We keep you updated on the world of poetry with our news roundups.
One of the most well-known poets of the Tang dynasty, Wang Wei was born in 699 in Shenshi. His parents were both well-educated, and Wei followed in their footsteps, sitting for and passing the shin-shih at the age of 23. His success in those exams ensured him entry into the literary circles of the city. Wang was appointed the ...
Born in 1923 to a prestigious Syrian family, Nizar Qabbani was to become one of the most loved and revered poets in the Arab world. Qabbani was a diplomat, poet and publisher whose work approached the sensitive subjects of eroticism, feminism, Arab nationalism, love and religion. Qabbani (sometimes spelled as Kabbani), was born into a wealthy and well-known family in ...
Mary Gilmore, born Mary Jean Cameron on August 16, 1865, is one of Australia's best known and most loved poets. From the first publication of her work in 1910 till her death in 1962, her poetry was widely published and much-loved, despite the opinions of critics who felt that much of it was 'doggerel and propaganda'. So well-known ...
Among the most romantic figures of the medieval era were the French troubadours, poets who wrote of romantic love in delicate and beautiful verse that survives to this day. Perhaps the most famous of the troubadours was Bernard de Ventador, also known as Bernard de Ventadorn, the son of a Boulanger - a servant whose job it was to ...
More commonly known as Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky, Vladimir Vladimirovich was one of the foremost poets of the Russian revolution. Born in 1893 in Bagdadi, Georgia, he was of Russian, Cossack and Ukrainian descent. His childhood was marred by the death of his father in 1906, when the boy was thirteen years old. Vladimirovich attended the gymnasium at Kutai, and ...
Born in 1877, Charles Hanson Towne enjoyed a long career as a poet, author, editor and general celebrity. That career began early, when 11 year old Towne created and published a magazine for himself and his friends, Unique Monthly, of which twelve issues still exist and are held in a special collection at the New York Public Library. From this early start, ...
Conrad Potter Aiken was born August 5, 1889 in Savannah, Georgia. His early childhood years were marked with trauma of the worst kind. His father murdered his mother and then committed suicide over financial problems. Aiken may have witnessed the killings, or found the bodies. Either way, the incident marked him indelibly. After their deaths, he was raised by his ...
Born in 1875, Antonio Machado was to become one of the premier Spanish poets of his generation. In 1883, his family moved from Seville to Madrid, and Machado and his brother Manuel were enrolled in the Institución Libre de Enseñanza. He completed his Bachillerato in Madrid, and in 1889, he and Manuel traveled to Paris to take positions as ...
Percy French was born William Percy French on May 1, 1854. He was one of the most popular and well-known Irish singers and songwriters of his time. He grew up and attended school in County Roscommon, graduating from Trinity College in Dublin in 1881 with a degree in civil engineering. But he also discovered a love for writing while ...
Born of Scottish parents in New Zealand, Jessie Mackay became the first native born New Zealand poet to achieve national prominence. Her empathy and relationship to those who had lost their lands made her voice one that spoke for all the peoples of New Zealand, bringing her popularity even at a young age. Jessie Mackay was born in 1864 at Rakaia ...
