This is a quote from the epic poem Song of Kiều by Du Nguyên, translated from the Vietnamese by Timothy Allen.
Quote by Du Nguyên, “See the fierce power of a poem. Learn how words can leap across the years.”
Have you read this book? I’d love to hear your thoughts in a comment below!
If you’re interested, you can read an excerpt from the book here.
Song of Kiều – Summary
A stunning new translation of the legendary Vietnamese epic poem, now for the first time in Penguin Classics
Considered the greatest literary achievement in Vietnamese, The Song of Kieu tells the story of the beautiful Vuong Thuy Kieu, who agrees to a financially profitable marriage in order to save her family from ruinous debts, but is tricked into working in a brothel. Her tragic life involves jealous wives, slavery, war, poverty, and time as a nun. Adapted from a seventeenth-century Chinese novel, Jin Yun Qiao, written by an unknown writer under the pseudonym Qingxin Cairen, author Nguyen Du upended the plot’s traditional love story by conveying the social and political upheavals at the end of the 18th century in Vietnam.
April is Poetry Month! So I will be sharing lots of poetry suggestions to help you find more poetry that you enjoy.
Like most forms of art, poetry is subjective and very personal. It can take time to find what you like. I want to remind you that you don’t have to like the poetry that people say you should, but I would encourage you to keep exploring poetry until you find what you enjoy.
For this week, I wanted to explore the intersection of philosophy and poetry. In my mind, these two often go hand-in-hand, as both explore our experience of the world and our place within society.
Many great thinkers have dabbled in art, and many artists have been great thinkers. Not to mention most religions often have both philosophical thinking and poetic musings/lessons within their religious texts.
Personally, I think some of our biggest concepts are most eloquently expressed in an artistic way. I believe it leaves more room for emotion, expression, and interpretation.
I’ve put together this list of philosophical poets. They are individuals who are known to have discussed large philosophical ideas and spiritual concepts through their poetry.
Most of these poets are from the middle ages (500-1500), as I think it’s important to discuss discuss the diversity of philosophy. A majority of discussions around medieval philosophy focus on the Greek and Roman influences, but there were so many important philosophers around the world with different perspectives and valuable insights.
So this list of philosophical poets is just an introduction to some big thinkers who chose to express their ideas through poetry.
Here’s a list of five philosophical poets to help you think. Each of these authors are known for being thought-provoking and insightful.
Omar Khayyam (1048-1131)
Rumi (1207-1273)
Hafez (1325-1390)
Kabir (1398-1518)
Kahlil GIbran (1883-1931)
Keep reading to find out more about each one. I’ve listed each in order of when they lived.
Omar Khayyam (1048-1131)
1048-1131
Genre(s): poetry, philosophy and math
Languages: Persian/Farsi and Arabic
Key books: Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
Key themes: pleasures of life, rationalist philosopher, pessimist
Omar Khayyam was born Ghiyath al-Din Abu’l-Fath Umar ibn Ibrahim Al-Nisaburi al-Khayyámi. Khayyam was a poet, philosopher and mathmatician in 11th-century Persia. Most of his ideas within math and astonomy were not proven until long after his death.
Most of the poetry attributed to Khayyam is in the form of quatrains, which are four lines that form either a stanza or full poem. It’s difficult to confirm the authenticity of the poems attributed to Khayyam, especially as other Persian scholars were known to write in quatrains.
Khayyam rose to fame as a poet in the modern world in 1859 when Edward FitzGerald published his translation of Khayyam’s poetry. However FitzGerald’s translation of the poetry took significant liberties and is not considered an accurate translation.
Genre(s): poet, scholar, theologian, faqih, and mystic
Languages: mostly Persian, but also Turkish, Arabic and Greek
Masnavi is considered one of the greatest poems in the Persian language
Key themes: knowledge of oneness of God through love and external religions observances especially through music, dance and poetry
Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī (Persian: جلالالدین محمّد رومی), or often just Rumi, was from 13th century Persia (Greater Iran). He was a poet, an Islamic scholar, a Maturidi theoloian, Hanafi faqih (jurist), and Sufi mystic.
Rumi has been influential across the world, especially in the Middle East, Europe, Central Asia, and South Asia, both in spiritual practices and literature.
His works are still read widely in the Persian-speaking world, and the translations of his work are popular all over the world. He’s often described as the “most popular poet” and even the “best selling poet” in the USA.
Rumi’s poetry focuses on the love that infuses the world. He was especially interested in seeking knowledge of tawhid (oneness of God) through love and believed passionately in using music, poetry, and dance as an outward expression of reaching for God. Rumi believed that music could help an individual focus their whole being on the divine, and these ideas are what led to the practice of whirling Dervishes becoming a ritualize form of worship and meditation.
Key books: The Divān of Hafez (a collection of his remaining poems)
Key themes: the beloved, faith, exposing hypocrisy, expressing the ecstasy of divine inspiration
Hafez (sometimes spelled Hafiz) was born Khājeh Shams-od-Dīn Moḥammad Ḥāfeẓ-e Shīrāzī (Persian: خواجه شمسالدین محمد حافظ شیرازی).
He was a Persian lyric poet who has influenced post-14th century Persian writing more than any other Persian author. Many Iranians consider Hafez the pinnacle of Persian literature and his works are still part of everyday life.
Hafez was a Sufi Muslim and wrote in the literary genre of lyric poetry or ghazals. Ghazals are a specific form of Arabic poetry that deals with romantic and spiritual love, and are considered ideal for expressing the ecstasy of divine inspiration.
Hafez is the most popular poet in Iran and most households own a copy of The Divān of Hafez (many use it for fortune telling). His work was first translated into English in 1771 and after that he also influenced many western authors like Thoreau, Goethe, W.B. Yeats, and Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Language: Sadhukkadi (a mix of Hindi, Bhojpuri, and Punjabi) & Bhojpuri
Key themes: critical of organized religions, loving devotion of God
Kabir is a well-known mystic poet from India and is considered an important figure for multiple religions, including Hinduism, Sikhism, Islam and Sufism.
He was critical of religions, especially organized religion. He often questioned the meaningless and unethical practices of all religions. His criticisms focused heavily on the major religions of his country, Hindu and Muslim, while maintaining his own independence from both of those religions.
Throughout his life, he was threatened by both Hindus and Muslims, but when he died both religions claimed him as theirs.
Kabir’s poems were composed with simple words and most were written in Sadhukkadi (a mix of Hindi, Bhojpuri and Punjabi). There are 82 works attributed to Kabir, but the authenticity of these works is still being discussed. It’s possible that changes have happened over time and also that some works attributed to Kabir were actually written by others.
Genre(s): poetry, parables, fables, essays, short stories, novels
Key books: The Prophet (philosophical essays)
Key themes: religion, free will, the soul, happiness, justice, body/death
Gibran Khalil Gibran (Arabic: جُبْرَان خَلِيل جُبْرَان) is commonly referred to in English as Kahlil Gibran. He was a Lebanese-American poet, writer, philosopher and visual artist.
Gibran is considered one of the most important influences in the Romantic movement within Arabic poetry and literature during the first half of the twentieth century and is still widely celebrated as a literary hero in Lebanon.
Gibran’s writing spanned different forms and themes. His work has been seen to be innovative and breaking away from the forms of the past literary styles. The Arabic vocabulary used in his works were considered more colloquial or ordinary language, rather than the traditional or classic Arabic used in literature.
He is best known for his book The Prophet, a collection of philosophical essays, which has become one of the best-selling books of all time. The Prophet became popular in the 1960’s and was widely influential on musicians and artists of that era (including The Beatles, Elvis Presley, David Bowie, and Johnny Cash).
I hope you found something of interest in this list of philosophical poets.
I’m always looking for more suggestions of authors and books to read. I’d love to know which philosophical poets you love or that you would recommend. Let me know in a comment below!
Have you read any of these books? What did you think of it?
I’d love to hear your thoughts in a comment below.
This is an excerpt from the epic poem Song of Kiều by Du Nguyên, translated from the Vietnamese by Timothy Allen.
Kiều now brims with a strange melancholy till tiny pearls run down her cheeks.
‘A woman’s world is weaved from woe,’ she says, ’and the only thing we dream of is despair. God rips off our wings. God makes us die. Đạm Tiên, once a wished-for wife, is now a bony basket of wormy earth. Those boys are gone that used to hold her, and the promises they made are fallen to silence. Since no one is left to mourn for her, I will burn these few sticks of incense to mark how we have chanced upon her grave. Perhaps she can see us, from her Yellow Springs.’
Then Kiềum murmurs a heartfelt prayer and stoops to lay some grass upon the spot. Twilight falls across the rotting weeds and an evening breeze rustles the barley reeds. She draws a pin from her hair and carves a perfect four-line poem on a nearby tree. She steps back. She clears her mind, then melts into tears, like a squall of sudden rain. She pictures herself alone on a dark night, where shapeless horrors crowd the road ahead. She is a petal on flowing water, a water fern catching and drifting along a swollen stream.
Vân laughs and says: ‘My sister, how silly you are to waste hot tears on a long-dead stranger.’
Kiều answers: ‘But since this earth began, Cruel fate has cursed all women. I look on Đạm Tiên’s mossy tomb, and see my own, in days to come.’
Quan says: ‘So this is the real story. You talk of Đạm Tiên, but weep for yourself. Look, it’s getting dark. There is a chill in the air, and we still have a long walk home.
‘When stars die, their fire is gone,’ says Kiều, ‘but a dwindling light shines on. My soul has found its mate in this gloomy place. Let’s wait a while. I want to meet her ghost.’
Before they can answer, a tornado swirls up. It shakes the tree and tears off its leaves, trailing a strange perfume in its wake. They look along the path that the wind took to find it left damp footprints on the moos.
Vân and Quan stare at each other, dumbfounded.
Kiều says: ‘See the fierce power of a poem. Learn how words can leap across the years. She is my sister, though I am alive and she is dead.’
Again she takes the pin from her hair and adds a verse of thanks to Đạm Tiên. This one is a word picture in the old style, free from the shackles of rhyme and metre.
Have you read this epic poem?
I’d love to hear your thoughts in a comment below!
Song of Kiều – Summary
A stunning new translation of the legendary Vietnamese epic poem, now for the first time in Penguin Classics
Considered the greatest literary achievement in Vietnamese, The Song of Kieu tells the story of the beautiful Vuong Thuy Kieu, who agrees to a financially profitable marriage in order to save her family from ruinous debts, but is tricked into working in a brothel. Her tragic life involves jealous wives, slavery, war, poverty, and time as a nun. Adapted from a seventeenth-century Chinese novel, Jin Yun Qiao, written by an unknown writer under the pseudonym Qingxin Cairen, author Nguyen Du upended the plot’s traditional love story by conveying the social and political upheavals at the end of the 18th century in Vietnam.
This is a quote from the book Songs of Kabir by Kabir, translated from the Hindi by Arvind Krishna Mehrotra.
Quote by Kabir, “Were the Creator Concerned about caste, We’d arrive in the world With a caste mark on the forehead.”
Are you familiar with Kabir’s poetry? I’d love to hear your thoughts in a comment below!
If you’re interested, you can read an excerpt from the book here.
Songs of Kabir – Summary
Here is the book summary:
Transcending divisions of creed, challenging social distinctions of all sorts, and celebrating individual unity with the divine, the poetry of Kabir is one of passion and paradox, of mind-bending riddles and exultant riffs. These new translations by Arvind Krishna Mehrotra, one of India’s finest contemporary poets, bring out the richness, wit, and power of a literary and spiritual master.
This is an excerpt from the book Songs of Kabir by Kabir, translated from the Hindi by Arvind Krishna Mehrotra.
Were the Creator Concerned about caste, We’d arrive in the world With a caste mark on the forehead.
If you say you’re a Brahmin Born of a mother who’s a Brahmin, Was there a special canal Through which you were born?
And if you say you’re a Turk And your mother’s a Turk, Why weren’t you circumcised Before birth?
Nobody’s lower-caste; The lower castes are everywhere They’re the ones Who don’t have Rama on their lips.
Kabir says.
I’m waiting for the ferry, But where are we going, And is there a paradise anyway?
Besides, What will I, Who see you everywhere,
Do there? I’m okay where I am, says Kabir. Spare me the trip.
Are you familiar with Kabir’s poetry? How do you feel about this translation?
I’d love to hear your thoughts in a comment below!
Songs of Kabir – Summary
Here is the book summary:
Transcending divisions of creed, challenging social distinctions of all sorts, and celebrating individual unity with the divine, the poetry of Kabir is one of passion and paradox, of mind-bending riddles and exultant riffs. These new translations by Arvind Krishna Mehrotra, one of India’s finest contemporary poets, bring out the richness, wit, and power of a literary and spiritual master.
Do you want to read more poetry but not sure where to start?
For April, poetry month, I’ll be sharing various poetry recommendations to help you read more poetry.
For this week, I wanted to share five American women poets that are considered classics from the last 100 years or so.
This is the last week of poetry month and me sharing poet recommendations. I hope you’ve enjoyed this series! Please let me know your thoughts in a comment below.
All five of the women poets mentioned below were born in the 1900’s, and unfortunately none of them are still with us today. Each of them are significant both for their literary contributions and their impact on society.
Five women poets
Here’s a list of five women poets who lived in the last 100 years or so:
Gwendolyn Brooks (1917-2000)
Sylvia Plath (1923-1963)
Maya Angelou (1928-2014)
Audre Lorde (1934-1992)
Mary Oliver (1935-2019)
I’ve listed them in order of when they were born. Keep reading to find out more about each one.
First African American to receive a Pulitzer Prize
Won the Robert Frost Medal for Lifetime Achievement in 1989
Gwendolyn Brooks was an American poet, author, and teacher. She is considered one of the most widely read and influential poets from American poetry in the 1900s.
Brooks started writing poetry young, and by 16 she had already written and published around 75 poems!
She born in the south, but was a lifelong resident of Chicago. Living in Chicago was a huge part of her life and greatly influenced her work.
Her work often centers around the lives of ordinary people, with characters commonly a reflection of her life in the inner city of Chicago. She also conveyed a political consciousness through her work, with reflections of the civil rights activism from the 1960’s onwards.
Over her life, she received many public recognitions of her work. In 1950, she received the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for her book Annie Allen, which made her the first African American to ever receive a Pulitzer. She was also inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters and became the poetry consultant to the Library of Congress, being the first Black woman to achieve either of those.
Credited with advancing the genre of confessional poetry
Died by suicide when only 30 years old
Sylvia Plath is considered one of the most admired and dynamic 20th century poets. She’s best known for her semi-autobiographical novel, The Bell Jar (1963), and her two published collections of poetry, The Colossus and Other Poems (1960) and Ariel (1965).
When Plath was only 30 years old (1963), she died by suicide. She suffered from depression for most of her life and had tried several times to commit suicide. At the time of her death, she already had a significant following in the literary community and has since inspired countless readers and other poets.
In 1956, she married fellow poet Ted Hughes. Their relationship was tumultuous and Plath said he was abusive in her letters. They separated due to Hughes’ affair with another woman.
Horrifically, Plath died by suicide before their divorce was finalized and thus her entire estate and all her written work were inherited by Hughes. When Ariel was published after her death, Hughes changed the arrangement and selection of poems to be included from what Plath had already chosen. He has also admitted to destroying some of her journals and even lost (probably “lost”) another journal and an unfinished novel. He’s been repeatedly condemned for his censoring and controlling of her work.
She had a far reaching career, both as an entertainer (singer, dancer, actress, composer, and Hollywood’s first Black director), storyteller (writer, editor, essayist, playwright, and poet), civil rights activist (worked with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X), and educator (as a lifetime professorship at Wake Forest University).
Over her life she wrote 36 books, with her most famous being her series of memoirs. Her book I Know Why the Cage Bird Sings, the first in the series of seven memoirs, was incredibly well received and nominated for a National Book Award.
At Bill Clinton’s inauguration she recited her poem “On the Pulse of Morning” and you can see her inaugural poem recited here. This made her the first poet since Robert Frost (John F. Kennedy in 1961) to recite a poem at a presidential inauguration.
She has received so many medals and public recognition for her work that I’m sure I won’t do it justice, but here’s a short, selective list:
Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for her book Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water ‘fore I Diiie
Tony Award for her role in the play Look Away
3 Grammys for her spoken word albums
National Medal of Arts given by President Bill Clinton in 2000
Presidential Medal of Freedom given by President Barack Obama in 2010
Served on two presidential committees (Gerald Ford in 1975 & Jimmy Carter in 19977)
Key Essay: The Master’s Tools Will Not Dismantle the Master’s House
Audre Lorde was a self described “black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet.” She includes all these aspects of her identity in how she described herself, because she focused a lot on intersectionality and how each area of her life contributed to her overall experience.
A lot of her efforts were related to social activism, working to confront and address various areas of injustice, including racism, sexism, classism, and homophobia, both through political activist work and as a thought leader. Her written work centered around feminism, lesbianism, illness and civil rights, all of it as an exploration of the black female identity.
She contributed significantly to feminist theory, critical race studies, and queer theory. Her iconic essay “The Master’s Tools Will Not Dismantle the Master’s House” was an early discussion of the intersectionality of race, class, and gender.
Lorde was very vocal about her issues with the first world/white feminist movement and actively worked to confront race-related issues.
Won the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize
Her work is inspired by nature
Mary Oliver is a well renown American poet. She was declared America’s best-selling poet in 2007. She also won both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry (for her 5th collection of poetry called American Primitive).
Most of her work focuses on themes of nature and the natural world. Oliver was influenced by both Whitman and Thoreau, as is seen in her clear and poignant discussions of nature. She’s also been compared to Emily Dickinson, as Oliver’s work leans toward solitude and inner thoughts, with a combination of dark introspection with joyous release.
Mary Oliver would often go for walks for inspiration and to help her writing. She rarely gave interviews and preferred for her work to speak for itself. But in a rare interview she said, “When things are going well, you know, the walk does not get rapid or get anywhere: I finally just stop, and write. That’s a successful walk!”
In the late 1950’s, Oliver met Molly Malone Cook, a photographer, and they became life long partners.
One quote that was all over the internet a while ago was:
Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?
It’s from her poem The Summer Day (you can read it here), and it’s much more about strolling through nature and appreciating the little things than grand adventures.
All these women are incredible and I encourage you to check out their work. All of them shaped the literary world and how we view the world.
Have you read any of these poets’ work?
I hope you’re learned something new and maybe discovered a new poet to read. Now that it’s the last week of Poetry month, what new poets did you discover this month?
Who would you add to this list of classic women poets?
I would love to hear your thoughts in a comment below
This is an excerpt from the book The Poetry Handbook by Mary Oliver.
Everyone knows that poets are born and not made in school. This is true also of painters, sculptors and musicians. Something that is essential can’t be taught; it can only be given, or earned, or formulated in a manner too mysterious to be picked apart and re-designed for the next person.
Still, painters, sculptors, and musicians require a lively acquaintance with the history of their particular field and with past as well as current theories and techniques. And the same is true of poets. Whatever can’t be taught, there is a great deal that can, and must, be learned.
This book is about the things that can be learned. It is about matters of craft, primarily. It is about the part of the poem that is a written document, as opposed to a mystical document, which of course the poem is also.
It has always seemed to me curious that the instruction of poetry has followed a path different from he courses of study intended to develop talent in the field of music o the visual arts where a step-by-step learning process is usual, and accepted as necessary. In an art class, for example, every student may be told to make a drawing of a live model, or a vase of flowers, or three potatoes for that matter. Afterward, the instructor may examine and talk about the various efforts. Everyone in the class recognizes that the intention is not to accomplish a bona fide act of creation, but is an example of what must necessarily come first—exercise.
Is anyone worried that creativity may be stifled as a result of such exercise? Not at all. There is rather, a certainty that dialogue between instructor and student will shed light on any number of questions about technique, and give knowledge (power) that will open the doors of process. It is craft, after all, that carries an individual’s’ ideas to the far edge of familiar territory.
The student who wishes to write a poem, however, is nicely encouraged to go ahead and do so, and, having written it, is furthermore likely to be encouraged to do another along the same lines. Quickly, then, the student falls into a manner of writing, which is not a style but only a chance thing vaguely felt and not understood, or even, probably, intended. Continuing in this way, the writer never explores or tries out other options. After four or five poems, he or she is already in a rut, having developed a way of writing without ever having the organized opportunity to investigate and try other styles and techniques. Soon enough, when the writer’s material requires a change of tone, or some complex and precise maneuver, the writer has no idea how to proceed, the poem fails, and the writer is frustrated.
Perhaps sometime you will have an idea for a piece of music, you may actually “hear” it in the privacy of your mind—and you will realize how impossible it would be to write it down, lacking, as most of us do, the particular and specialized knowledge of musical notation. Why should our expectation about a poem be any different? It too is specialized, and particular.
Poems must, of course, be written in emotional freedom. Moreover, poems are not language but the content of the language. And yet, how can the content be separated from the poem’s fluid and breathing body? A poem that is composed without the sweet and correct formalities of language, which are what sets it apart from the dailiness of ordinary writing, is doomed. It will not fly. It will be raucous and sloppy—the work of an amateur.
This is why when I teach a poetry workshop, I remove for a while the responsibility of writing poems, and order up exercises ealing with craft. Since every class is different, the assignments, of course, differ too. Any instructor who agrees with the idea can easily think of suitable and helpful exercises. So can the students themselves.
When each workshop member is at the same time dealing with the same technique, and is focusing as well on the same assigned subject matter, these exercises also are fo great help in making any gather of writers into an attentive and interacting class. Each writer quickly becomes interested in and learns from, the work of the other members.
A poet’s interest in craft never fades, of course. This book is not meant to be more than a beginning—but it is meant to be a good beginning Many instructors, for whatever reasons, feel that their “professional” criticism (i.e.s, opinion) of a student’s work is what is called for. This book is written in cheerful disagreement with that feeling. It is written in an effort to give the student a variety of technical skills—that is, options. It is written to empower the beginning writer who stands between two marvelous and complex things—an experience (or an idea or a feeling), and the urge to tell about it in the best possible conjunction of words.
Have you read this book? I’d love to hear your thoughts in a comment below!
A Poetry Handbook – Summary
In case you’re interested, here is the book summary from Goodreads:
“Mary Oliver would probably never admit to anything so grandiose as an effort to connect the conscious mind and the heart (that’s what she says poetry can do), but that is exactly what she accomplishes in this stunning little handbook.” — Los Angeles Times
From the beloved and acclaimed poet, an ultimate guide to writing and understanding poetry.
With passion and wit, Mary Oliver skillfully imparts expertise from her long, celebrated career as a disguised poet. She walks readers through exactly how a poem is built, from meter and rhyme, to form and diction, to sound and sense, drawing on poems by Robert Frost, Elizabeth Bishop, and others. This handbook is an invaluable glimpse into Oliver’s prolific mind—a must-have for all poetry-lovers.
Do you want to read more poetry but not sure where to start?
For April, poetry month, I’ll be sharing various poetry recommendations to help you read more poetry.
For this week, I wanted to share five women poets that are considered classics from around the turn of the century (1800→1900). I tried to give a range of options from a few countries around the world.
Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing more women poets, each week moving closer to present day.
All five of the women poets discussed below were born in the 1800’s and published most of their work in the early 1900’s. Each of them are significant both for their literary contributions and their impact on society.
Here’s a list of five women poets who lived through the turn of the century (1800→1900).
Sarojini Naidu (1879-1949)
Hilda “H.D.” Doolittle (1886-1961)
Anna Akhmatova (1889-1966)
Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950)
Dorothy Parker (1893-1967)
I’ve listed them in order of when they were born. Keep reading to find out more about each one.
1. Sarojini Naidu (1879-1949)
1879-1949
Indian political activist and poet
In India, Naidu’s birthday, February 13th, is celebrated as Women’s Day
Sarojini was both an Indian political activist and poet. She played an important role in the Indian independence movement and had close ties to Gandhi. She even persuaded Gandhi that women should join the famous Salt March (he was initially against it). After he was arrested on April 6, 1930, Gandhi appointed Naidu as the replacement leader.
She actively fought for civil rights, women’s emancipation and anti-imperialism. She was the first woman to be the president of the Indian National Congress (during British rule). Then after independence she was appointed as governor of a state.
Because of her poetry, Gandhi nicknamed her the “Nightingale of India”. Her poetry was written in English (she was educated in Madras, London, and Cambridge). One of her most popular poems is called “In the Bazaars of Hyderabad” from the year 1912.
Naidu’s birthday is February 13th, and each year India celebrates Women’s Day on her birthday to recognize the powerful women’s voices that shaped India.
H.D. was primarily known as a poet, but she wrote so much more than that. She wrote novels, memoirs, and essays, along with translating a number of texts from Greek. She produced work over five decades, from 1910-1960s.
As a poet, she was known for her innovative and experimental approaches. Her work had strong themes of literary modernism and she participated in the avant-garde milieu era.
She started as an Imagist and for a long time only her early poems were studied. But was an Imagist for a short time and moved on to create many different types of content and developed her craft for decades past that. Interest in her later work was reignited from a feminist and queer studies perspective in the 1960’s and 1970’s.
H.D. was also bisexual, having her first same-sex relationship while in college. Over her life, she had several relationships with both men and women. The longest lasting relationship seems to be with Bryher (pen name for: Annie Winifred Ellerman). They met in 1918 and lived together off and on for a few decades and even continued their relationship after that, until H.D.’s death.
Fun fact. In the 1930’s, H.D. was treated by Sigmund Freud for both her war trauma and bisexuality.
Anna is regarded as one of Russia’s greatest poets. Her father was Ukrainian and her mother was Russian, so sometimes you’ll see her referred to as Ukrainian.
Her full name is Anna Andreyevna Gorenko, but she is better known by her pen name Anna Akhmatova. Her pen name comes from their family lore of a maternal ancestor, Khan Akhmat, who was a Tatar chieftain and is believed to have been a descendant of Genghis Khan.
Her poetic work has significant range, from short lyric poems up to intricately structured cycles. Her style was considered strikingly original and very distinct form her contemporaries, especially with her use of restraint. She was considered an icon of both noble beauty and catastrophic predicament.
Anna lived in the Soviet Union during the Stalin era. Much of her work was condemned and censored by Stalinist authorities. However, she choose to remain in the Soviet Union and act as a witness to the historical events.
Unfortunately, many written records were destroyed during the Soviet regime, especially of those condemned by Stalinist authorities, and so there is very little information about her life.
Millay is one of the most respected and successful American poets, and notably, she was recognized throughout much of her life. However, she did write much of her work under the pseudonym Nancy Boyd.
She was also a well-known social figure, feminist, and was known for her progressive political views. She was also known for her riveting readings and performances, which garnered her even more attention as a poet. Within her work, she had both homo and hetero portrayals of sexuality and was known for her descriptions of the female experience.
In 1923, Millay won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry (for her poem “Ballad of the Harp-Weaver”) and in 1943 she won the Frost Medal for her lifetime contribution to American poetry. She was the first woman and second person (ever) to win the Pulitzer for poetry.
In the 1930’s, modernist critics dismissed her work due to her use of traditional poetic forms. However, in the 1960’s and 70’s, interest in her work increased due to feminist literary criticism and feminist movements. She regained her reputation as being a highly gifted writer.
Dorothy Parker was an American poet, writer, critic and satirist. She was known for her humour, through her wit, wisecracks and social commentary.
She rose to fame in the 1920’s, both from her work in magazines and as part of the social scene in New York City. She was an inaugural member of the board of editors at the magazine the New Yorker and frequently contributed her own writings. She was also a founding member of the Algonquin Round Table. A group of writers, critics, actors, etc. that met together everyday for lunch at the Algonquin Hotel in New York City.
In 1926, Parker published “Enough Rope”, her first book of poetry that became a bestseller. You can access it for free here on the Gutenberg Project.
She also moved to Hollywood and worked as a screenwriter. She was nominated for two Academy Awards before being placed on the Hollywood blacklist. The films she worked on included:
A Star is Born → for which they were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Writing—Screenplay (This is the original version of the 2018 movie starring Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper.)
Smash-Up, the Story of a Woman → together with Frank Cavett, she received a nomination for an Oscar for the screenplay in 1947
Saboteur → a Hitchcock directed movie
Due to her left-wing politics (aka suspected of being a communist), Parker was placed on the Hollywood blacklist. Parker was listed as a communist in the “Red Channels” publication in 1950, which was an anti-communist document published by the right-wing journal Counterattack. Also, the FBI complied a large dossier on her (1,000 pages!) based on her suspected communist activities during the McCarthy era. She was also the chair of the Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee’s fundraising arm and help found the Hollywood Anti-Nazi League in 1936.
When she died (1967), she willed her estate to Martin Luther King Jr., and upon his death in 1968, it was then given to the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People).
You can access some of her work for free on the Gutenberg Project website. Only some of her work has reached the end of the 95-year copyright protection as she published work across several decades (the 1920-60s).
You can find an excerpt by her here and quotes by her here on my website.
Final thoughts
All these women seem like powerhouses. They were all known for being disrupters and social justice advocates.
I hope you’re learned something new and maybe discovered a new poet to read.
I think it’s incredible to see how influential these women were and to learn about their lives outside of just being a poet.
Have you read any of these poets’ work?
Who would you add to this list of classic women poets?
I would love to hear your thoughts in a comment below.
Here are two poems by Rainer Maria Rilke for Poetry Month.
Presaging
I am like a flag unfurled in space,
I scent the oncoming winds and must bend with them,
While the things beneath are not yet stirring,
While doors close gently and there is silence in the chimneys
And the windows do not yet tremble and the dust is still heavy –
Then I feel the storm and am vibrant like the sea
And expand and withdraw into myself
And thrust myself forth and am alone in the great storm.
Death
Before us great Death stands
Our fate held close within his quiet hands.
When with proud joy we lift Life’s red wine up
To drink deep of the mystic shining cup
And ecstasy through all our being leaps –
Death bows his head and weeps.
Have you read any of Rilke’s poems? I’d love to hear your thoughts in a comment below!
Poems of Rainer Maria Rilke – Summary
Here is the book summary from Goodreads:
Considered one of the most significant literary figures of his era, Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke served as a bridge between the themes and styles of the Romantic period and the concerns and anxieties that would give rise to modernism in the twentieth century. This collection brings together dozens of Rilke’s most popular and critically acclaimed works.
Do you want to read more poetry but not sure where to start?
For April, poetry month, I’ll be sharing various poetry recommendations to help you read more poetry.
For this week, I wanted to share five women poets that are considered classics. I tried to give a range of options from around the world and from across the centuries.
All five of the women poets discussed below lived before the 20th century (so in the 1800’s or earlier).
Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing more women poets, each week moving closer to present day.
Here’s a list of five women poets that lived before the 20th century.
Sappho
Mīrābāī
Phillis Wheatley
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Emily Dickinson
I’ve listed them in order of when they lived. Keep reading to find out more about each one.
Sappho (620 BCE–550 BCE)
620 BCE–550 BCE
Archaic Greek Poet
Counted among the greatest of poets in Greek Antiquity
Very little is known about Sappho, a well-renown poet from Greek antiquity. Details of her life are often inconsistently reported or are simply unknown.
Additionally, most of her poems have been lost over time, and what has remained are mostly just fragments of poems. Her poem “Ode to Aphrodite” is one of the only complete poems that remain.
But in antiquity Sappho was considered among the greatest of poets. Just as Homer was called “the Poet”, she was called “the Poetess”, and Plato considered her the “tenth Muse”.
She is from the island of Lesbos, and is considered a symbol of love and desire between women as many of her love poems were about women. Due to this, the words lesbian and sapphic were inspired by her.
You can access her poems for free on Project Gutenberg here.
Mīrābāī (1498–1546)
1498–1546
Northern India
Hindu mystic poet and devotee of Krishna
Mīrābāī was a 16th century mystic poet, with most of her poems and songs about Krishna (the Hindu God of Protection, Compassion, Tenderness, and Love). She considered Krishna to be her best friend, lover and husband.
Millions of hymns are attributed to Mīrābāī, but only a few hundred are considered to be authentically written by her. The rest are likely written by others who admired her. Also, many of her compositions continue to be sung today in India, with one of her most popular compositions being “Payoji maine Ram Ratan dhan payo” (पायो जी मैंने राम रतन धन पायो।, “I have been given the richness of Lord’s name blessing”).
She is also the subject of many legends and folk tales, but with very inconsistent details across them. However, one consistent aspect is that most legends discuss her fearless disregard for social and familial conventions.
Former slave, and first Black American woman to publish poetry
Key book: Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral
Phillis Wheatley was born in West Africa, but was then kidnapped and sold to the Wheatley family of Boston when she was seven or eight. In addition to her domestic obligations, the Wheatley family did provide her with an extensive education and encouraged her to pursue writing. However, she was not emancipated/manumitted (set free) from the family until after she published her book of poetry.
Phillis Wheatley was the first Black American woman to publish poetry, and considered the first to make a living from her writing. Even after she was interviewed by 18 prominent men in Boston to prove that she wrote her own poetry, no one in the Americas was willing to publish her poetry. She was finally able to publish this collection of poetry in London in 1773.
Despite international recognition, she was unable to find anyone to publish any further volumes of poetry. She was able to publish some poetry in pamphlets and newspapers, but only in limited amounts.
Unfortunately, she ended up dying in abject poverty, with many of her poems lost due to lack of support.
You can access her poems for free on Project Gutenberg here.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806–1861)
1806–1861
English poet of the Victorian era
One of the most respected poets of the Victorian era
Elizabeth Barrett Browning was one of the most respected poets of the Victorian Era. She started writing poetry at a very young age and was primarily self taught in the areas of literature and the languages of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew.
She published her first collection of poems as an adult in 1838, and then wrote prolifically through 1841-1844. Her volume Poems published in 1844 was very successful and caught the attention of her future husband Robert Browning.
She was successful and quite popular in the UK and the United States. She heavily influenced both Emily Dickinson and Edgar Allen Poe.
Elizabeth held strong liberal values, especially for that era, and actively campaigned against slavery and in favour of children’s rights (against child labour).
One of her most famous poems is Number 43.
Number 43
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and Ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise;
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith;
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints,—I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life!—and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.
You can access her poems for free on Project Gutenberg here.
Emily Dickinson (1830–1886)
1830–1886
Amherst, Massachusetts, USA
One of the most important American poets
Emily Dickinson is regarded as one of the most important and original American poets, but was little-known during her life and lived most of her life in isolation.
She was a prolific writer, but only 10 of her poems were published in her lifetime. Her sister discovered her extensive poetry collection after Emily’s death, and her poems were later published by her acquaintances.
Many of her poems were heavily edited before her acquaintances published them, especially with regards to her dedications and references to Susan (her sister-in-law Susan Huntington Gilbert Dickinson). Scholars often interprete this relationship as romantic, but edits were often done to hide the true nature of their relationship.
You can access her poems for free on Project Gutenberg here.
Final thoughts
I hope I was able to do these women some justice. Each of them had a significant influence on the world and within the realm of literature.
Since this only includes five poets, this is a small sampling of the classic poets. It’s simply a way for you to discover a new poet or learn something new about these incredible ladies.
Have you read any of these poets’ work?
Who would you add to this list of classic women poets?
I would love to hear your thoughts in a comment below.
