We keep you updated on the world of poetry with our news roundups.
"Funny" isn't often the first word that comes to mind when one thinks of poetry. Rather, most consider poetry to be dry and academic. Poetry, however, encompasses more than just sonnets, odes, and epics that are enjoyed only by scholars. Funny poems abound in the canon of poetry. Some of the funniest poems are ...
Love poetry dates back as far as recorded time; man's - and woman's - need to express his amorous side has spurred on poetry for thousands of years. The Bible contains one of the oldest examples of love poetry. The book "The Song of Solomon," is, in fact, and entire chapter of the Bible devoted to love ...
Born November 4, 1771, James Montgomery was a Scots poet and hymnist who enjoyed popularity during his time and made a mark on British literature in the early to mid-1800s. He was born at Irvine in Ayrshire, where his father was a Moravian preacher, but left there when his father was relocated to Ireland by his church. Montgomery was no more than ...
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 ...
