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Writing is learning to say nothing, more cleverly each day. William Allingham Irish poet William Allingham (born March 19, 1824) achieved a moderate …
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If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire can ever warm me, I know that is poetry. Emily Dickinson June 8, 1862: Enigmatic poet Emi…
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I want to understand you,I study your obscure language. Alexander Pushkin Russian poet Alexander Pushkin (born June 6, 1799) was part of the country'…
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I wanted the whole world or nothing. Charles Bukowski According to city records, Charles Bukowski was born in Andernach, Germany on August 16, 1920, …
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Rare as is true love, true friendship is rarer. Jean de La Fontaine According to popular rumor, French poet Jean de La Fontaine (born July 8, 1621) c…
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If you have the words, there's always a chance that you'll find the way. Seamus Heaney Irish poet and Nobel Prize-winner Seamus Heaney (born April 13…
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What hath night to do with sleep? John Milton English poet John Milton (born December 9, 1608) was dedicated and studious even as a child. According …
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I am proud only of those days that pass inundivided tenderness. Robert Bly The American poet was born on this day in 1926.
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I will drink life to the lees. Alfred Tennyson April 20, 1827: Popular Victorian poet Alfred Tennyson published his first book 187 years ago today. T…
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What’s writing really about? It’s about trying to take fuller possession of the reality of your life. Ted Hughes The English poet Ted Hughes (born Au…
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The heaviness of loss in her heart hadn't eased, but there was room there for humour, too. Nalo Hopkinson Happy birthday, Nalo Hopkinson! The Jamaica…
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Life is full of strange absurdities, which, strangely enough, do not even need to appear plausible, since they are true. Luigi Pirandello Italian nov…
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may you kissthe wind then turn from itcertain that it willlove your back Lucille Clifton June 27, 1936: Celebrated poet and children's book writer Lu…
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No book can be appreciated until it has been slept with and dreamed over. Eugene Field September 2, 1850: American poet and humorist Eugene Field wro…
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Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky. Rabindranath Tagore Influential Bengali…
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Where there is a woman there is magic. Ntozake Shange Happy birthday, Ntozake Shange! After years of enduring racism and struggling through depressio…
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I have spread my dreams under your feet.Tread softly because you tread on my dreams. W.B. Yeats Poet W.B. Yeats held a lifelong torch for famed revol…
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A short cut to riches is to subtract from our desires. Francesco Petrarca April 26, 1336: On this day, Italian poet Petrarch climbed to the top of Mo…
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To see a World in a Grain of SandAnd a Heaven in a Wild Flower,Hold Infinity in the palm of your handAnd Eternity in an hour. William Blake The Engli…
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I believe in the magic and authority of words. René Char In the early 1930s, popular French poet René Char (born June 14, 1907) rubbed elbows with Pa…
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The sunlight claps the earth, and the moonbeams kiss the sea: what are all these kissings worth, if thou kiss not me? Percy Bysshe Shelley At the age…
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Time goes, you say? Ah, no! Alas, Time stays, we go. Henry Austin Dobson English poet Henry Austin Dobson (born January 18, 1840) and his brother, Ja…
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One day in the countryIs worth a month in town Christina Rossetti December 5, 1830: Pre-Raphaelite poet Christina Rossetti enjoyed literary success i…
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Life is just action and reaction, rationalizations are added later on Ibn-e-Safi Ibn-e-Safi is the pen name of famed Pakistani writer and poet Asrar …
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A word after a word after a word is power. Margaret Atwood November 18, 1939: Happy 74th birthday, Margaret Atwood! The Canadian novelist, poet, and …
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Tonight I can write the saddest linesI loved her, and sometimes she loved me too. Pablo Neruda The well-known name of Chilean poet Pablo Neruda (born…
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I want to understand you,I study your obscure language. Alexander Pushkin Russian poet Alexander Pushkin (born June 6, 1799) was part of the country'…
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Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard, are sweeter John Keats May 5, 1816: He burned bright and died young. The English poet John Keats had his…
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What is so marvelous about living today is that it is possible to extend, like a flower, spreading petals in all directions. Carolyn Kizer Carolyn Ki…
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The art of losing isn't hard to master;so many things seemed filled with the intentto be lost that their loss is no disaster Elizabeth Bishop Former …
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I live my life in widening circles that reach out across the world. Rainer Maria Rilke December 4, 1875: Poet Rainer Maria Rilke may be best known fo…
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A roll of the dice will never abolish chance. Stéphane Mallarmé French poet Stéphane Mallarmé (born March 18, 1842) was a leading literary figure of …
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There must be those among whom we can sit down and weep and still be counted as warriors. Adrienne Rich May 16, 1929: Poet, activist, and MacArthur "…
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Perhaps the truth depends on a walk around the lake. Wallace Stevens Poet Wallace Stevens (born October 2, 1879) was working as the vice president of…
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Not that I want to be a god or a hero. Just to change into a tree, grow for ages, not hurt anyone. Czesław Miłosz Prolific poet, essayist, and histor…
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Truth crushed to earth shall rise again. William Cullen Bryant Influential poet and newspaper editor William Cullen Bryant (born November 3, 1794) ha…
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Stop acting so small. You are the universe in ecstatic motion. Rumi Happy 77th birthday, Coleman Barks! Most English-speaking fans of 13th century my…
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I was a late bloomer. But anyone who blooms at all, ever, is very lucky. Sharon Olds November 19, 1942: Happy 71st birthday, Sharon Olds! The poet wa…
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My turn shall also come:I sense the spreading of a wing. Osip Mandelstam The Russian poet was born on this day in 1891.
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And thus the heart will break, yet brokenly live on. George Gordon Byron April 19, 1824: British poet Lord Byron lived a brief, brilliant, and debauc…
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When you set sail for Ithaca,wish for the road to be long,full of adventures, full of knowledge. C.P. Cavafy Though he spent most of his life in Egyp…
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Genius is the recovery of childhood at will. Arthur Rimbaud October 20, 1854: Poet Arthur Rimbaud was an influential part of the decadence movement, …
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Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. Alexander Pope May 21, 1688: English poet and translator Alexander Pope was born in London, 325 years ago t…
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The windows of my soul I throwWide open to the sun. John Greenleaf Whittier The American poet was born on this day in 1807.
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It's a dangerous mission. You could die out there. You could go on forever. Tess Gallagher June 21, 1943: Happy birthday, Tess Gallagher! The poet wa…
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We humans are more complicated than animals, and we love through the imagination. George Moore Admired by William Butler Yeats and Virginia Woolf, wr…
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As soon as I take down her book and open it...My skies rise higher and hang younger stars. Eavan Boland Happy 70th brithday, Eavan Boland! The award-…
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A bit of trash now and then is good for the severest reader. It provides the necessary roughage in the literary diet. Phyllis McGinley Pulitzer Prize…
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The earth was overwhelmed with beauty and indifferent to it, and I went with a heart ready to crack for its unbearable loveliness. Josephine Winslow …
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In the world I amAlways a strangerI do not understand its languageIt does not understand my silence Bei Dao August 2, 1949: Chinese protest poet Bei …