, in her twilight years, to become one of the most respected American poets of her era. Brought up in a Quaker farming community, she originally went to Grinnell College before getting the qualifications to head for Columbia University. Although she always wanted to be a writer, it wasn’t until the ...
Born in the Tang Dynasty in 772, Bai Juyi was an official of the government and also one of the most famous poets of the age who is still widely read today mainly because of his highly readable style. Bai Juyi lived through an age of political upheaval with no less than 8 emperors coming to the throne during his life ...
Born in 1866 in London, Beatrix Potter is perhaps best known for books such as The Tale of Peter Rabbit, tales written for children that are still highly popular today. She was also a talented artist and deeply interested in conservation and the natural world. Potter was brought up in a wealthy but cossetted environment with her brother and spent most ...
Born in 1900, English poet and writer Basil Bunting was brought up with Quaker roots in Northumberland and he was schooled in Yorkshire and the Berkshire. When war broke out and he was called up in 1918, Bunting refused and was imprisoned as a conscientious objector and sent to Wormwood Scrubs. Bunting wrote his poetry with a specific emphasis on the quality ...
Known for his love songs and poetry, Vidyapati was born 1352 in Bisfi, India. His name comes from Sanskrit and denotes a man of learning or knowledge and his poetry was a great influence on many writers over the following centuries. Often written in the Maithili dialect, the 100s of poems collected together in the Padavalli often explore the love between Krishna ...
