We keep you updated on the world of poetry with our news roundups.
Born in New Mexico in 1952, Jimmy Santiago Baca was brought up by his own grandmother after his abandonment by his parents but was then taken to an orphanage from where he ran away at the age of thirteen. He lived rough on the street for a while then in 1973 he was arrested and convicted of ...
Born in Southampton in 1674, Isaac Watts was famous for writing many of the hymns we know and love today. To some, he is considered the father of hymnody in England, a theologian and logician but also a non-conformist whose hymns are still sung today and have been translated into many languages across the world. He was reputedly nursed on the steps ...
Born in 1850 in St Louis, American writer Eugene Field was most well-known for his children’s poetry and as a witty essayist. He was barely 6 years old when his mother passed away and he was brought up by a cousin in Massachusetts. His father was a lawyer and most notably responsible for representing Dred Scott, a slave who sued for ...
Narsinh Mehta is the very first historical poet-saint of Gujarat, India. Mehta was born in the ancient town of Talaja, before moving to be within a Vaishnava Brahmin community. He had a difficult childhood; losing his Mother at the tender age of five and being cared for by his Grandmother. He was unable to speak until the age of eight, and was very ...
The greatest ambition of the prominent poet, Du Fu, was to serve China as a civil servant. The 755 ‘An Lushan Rebellion’ prevented this from happening, by causing much devastation to the country - with more than a decade of constant unrest to follow. Du Fu took to poetry with a natural, almost extraordinary, talent and since his first published ...
American poet and novelist, Kenneth Patchen, was largely self-taught and never seemed to gain widespread recognition from the prominent literary critics or university professors of his generation. One review regarding Patchen, from the New York Times Book Review said that whilst some critics are inclined to dismiss the work of Kenneth Patchen as naive, capricious, romantic and concerned with many ...
Ambrose Bierce was an American journalist, writer, editorialist and poet. Best known today for his short story ‘An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge’ and his sardonic view of human nature, which strongly contributed to his nickname ’Bitter Bierce’. The style of writing owned by Bierce was distinctive; full of dark imagination, impossible events, vague references to time and a recurring ...
This son of a French father and English mother was born near Paris in July 1870 but grew up in England, in West Sussex. His father died when Belloc was only two years old, thus prompting his mother to relocate the family to England. Christened Joseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc he made become a naturalised British subject in 1902 and enjoyed a ...
Mention Edward Lear and most people with a love of poetry will think of limericks and nonsense prose that bring a smile to the lips. Born in 1812 near London, Lear was the youngest of 21 children and was brought up by his sister Ann who acted as his mother for most of their lives. He was not the healthiest of individuals, ...
Born in Herefordshire, England, in 1878, John Masefield is probably one of the most often quoted British poets of the 20th century. His mother and father both died when he was young, which left him under the charge of a domineering aunt. Although he exhibited a talent for writing from an early age, his aunt enrolled him, against his wishes, into ...
