On March 21st, is celebrated the World Poetry Day, and, as this form of art seems to go outdated and forgotten, there are plenty of significant authors history may have hidden from the eyes of the world. Nonetheless, much of their work contributed to structure the society we live in. In this compact list, check out some transcendental figures of poetry.
Sappho
Sappho, one of the most ancient female poets the world has knowledge of, was an author from the Greek island of Lesbos. Her work crossed centuries. Even though most of Sappho’s poetry was lost and what survived is fragmented, scholars still study her texts to this day. Topics like romantic love, desire, and female sexuality are the essence of her poems and surpassing time and language barriers.
There is a selection of poems by Sappho available on the internet, which sparks debates related to translations and authenticity. But, the Center for Hellenic Studies by Harvard presents a reliable source for reading the poems.
Lord Byron
Born in 1788 in London as George Gordon Byron, Lord Byron is an influential figure of the Romantic movement, and some scholars even refer to him as “The First Pop Star Ever”. He lived a life full of controversies, such as substance abuse and various sexual relationships with both women and men, which was reflected in his work. His most famous text, “Don Juan” (1819), is a satirical and subversive poem that became a revolutionary work, inspiring many others that came after.
Charlotte Brontë
The eldest Brontë sister was born in 1816, in Thornton, United Kingdom, and her work is considered one of the pillars of British literature. Her difficult life as an orphan of a mother who went through a rigid education was delated in some of her texts. Although Charlotte’s poems are not as popular as her other works, they are just as beautiful and gripping as the prose she wrote, and can be found in anthology books.
Charles Baudelaire
The French writer, known as the “Father of Symbolism”, was born in 1821 and lived a harsh life, spending most of his years drowning in debt — although his father left him an inheritance. Charles Baudelaire gained fame as a “poète maudit” (cursed poet) for his Bohemian lifestyle and difficult work.
“The Flowers of Evil” (1857) is his most celebrated collection, a masterpiece that contains almost all of his poems, exploring themes such as beauty, decadence, and the duality of existence. Back in his days, it was treated as immoral.
Emily Dickinson
Emily Dickinson was a North American author born in 1830, and, even though she is a famous poet nowadays, her work was not valued until her death. She explored themes such as death, immortality, and love, and the affectionate letters she exchanged with her sister-in-law, Susan Gilbert, who was married to her brother, are some of her most known texts.
One of Dickinson’s most famous poems is “Because I could not stop for Death” (1890), in which she portrays a view of the end of life and the emotions that come with the knowledge of it.
Castro Alves
Known as the “Poet of the Slaves”, Antônio de Castro Alves was a Brazilian writer born in the state of Bahia, in 1847. His work is famous for its critical tone, writing mostly about freedom and justice when these were restricted privileges and slavery was still present in Brazil.
As an important figure of Brazilian Romanticism, Castro explored the use of metaphors and high lyricism. “The Slave Ship” (1880) is his most known poem, exposing the horrors of slavery and blatant social injustice.
Fernando Pessoa
Fernando Pessoa, born in 1888, in Lisbon, is one of the most important poets in the Portuguese language, best known for his multifaceted self, exploring the use of heteronyms, lyricism, subjectivity, and metalanguage.
Identity and existence are crucial elements of his work, as he used the imagery of different personas to write.
Pessoa published three works in English: “Antinous” (1918), “Sonnets” (1918), and “English Poems” (1918); and one in Portuguese: “Mensagem” (1933).
Pablo Neruda
Pablo Neruda was a Chilean author and politician who lived between 1904 and 1973. His work is characterized by its sentimentalism, with a strong critical vein about social questions, especially in Latin America.
“Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair” (1924) — Neruda’s second anthology and the book that launched him as one of the greatest latin-american poets — is a collection of poems that feature themes like love, heartbreak, and grief, being considered a masterpiece in modern Spanish language poetry.
Maya Angelou
Marguerite Ann Johnson, mainly known by her pseudonym Maya Angelou, was a North American writer and activist who dedicated her life to fighting for human rights. She wrote mostly about the strength of black women, the human spirit, and social justice.
Undeniably, her most glorified poetic work is “And Still I Rise” (1978), a powerful message about resistance and resilience during a historical period of struggle for equality and liberation for black people in the United States.
Hilda Hilst
One of the most eccentric Brazilian authors of the 20th century, Hilda Hilst was born in São Paulo, in 1930, and her work is considered hard and hermetic. Stream of consciousness, search for the sacred, erotism, and existential crisis are themes she explored throughout her career, along with a subversive nature, her trademark.
Hilst’s pieces were awarded many significant literary prizes even after her death, in 2004. “Of Death. Minimal Odes” (1998) is one of these works, a collection of poems that examine the concepts of desire, materiality, and death.
Although poetry can be often seen as too difficult, too harsh, or too dense, it is an ancient form of writing that transcends time and space and resonates through different people in different ways. There are poems for everyone with a strong desire to discover new worlds and new emotions.
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The article above was edited by Ludmila Costa.
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