Henry Van Dyke was born on 10 November 1852 in Germantown, Pennsylvania, then a distinct community on the edge of Philadelphia and now part of the city. He died on 10 April 1933 in Princeton, New Jersey. During the eighty years between those dates, he became one of the most recognizable public literary figures in the United States: a Presbyterian minister, popular preacher, Princeton professor, poet, essayist, noveli…
“Are you willing to believe that love is the strongest thing in the world, stronger than hate, stronger than death?”
Neighbourhood:
American Poets, Devotional Poets, Hymn Writers, Victorian Poets
Emotional landscape: Peace, Wonder, Sorrow
On March 12, 1863, in the coastal city of Pescara in the Abruzzi region of Italy, a child was born who would come to embody the restless, turbulent spirit of his age like no other writer of his generation. Baptized Gaetano, he would forever be known by the name his family gave him in childhood—Gabriele—a name that seemed to foreshadow the angelic, almost otherworldly presence he would project throughout his life. Gab…
“Bisogna fare della propria vita come si fa un’opera d’arte.”
Neighbourhood:
Decadent Poets, Dramatic Poets, Italian Renaissance Poets, Political Poets, Symbolist Poets, Victorian Poets
Emotional landscape: Wonder, Spirituality, Longing
