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Emily Dickinson “Because I Could Not Stop For Death”

Emily Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massachusetts on December 10, 1830. She was a reclusive woman, whose life was marred by tragedy. She was entirely unknown in her lifetime, with only friends and family knowing that she wrote poetry. She died on May 15, 1886. Today, she is considered by many to be the- or one of the- greatest American poet(s) of all time.

Edgar Allan Poe “The Raven”

Edgar Allan Poe was born January 19, 1809, in Boston Massachusetts. His work is characterized by dark themes, death, fear and torture. It includes some of the most well-known short stories in the English Language. Poe is also credited with having invented the genre of Mystery stories with his Auguste Dupin tales. Poe died- under rather mysterious circumstances- on October 7, 1849.

Robert Frost “The Road Not Taken”

Robert Frost was born in San Francisco California on March 26, 1874. He is often seen as a genial American poet whose work is taught to children. However, he deals with deep themes of fate, sorrow and passing time. He also used colloquial speech in his poems and  his work is commonly set in rural New England. Robert Frost died on January 29, 1963.

Christina Rossetti

Christina Georgina Rossetti was an English poet. She was born in London, England on December 5, 1830. Her family, including her brothers Dante, William and sister Maria as well as her father Gabriele all made their own contributions to English poetry. Christina Rossetti wrote poems of religious devotion, romance and children’s poetry.

Walt Whitman “I Sit And Look Out”

Walter Whitman was born in Long Island, New York on May 31, 1819. He is called the Father of Free Verse and his work marks the transition in American poetry from Transcendentalism to realism. His poems are uninhibited. He dealt with taboo subjects in the age of propriety and pomp. He spent his life editing his poetry collection Leaves of Grass.

Walt Whitman died on March 26, 1892.

Lewis Carroll “Jabberwocky”

Lewis Carroll was the pen name of British author, logician, mathematician and children’s author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson who was born in Cheshire, England on January 27, 1832. He is best known for the classic Alice in Wonderland and its sequel Through The Looking Glass. He died in Surrey on January 14, 1898.

Ezra Pound “Lonely Pear Tree”

Ezra Pound was an American ex-patriate born in what was then Idaho Territory on October 30, 1885. He was a major figure in the early 20th century modernist movement and is responsible for promoting the work of American writers like Ernest Hemingway, William Carlos Williams, Robert Frost, Marianne Moore, H. D (Hilda Doolittle) and T.S Eliot. He also influenced W.B Yeats and James Joyce. He died in Venice, Italy on November 1, 1972.

Sylvia Plath “Daddy”

Sylvia Plath was born on October 27, 1932 in Boston, Massachusetts. She had a troubled marriage with the British poet Ted Hughes and struggled with Depression her whole life. She is also known for her semi-autobiographical novel The Bell Jar, which is about the struggle with mental illness. On February 11, 1963, Sylvia Plath left out some food for her children who were sleeping. She then sealed herself in the kitchen and committed suicide by turning on the gas oven and sticking her head in it. She was only 30 years old.

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