21st Century Poets

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 1 
Maya Angelou
(American Poet and Civil Rights Activist Known for Her Autobiography ‘I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings’)
Maya Angelou
46
Birthdate: April 4, 1928
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Died: May 28, 2014
Poet, author, and civil rights activist Maya Angelou was a champion for black feminism and is best remembered for her autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sing. The recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and over 50 honorary degrees was also a child sex abuse survivor.
 2 
Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum
(Crown Prince of Dubai )
Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum
7
Birthdate: November 14, 1982
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Dubai, United Arab Emirates

The Crown Prince of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum is the son of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and his senior wife, Sheikha Hind bint Maktoum bin Juma Al Maktoum. An alumnus of the London School of Economics, he writes poetry and is a skilled skydiver and a scuba diver.

 3 
Art Garfunkel
(Best Known for His Partnership with Paul Simon in the Folk Rock Duo 'Simon & Garfunkel')
Art Garfunkel
11
Birthdate: November 5, 1941
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Forest Hills, New York, United States
Eight-time Grammy winner Art Garfunkel is part of the folk-rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, along with Paul Simon. He has had a successful solo career, too. One of Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Singers of All Time, he also earned a Golden Globe nomination for playing Sandy in Carnal Knowledge.
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Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
7
Birthdate: September 15, 1977
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Enugu, Nigeria

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a Nigerian writer and feminist. She is popular for writing novels, such as Purple Hibiscus and Half of a Yellow Sun. She is credited with popularizing African literature among a new generation of readers, especially in the United States. In 2015, she was named in Time magazine's list of 100 Most Influential People.

 5 
Patti Smith
(Known for Her Hit Single “Because the Night”)
Patti Smith
6
Birthdate: December 30, 1946
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States

Patti Smith is an American singer-songwriter. Referred to as the punk poet laureate, Smith became an influential figure of the punk rock movement with the release of her album Horses. Many world-renowned musicians, such as Madonna and Michael Stipe, have cited Smith as their inspiration. Even actresses like Ellen Page and Maria Doyle Kennedy have called Smith a major influence.

 6 
Donovan
(Singer-songwriter, Guitarist, Composer, Autobiographer, Writer, Poet, Record producer, Film score composer)
Donovan
11
Birthdate: May 10, 1946
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Glasgow, Scotland

Donovan is a Scottish guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is best known for developing and popularizing a distinctive and eclectic style that blended many genres, such as folk, jazz, pop, calypso, and psychedelic rock. Donovan was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, in 2012 and 2014, respectively.

 7 
Misha Collins
(Best Known for His Role as ‘Castiel’ in the TV Series 'Supernatural')
Misha Collins
7
Birthdate: August 20, 1974
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Misha Collins is best known for playing Castiel and other characters in the series Supernatural. He is also a poet and has co-authored a cookbook with his wife. He has established the charity Random Acts and the GISHWHES. He has also written an academic paper on the structure of shapes.
 8 
Margaret Atwood
(Poet, Novelist, Literary Critic & Environmental Activist)
Margaret Atwood
23
Birthdate: November 18, 1939
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Ottawa, Canada

Margaret Atwood is a Canadian poet and novelist. Her works encompass themes, such as religion and myth, climate change, and gender and identity. An award-winning writer, many of Atwood's works have been made into films and television series; her work, The Handmaid's Tale, has had several adaptations. Perhaps, Margaret Atwood's most important contribution is her invention of the LongPen device.

 9 
James Avery
(Film actor)
James Avery
10
Birthdate: November 27, 1945
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Suffolk, Virginia, U.S.
Died: December 31, 2013
Height: 6'5" (196 cm)
 10 
Gil Scott-Heron
(Poet and Singer-songwriter)
Gil Scott-Heron
4
Birthdate: April 1, 1949
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Died: May 27, 2011
Height: 6'2" (188 cm)
 11 
Ossie Davis
(Former actor who appeared in films with wife Ruby Dee)
Ossie Davis
4
Birthdate: December 18, 1917
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Cogdell, Georgia, United States
Died: February 4, 2005
Height: 6'2" (188 cm)
 12 
Michael Rosen
(Children's author and poet who has written 140 books)
Michael Rosen
7
Birthdate: May 7, 1946
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Harrow, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom
Height: 5'10" (178 cm)
 13 
Seamus Heaney
(Poet, Playwright & Translator Who Received the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature)
Seamus Heaney
11
Birthdate: April 13, 1939
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Castledawson, Londonderry, Northern Ireland
Died: August 30, 2013

Seamus Heaney was an Irish poet, translator, and playwright. One of the most respected poets of his generation, Heaney was honored with the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1995. He also won other prestigious awards, such as the Eric Gregory Award. Several years after his death, Seamus Heaney is still considered one of the main contributors to poetry in Ireland.

 14 
Alice Walker
(The First African-American Woman to Win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction)
Alice Walker
9
Birthdate: February 9, 1944
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Eatonton, Georgia, United States
Author Alice Walker is best known for her National Book Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Color Purple. She is credited with coining the term womanist, to mean feminist of color. Her marriage with Melvyn Roseman Leventhal was the first official interracial marriage in the state of Mississippi.
 15 
John Updike
(Poet, Novelist)
John Updike
9
Birthdate: March 18, 1932
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Reading, Pennsylvania, United States
Died: January 27, 2009
 16 
Michael Madsen
(Actor)
Michael Madsen
11
Birthdate: September 25, 1957
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Height: 6'2" (188 cm)
 17 
Talib Kweli
(Poet, Musician, Songwriter, Rapper, Singer)
Talib Kweli
5
Birthdate: October 3, 1975
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: New York City, New York, United States
 18 
Joan Sebastian
(Singer-songwriter, Actor, Poet, Record producer)
Joan Sebastian
6
Birthdate: April 8, 1951
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Guerrero
Died: July 13, 2015

Known as the king of Mexican rodeo, for performing in concerts on horseback, Mexican singer Joan Sebastian won the highest number of Grammy awards from his country. Over 20 of his songs made it to the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart. An actor, too, he was seen in the telenovela Tú y yo.

 19 
Carol Ann Duffy
10
Birthdate: December 23, 1955
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Glasgow, Scotland
 20 
Sherman Alexie
(Novelist)
Sherman Alexie
4
Birthdate: October 7, 1966
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Spokane
Height: 6'2" (188 cm)
 21 
Abbas Kiarostami
(Iranian Director, Producer, Screenwriter and Photographer)
Abbas Kiarostami
5
Birthdate: June 22, 1940
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Tehran, Iran
Died: July 4, 2016

Abbas Kiarostami was an Iranian screenwriter, film director, film producer, photographer, and poet. Over the course of his illustrious career, Kiarostami was honored with numerous awards such as the Jury Special Award at the Tehran International Film Festival and Best Film Award at the Iranian Film Festival for Children and Young Adults. 

 22 
Jim Carroll
(Known for His 1978 Autobiographical Work ‘The Basketball Diaries')
Jim Carroll
4
Birthdate: August 1, 1949
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: New York, United States
Died: September 11, 2009

Punk musician and author Jim Carroll is best remembered for his autobiographical depiction of his struggle with drugs in his teenage years, The Basketball Diaries, which was later turned into a film starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Part of The Jim Carroll Band, he was known for the single People Who Died.

 23 
Mary Oliver
(Poet, Writer)
Mary Oliver
6
Birthdate: September 10, 1935
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Maple Heights
 24 
Wendell Berry
(American Novelist, Poet and the First Living Writer to Be Inducted Into the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame)
Wendell Berry
4
Birthdate: August 5, 1934
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Henry County
 25 
Dean Koontz
(Novelist)
Dean Koontz
9
Birthdate: July 9, 1945
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Everett, Pennsylvania, United States
 26 
Win Butler
(Songwriter, Singer, Composer, Poet, Guitarist)
Win Butler
9
Birthdate: April 14, 1980
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Truckee, California, United States

Win Butler is an American-Canadian multi-instrumentalist, musician, singer, and songwriter. He is credited with co-founding the popular Canadian indie rock band, Arcade Fire. Also a humanitarian, Butler contributed to a charity record named Do They Know It's Hallowe'en as part of a UNICEF benefit project. A multi-talented personality, Win Butler often participates in the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game.

 27 
Carmine Giovinazzo
(Actor)
Carmine Giovinazzo
4
Birthdate: August 24, 1973
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Richmond [now Staten Island], New York City, New York, USA
Height: 5'10" (178 cm)
 28 
Benjamin Zephaniah
(Actor, Poet, Writer, Singer)
Benjamin Zephaniah
7
Birthdate: April 15, 1958
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Birmingham
 29 
Sue Grafton
(American Author of Detective Novels)
Sue Grafton
6
Birthdate: April 24, 1940
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Louisville, Kentucky, United States
Died: December 28, 2017
 30 
Captain Beefheart
(Singer)
Captain Beefheart
10
Birthdate: January 15, 1941
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Glendale, California, U.S.
Died: December 17, 2010
 31 
Jewel
(Singer-Songwriter)
Jewel
16
Birthdate: May 23, 1974
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Payson, Utah, United States
Height: 5'6" (168 cm)
 32 
Rita Mae Brown
(Writer)
Rita Mae Brown
5
Birthdate: November 28, 1944
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Hanover, Pennsylvania, United States
 33 
Joyce Carol Oates
10
Birthdate: June 16, 1938
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Lockport, New York, United States
Height: 5'8" (173 cm)
 34 
Derek Walcott
(Saint Lucian Poet, Playwright, and Winner of the 1992 Nobel Prize in Literature)
Derek Walcott
4
Birthdate: January 23, 1930
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Castries, Saint Lucia
Died: March 17, 2017

Derek Walcott was a Saint Lucian playwright and poet who was honored with the 1992 Nobel Prize in Literature. He was also the recipient of several literary awards like Obie Award, Royal Society of Literature Award, OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature, and Queen's Medal for Poetry. In 2016, he was made Knight Commander of the Order of Saint Lucia.

 35 
Chirlane McCray
(Writer, Social Activist)
Chirlane McCray
7
Birthdate: November 29, 1954
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Springfield, Massachusetts, United States
 36 
Gulzar
(Lyricist)
Gulzar
7
Birthdate: August 18, 1934
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Dina, Punjab

Famed Indian lyricist, poet, author, screenwriter, and film director Gulzar has been a major figure in Bollywood for over six decades. He started doing odd jobs as a teenager and eventually entered films, where he made a name for himself as a lyricist and screenwriter. He soon started directing films as well. He is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards.

 37 
Jim Harrison
(Poet)
Jim Harrison
4
Birthdate: December 11, 1937
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Grayling, Michigan, USA
Died: March 26, 2016
 38 
Günter Grass
(German Novelist & Nobel Prize Laureate, Best Known for His 1959 Novel, 'The Tin Drum')
Günter Grass
4
Birthdate: October 16, 1927
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Free City of Danzig, Poland
Died: April 13, 2015

Günter Grass was a German novelist, illustrator, graphic artist, poet, playwright, and sculptor. A much revered and decorated writer, Grass was honored with the prestigious Nobel Prize in Literature in 1999. Over the course of his illustrious career, Günter Grass won many other awards, including the Georg Büchner Prize and the Hermann Kesten Prize.

 39 
Olga Tokarczuk
(Polish Writer Best Known for Her Novel 'Flights' and Winner of 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature)
Olga Tokarczuk
7
Birthdate: January 29, 1962
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Sulechów, Poland

Olga Tokarczuk is a Polish writer and public intellectual. She is one of the most critically acclaimed authors of her generation in Poland. She was awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature, becoming the first female Polish writer to receive the honor. Her works have been translated into almost 40 languages. She is also a clinical psychologist. 

 40 
Peter Handke
(One of the Most Influential and Original German-Language Writers Known for His Work 'Offending the Audience')
Peter Handke
4
Birthdate: December 6, 1942
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Griffen, Austria

Peter Handke is an Austrian novelist, poet, translator, playwright, screenwriter, and film director. One of the most respected personalities in Austria, Handke has won several prestigious awards over the course of his career. In 1973, he was awarded the Georg Büchner Prize. In 1987, he won the Vilenica International Literary Prize. In 2019, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature.

 41 
Shelley Berman
(Comedian)
Shelley Berman
4
Birthdate: February 3, 1925
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Died: September 1, 2017
Height: 5'9" (175 cm)
 42 
Betty Aberlin
(Actress)
Betty Aberlin
6
Birthdate: December 30, 1942
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: New York, New York, United States
Height: 5'2" (157 cm)
 43 
Angela Marie DiFranco
(Singer)
Angela Marie DiFranco
6
Birthdate: September 23, 1970
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Buffalo, New York, United States
Height: 5'2" (157 cm)
 44 
Louise Erdrich
(Author)
Louise Erdrich
4
Birthdate: June 7, 1954
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Little Falls, Minnesota, US
 45 
Madeleine L'Engle
(Best Known for Her Children’s Book, 'A Wrinkle in Time')
Madeleine L'Engle
6
Birthdate: November 29, 1918
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: New York City, New York,United States
Died: September 6, 2007

Madeleine L'Engle soared to fame with her Newbery Medal-winning bestselling young adult novel A Wrinkle in Time, which was made into a Disney film later. Born to a writer father and a pianist mother, L’Engle had penned her first story at age 5 and had also tried her luck in theater.

 46 
Stephen Gyllenhaal
(Director)
Stephen Gyllenhaal
4
Birthdate: October 4, 1949
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Height: 6'1" (185 cm)
 47 
Serge Monast
(Journalist)
Serge Monast
6
Birthdate: 1945 AD
Birthplace: Montreal, Canada
Died: December 5, 1996

Serge Monast was a Québécois investigative journalist, poet, and essayist. He was also known as a conspiracy theorist. He wrote extensively on the theme of the New World Order in the 1990s and was particularly inspired by the works of fellow conspiracy theorist William Guy Carr. Project Blue Beam (NASA) is one of his most popular works. 

 48 
Ayumi Hamasaki
(Singer, Seiyū, Songwriter, Model, Actor, Singer-songwriter, Composer, Lyricist, Poet, Record producer)
Ayumi Hamasaki
7
Birthdate: October 2, 1978
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Fukuoka

Japanese pop icon Ayumi Hamasaki had started a TV career after moving to Tokyo at 14. She later gained fame with her dance hits and ballads. Also known for her dramatic costumes and videos, The Empress of J-pop has been rendered totally deaf in one ear, owing to a ear infection.

 49 
Douglas Hofstadter
(American Philosopher, Writer and Poet)
Douglas Hofstadter
5
Birthdate: February 15, 1945
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: New York, New York, United States
 50 
Julia Cameron
(Screenwriter, Film director, Novelist, Poet)
Julia Cameron
6
Birthdate: March 4, 1948
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Libertyville