In the rolling hills and misty valleys of Shropshire, where ancient folklore mingles with the rhythms of rural life, Mary Gladys Webb crafted some of the most evocative prose and poetry of the early twentieth century. Born on March 25, 1881, in the village of Leighton-under-the-Wrekin, and dying tragically young at forty-six on October 8, 1927, Webb compressed into her brief life an extraordinary literary legacy that…
“If you know much about your work – why you work, how you work, your aims – you are probably not a poet.”
Neighbourhood:
Edwardian Poets, Nature Poets, Women Poets
Emotional landscape: Longing, Wonder, Sorrow
In the pantheon of American literary history, few figures embody the contradictions and complexities of the twentieth century quite like Claude McKay. Born Festus Claudius McKay on September 15, 1890, in the verdant hills of Clarendon Parish, Jamaica, this poet, novelist, and essayist would become one of the most powerful voices of the Harlem Renaissance, despite spending much of his life in restless exile from the m…
“It was the first time I had ever come face to face with such manifest, implacable hate of my race, and my feelings were indescribable.”
Neighbourhood:
African American Poets, Harlem Renaissance, Political Poets, Social Justice Poets
Emotional landscape: Longing, Sorrow, Spirituality
