By Skyler Gomez | On January 7, 2020 | Updated November 21, 2024 | Comments (2)
Grazia Maria Cosima Damiana Deledda (September 28, 1871 – August 15, 1936), more commonly known as Grazia Deledda, was an Italian writer.
She is remembered for being the first Italian woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature (1926) and just the second woman to receive this award (Swedish writer Selma Lagerlöf was the first, in 1909).
She was praised “for her idealistically inspired writings which with plastic clarity picture the life on her native island and with depth and sympathy deal with human problems in general.”
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By Johanna Shaw | On December 21, 2019 | Updated March 8, 2023 | Comments (0)
Elizabeth Bishop (February 8, 1911 – October 6, 1979) was a noted American poet. Born in Worcester, Massachusetts, Bishop won numerous awards during the course of her career, including the Pulitzer Prize.
Her reputation as a significant poet has only grown since her death. Her most iconic poems include “The Fish,” “One Art,” “A Miracle for Breakfast,” and “Sestina.” (photo above right courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
Bishop wasn’t a particularly prolific poet, preferring to spend long periods of time revising her work; she wrote just over one hundred poems.
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By Elodie Barnes | On November 17, 2019 | Updated September 29, 2025 | Comments (0)
Hilda Doolittle (September 10, 1886 – September 27, 1961) was an American-born poet, novelist, translator, and essayist who wrote under the pen name H.D.
She was profoundly influenced by the effects of World War I, and the subsequent trends of modernism, psychoanalysis, and feminism.
Her work is often framed within the context of other important modernist writers such as T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, Marianne Moore, and William Carlos Williams. Today, she’s best remembered for her innovation and experimental approach to poetry. Read More→
By Skyler Gomez | On November 13, 2019 | Updated August 28, 2025 | Comments (0)
Anne Spencer (born Annie Bethel Bannister; February 6, 1882 – July 27, 1975) was an American poet, teacher, librarian, gardener, and civil rights activist.
She’s best remembered as an important figure of the Harlem Renaissance and as the second African-American poet to be included in the Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry.
Anne was born in Henry County, Virginia, to Joel Cephus Bannister and Sarah Louise Scales. Both parents were part of the first generation of African Americans born into bondage whose childhood followed the end of slavery. As an only child, she was the center of her parents’ lives, and they were determined to make a better life for her.
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By Skyler Gomez | On November 3, 2019 | Updated March 25, 2024 | Comments (0)
Margaret Ayer Barnes (April 8, 1886 – October 25, 1967) was an American novelist, playwright, short-story writer, best known for her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Years of Grace (1930).
Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Margaret Ayer was the youngest of four siblings. From an early age, she was quite competitive and regularly had debates with her two older brothers and sisters. Intelligent and curious, she had an interest in theater and was an avid reader.
A friendship with noted playwright Edward Sheldon encouraged her to become a writer. Margaret and Sheldon had much in common and enjoyed discussing the literary merits of plays.
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