Octavio Paz, renowned poet, writer and essayist, was born in Mixcoac – now Mexico City – on 31st March 1914. His mother was Josefina Lozano and his father was Octavio Paz Solorzano, also a writer and an active supporter of the Mexican Revolution. His grandfather was a novelist and publisher and young Octavio, by virtue of access to his grandfather’s extensive library, ...
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 ...
