2 William Wordsworth(Poet)
English poet William Wordsworth, along with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, released Lyrical Ballads in 1798, which set the tone for the Romantic Age of English Literature. Wordsworth was known for his poems I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud, The Prelude, and The Solitary Reaper. He also served as the Poet Laureate.
3 Robert Frost(Poet)
Robert Frost was an American poet. An influential poet, Frost was honored with four Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry, the only poet to receive four such awards. One of America's public literary figures, Robert Frost received the Congressional Gold Medal in 1960. His works influenced other poets like Robert Francis, James Wright, Edward Thomas, Richard Wilbur, and Seamus Heaney.
4 Charles Baudelaire(French Poet Known for His Handling of Rhyme & Rhythm and His Book 'Les Fleurs du mal')
5 William Morris(Textile Designer, Poet)
William Morris was a British poet, novelist, textile designer, translator, and socialist activist. He played a major role in reviving the traditional British textile arts and the various methods of production. As a novelist and poet, Morris helped establish the fantasy genre, which is prevalent today. He is counted among the most important cultural figures of the Victorian era.
6 A. E. Housman(Poet)
7 Andrew Marvell(Poet)
8 Gil Scott-Heron(Poet and Singer-songwriter)

9 Joan Sebastian(Singer-songwriter, Actor, Poet, Record producer)

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.
10 Max Ernst(Primary Pioneer of the 'Dada Movement' and 'Surrealism' Known for His Work 'A Week of Kindness')
Max Ernst was a German painter, graphic artist, sculptor, and poet. A pioneer of the Dada movement, Ernst played an important role in popularizing surrealism during the early-20th century. He is also credited with inventing a couple of techniques, namely frottage and grattage. In 2005, the Max Ernst Museum was opened in his honor in Brühl, Germany.
11 Win Butler(Songwriter, Singer, Composer, Poet, Guitarist)

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.
12 Paul Verlaine(Poet)
Paul Verlaine was a French poet best remembered for his association with the Decadent movement and the Symbolist movement. He is regarded as one of the most important representatives of the fin de siècle in French and international poetry. His poetry served as an inspiration for composers like Gabriel Fauré, who composed several mélodies based on Verlaine's poems.
13 Seamus Heaney(Poet, Playwright & Translator Who Received the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature)
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 Octavio Paz(Writer, Poet, Diplomat and Noble Prize Laureate)
15 Fanny Crosby(Poet)

16 George Herbert(Poet recognized as one of the foremost British devotional lyricists)
George Herbert was an orator, poet, and priest of the Church of England. Although he is regarded as one of the most important British devotional lyricists, Herbert's poetry is often associated with the works of popular metaphysical poets. He was also a collector of proverbs and his collection was published in 1640.
17 Frieda Hughes(Painter, Poet)

18 Kingsley Amis(Novelist)
19 Benjamin Zephaniah(Actor, Poet, Writer, Singer)

20 Yue Fei(Military General Whose Expertise in Martial Arts Made Him a National Folk Hero in China)

Yue Fei was a Chinese military general best remembered for leading the Southern Song forces during the Jin–Song Wars in the 12th century. Fei is depicted in Jin Guliang's famous book Wu Shuang Pu and is widely regarded as a national folk hero in China.
21 John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester(Poet, Writer, Playwright)

22 Gabriela Mistral(Chilean poet)
Nobel Prize-winning Chilean poet and educator Lucila Godoy Alcayaga was better known by her pseudonym, Gabriela Mistral. The suicide of her first love inspired her poem Dolor. Her diplomatic assignments later took her to places such as Madrid and Lisbon. She is remembered for her emotional verses and her feminism.
23 Barbara Kingsolver(Novelist, Poet, Essayist)
24 Anatole France(One of the Best-Selling French Poet and Novelist)
Anatole France was a French poet, novelist, and journalist. Renowned for writing many best-sellers, Anatole France was one of the most respected French writers of his generation. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1921 for his brilliant literary achievements.
25 Veronica Franco(Courtesan, Poet)
A significant Venetian figure, Veronica Franco wasn’t an ordinary courtesan but was educated and a talented poet, too. She defended herself successfully against charges of witchcraft. Born to a courtesan, she was married to a doctor briefly and later became a sex worker to sustain herself and her children.
26 Nizar Qabbani(Diplomat)
Nizar Qabbani was a Syrian writer, diplomat, publisher, and poet. Renowned for incorporating themes like eroticism, religion, love, feminism, and Arab nationalism into his poetry, Qabbani's poems have achieved worldwide acclaim; they have been translated into many languages, including English and Russian. Regarded as Syria's National Poet, Qabbani is also one of the most respected poets in the Arab world.
27 Nizam al-Mulk(scientist, writer)

Nizam al-Mulk was a Persian political philosopher, scholar, and vizier of the Great Seljuk Empire. Nizam rose to the position of the de facto ruler from humble beginnings. He is perhaps best remembered for founding several important institutions known as madrasa in cities across the Seljuk Empire. Nizam al-Mulk is also credited with writing an important political treatise called Siyasatnama.
28 Dietrich Eckart(Poet)

German anti-Semitic völkisch poet, playwright, journalist, publicist, and political activist Dietrich Eckart, one of Adolf Hitler's earliest mentors who Hitler acknowledged as the spiritual co-founder of Nazism, founded German Workers' Party, the precursor of Nazi Party. Eckart was the original publisher of the Nazi Party newspaper Völkischer Beobachter, and lyricist of Sturmlied, the de facto anthem of the Sturmabteilung.
29 Erica Jong(Novelist)

30 John Millington Synge(Playwright, Poet)

A major figure of the Irish Literary Revival, John Millington Synge is best remembered for his play The Playboy of the Western World, which caused riots in Dublin due to its satiric depiction of the Irish nature of boasting. His life ended abruptly at 37, due to blood cancer.
31 Billy Collins(American poet, appointed as Poet Laureate of the United States from 2001 to 2003)

32 Mahadevi Varma(Poet, Novelist)
A leading figure of the Chhayavad movement of Hindi literature, Indian author Mahadevi Varma was also a Jnanpith Award and Padma Bhushan winner. A champion of women’s rights, she contributed to the establishment of the Prayag Mahila Vidyapeeth for educating girls. She also developed the soft Khadi boli.
33 Gaius Maecenas(Poet)

34 Andrew Lang(Poet, Novelist, Literary Critic)
Best known for his collections of folklore, fairy tales, and legends, Scottish author and Merton College fellow Andrew Lang was also an avid historian and anthropologist who coined the term psychical research. His The World of Homer and his translations of Homer’s works remain invaluable to Homerian students.
35 Julia Alvarez(American-Dominican poet)

36 Vivian Stanshall(Musician)

37 Ernest Cline(Novelist)

38 Edmond Rostand(Former poet and dramatist associated with neo-romanticism, became best-known for his 1897 play Cyrano de Bergerac)

39 Kamala Suraiyya(Poet)

Kamala Suraiyya, also known by her pen-name Madhavikutty and by her married name Kamala Das, was a Malayali poet who is remembered for her liberal treatment of female sexuality in her works. Her writings, such as Summer in Calcutta, form an integral part of Indian literature written in English.
40 Whittaker Chambers(Journalist)

41 Joy Davidman(Author, her best known work, Smoke on the Mountain: An Interpretation of the Ten Commandments)

42 Frank O'Hara(Poet)

43 Caroline Norton(Author)
Being the granddaughter of playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan, author Caroline Norton had her first experience at writing in her teens. Her beauty and charm, however, made her failed barrister husband jealous. The rift in their marriage caused her to successfully campaign for married women’s right to property and their children’s custody.
44 Gregory Corso(Poet, Novelist, Writer)

45 Algernon Charles Swinburne(Poet, Writer)

46 Lawrence Ferlinghetti(Officer, Poet, Writer, Publisher, Painter, Journalist)

47 Pietro Aretino(Poet, Writer, Playwright, Journalist)

Pietro Aretino was an Italian author, poet, satirist, and playwright. He wielded influence on contemporary politics and art. An outspoken critic, Aretino was one of the most important and influential writers of his generation. A self-proclaimed sodomite, Pietro Aretino was involved in romantic relationships with men, which was uncommon at that time.
48 Comte de Lautréamont(Poet)

49 Tracy K. Smith(Poet)

50 Edward FitzGerald(Poet, Writer)
