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…
“I have nothing to give but my singing. And all I offer here is the distilled poetry of my experience.”
Neighbourhood:
African American Poets, Harlem Renaissance, Political Poets, Social Justice Poets
Emotional landscape: Longing, Sorrow, Spirituality
Wilfrid Wilson Gibson was born in Hexham, Northumberland, on 2 June 1878, and died on 26 May 1962. During a long career that began in the shadow of late Victorian romanticism and continued through two world wars, he became one of the most distinctive English poets of the early twentieth century. He has often been placed, sometimes too conveniently, among the Georgian poets: writers associated with clear language, nat…
“I was born into an unhappy household.”
Neighbourhood:
Edwardian Poets, Georgian Poets
Emotional landscape: Longing, Wonder, Spirituality
