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 ...
