Gemini Poets

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 1 
Walt Whitman
(One of the Most Influential Poets in the American Canon, Regarded as the 'Father of Free Verse')
Walt Whitman
11
Birthdate: May 31, 1819
Birthplace: West Hills, New York, United States
Died: March 26, 1892

Walt Whitman was an American poet, journalist, and essayist. Also a humanist, Whitman played a crucial role in the shift between transcendentalism and realism. Often referred to as the father of free verse, Whitman is one of the most influential American poets of all time. Several decades after his death, Walt Whitman's poetry remains influential.

 2 
W B Yeats
(One of the Greatest English-Language Poets of the 20th Century and 1923 Nobel Prize for Literature Winner)
W B Yeats
7
Birthdate: June 13, 1865
Birthplace: Sandymount, Ireland
Died: January 28, 1939
Nobel Prize-winning Irish poet, playwright, and prose writer W. B. Yeats is remembered as one of the most significant literary figures of the 20th century. Known for works such as The Tower, he also helped establish the Abbey Theatre. An occult enthusiast, he was also part of The Ghost Club.
 3 
Ralph Waldo Emerson
(Famous For his Essay 'Nature' and Speech Entitled 'The American Scholar')
Ralph Waldo Emerson
7
Birthdate: May 25, 1803
Birthplace: Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Died: April 27, 1882

Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American philosopher who led the transcendentalist movement that developed in the eastern United States in the 1820s and 1830s. He is credited with popularizing individualism through his numerous lectures and essays. Emerson influenced many thinkers and writers that followed him; he mentored Henry David Thoreau, who went on to become a leading transcendentalist.

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 4 
Thomas Hardy
(Novelist & Poet)
Thomas Hardy
8
Birthdate: June 2, 1840
Birthplace: Stinsford, Dorset, England
Died: January 11, 1928
Victorian novelist and poet Thomas Hardy exhibited strong influences of Romanticism in his works. He wrote classic novels such as Far from the Madding Crowd, The Mayor of Casterbridge, and Tess of the d'Urbervilles. He mostly showed his characters struggling against social conditions and ending up in tragic situations.
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 5 
Alexander Pope
(One of the Most Prominent English Poets of the Early 18th Century)
Alexander Pope
10
Birthdate: May 21, 1688
Birthplace: London, England, United Kingdom
Died: May 30, 1744

Alexander Pope was a satirist and poet whose works produced during the Augustan period made him one of the greatest artistic exponents of that period. Widely regarded as one of the most important English poets of the 18th century, Alexander Pope is best remembered for writing discursive poetry and heroic couplets.

 6 
Allen Ginsberg
(Best Known for His Poem ‘Howl’, Which is One of the Most Significant Products of the 'Beat Movement')
Allen Ginsberg
14
Birthdate: June 3, 1926
Birthplace: Newark, New Jersey, United States
Died: April 5, 1997
Allen Ginsberg, a Beat Generation poet, is best remembered for his 1956 poem Howl, which criticized U.S. capitalism and described homosexual acts, and was thus banned. He earned the National Book Award for The Fall of America and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for Cosmopolitan Greetings: Poems 1986–1992.
 7 
Alexander Pushkin
(The Greatest Russian Poet and the Founder of Modern Russian Literature)
Alexander Pushkin
10
Birthdate: May 26, 1799
Birthplace: Moscow, Russia
Died: January 29, 1837
Legendary Russian playwright, poet, and novelist Alexander Pushkin is considered one of the most prominent figures of the Romantic era and of Russian literature. He is remembered for his poem Ode to Liberty, one of his works that led him to be exiled by Tsar Alexander I. 
 8 
Gilbert K. Chesterton
(One of the Greatest Writers of the 20th Century Best Known as the 'Prince of Paradox')
Gilbert K. Chesterton
4
Birthdate: May 29, 1874
Birthplace: Kensington, London, United Kingdom
Died: June 14, 1936

Gilbert K. Chesterton was an English writer, philosopher, and art critic. A prolific writer, he composed around 80 books, hundreds of poems, around 200 short stories, and 4,000 essays. Often referred to as the "prince of paradox", he had as many detractors as he had admirers. He is considered a successor to Victorian authors like Matthew Arnold and John Ruskin.

 9 
Federico García Lorca
(Spanish Poet, Playwright, and Theatre Director.)
Federico García Lorca
5
Birthdate: June 5, 1898
Birthplace: Fuente Vaqueros, Spain
Died: August 19, 1936

Federico García Lorca was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theater director. He was a prominent member of the Generation of '27, a group of poets who essentially worked with avant-garde forms of art and poetry. He was homosexual and had a love affair with sculptor Emilio Aladrén. He mysteriously disappeared at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War.

 10 
Ben Jonson
(Dramatist, Poet & Actor)
Ben Jonson
6
Birthdate: June 11, 1572
Birthplace: Westminster, London, England
Died: August 6, 1637
 11 
Robert Ludlum
(Author of 27 thriller novels, best known as the creator of Jason Bourne from the original The Bourne Trilogy series.)
Robert Ludlum
4
Birthdate: May 25, 1927
Birthplace: New York City, United States
Died: March 12, 2001
 12 
Giovanni Boccaccio
(One of the Greatest European Prose Writers of His Time)
Giovanni Boccaccio
5
Birthdate: June 16, 1313
Birthplace: Certaldo, Italy
Died: September 21, 1375

Giovanni Boccaccio was an Italian poet, writer, and correspondent of Petrarch. An important Renaissance humanist, Boccaccio was also one of the most prominent personalities of 14th-century European literature. A versatile writer, Giovanni Boccaccio is often viewed as the most important European prose writer of his generation. His works influenced popular personalities like Geoffrey Chaucer and Miguel de Cervantes.

 13 
Fernando Pessoa
(Portuguese Modernist Poet and Author of 'Mensagem' and 'The Book of Disquiet')
Fernando Pessoa
4
Birthdate: June 13, 1888
Birthplace: Lisbon, Portugal
Died: November 30, 1935

Fernando Pessoa was a Portuguese poet, writer, translator, and publisher. A prolific writer, he is considered one of the most significant literary figures of the 20th century. While he mostly wrote in the Portuguese language, he also wrote in English and French occasionally. Besides writing under his own name, he also wrote under approximately 75 other names.

 14 
Jewel
(Singer-Songwriter)
Jewel
16
Birthdate: May 23, 1974
Birthplace: Payson, Utah, United States
Height: 5'6" (168 cm)
 15 
Vinayak Damodar Savarkar
(Independence Activist, Reformer)
Vinayak Damodar Savarkar
10
Birthdate: May 28, 1883
Birthplace: Bhagur
Died: February 26, 1966

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was an Indian politician and independence activist. He formulated the Hindu nationalist philosophy of Hindutva and was a leading figure in the Hindu Mahasabha. He was known for his strong oratory skills and was an eloquent writer. He was initially charged as a co-conspirator in the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi but was later acquitted.

 16 
Joyce Carol Oates
10
Birthdate: June 16, 1938
Birthplace: Lockport, New York, United States
Height: 5'8" (173 cm)
 17 
Christy Brown
(Writer)
Christy Brown
5
Birthdate: June 5, 1932
Birthplace: Crumlin, Dublin, Ireland
Died: September 7, 1981
 18 
Theodore Roethke
(Pulitzer Prize Winning Poet)
Theodore Roethke
5
Birthdate: May 25, 1908
Birthplace: Saginaw, Michigan
Died: August 1, 1963
 19 
Dorothy L. Sayers
(English crime writer and poet.)
Dorothy L. Sayers
8
Birthdate: June 13, 1893
Birthplace: Oxford, England
Died: December 17, 1957
 20 
Louise Erdrich
(Author)
Louise Erdrich
4
Birthdate: June 7, 1954
Birthplace: Little Falls, Minnesota, US
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 21 
Gwendolyn Brooks
6
Birthdate: June 7, 1917
Birthplace: Topeka, Kansas
Died: December 3, 2000
 22 
Raymond Carver
(Short story writer)
Raymond Carver
5
Birthdate: May 25, 1938
Birthplace: Clatskanie, Oregon, United States
Died: August 2, 1988
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 23 
Kazi Nazrul Islam
(One of the Greatest Poets in Bengali Literature)
Kazi Nazrul Islam
5
Birthdate: May 24, 1899
Birthplace: Churulia, India
Died: August 29, 1976

The Rebel Poet of Bengal Kazi Nazrul Islam is remembered for his vast body of literary work, including poems and songs written during the British Raj, mostly laced with socio-political overtones. His songs, known as Nazrul Geeti, are the staple for any Bengali household. He is also Bangladesh’s national poet.

 24 
Banks
(Singer)
Banks
9
Birthdate: June 16, 1988
Birthplace: Orange County, California, US
 25 
Joseph Brodsky
(Poet, Essayist and Winner of 1987 Nobel Prize in Literature)
Joseph Brodsky
7
Birthdate: May 24, 1940
Birthplace: Saint Petersburg, Russia
Died: January 28, 1996
Nobel Prize-winning Russian-American poet Joseph Brodsky is remembered for his elegiac and lyric poems. While he had started writing poems soon after leaving school, he was sentenced to hard labor by the Soviets for his irregular work record. He later moved to the U.S., where he taught at various universities.
 26 
Nikki Giovanni
(Poet, Writer)
Nikki Giovanni
11
Birthdate: June 7, 1943
Birthplace: Knoxville
 27 
Countee Cullen
(American poet)
Countee Cullen
3
Birthdate: May 30, 1903
Died: January 9, 1946
 28 
Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi
(Islamic Scholar, Reformer)
Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi
6
Birthdate: June 14, 1856
Birthplace: Bareilly
Died: October 28, 1921

Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi, also known as Ala-Hazrat, was a renowned Islamic scholar and an Urdu poet. Born in Bareilly, British India, he belonged to a family of Rohilla Pushtuns who had migrated from Qandahar. He wrote about various subjects such as philosophy, science, and astronomy.

 29 
John Masefield
(Poet)
John Masefield
7
Birthdate: June 1, 1878
Birthplace: Ledbury, United Kingdom
Died: May 12, 1967
 30 
Vikram Seth
(Writer)
Vikram Seth
4
Birthdate: June 20, 1952
Birthplace: Kolkata

Vikram Seth is an Indian poet and novelist. He is credited with increasing the readership of the English language in India. A revered and celebrated writer, Vikram Seth has been honored with several prestigious awards, such as the Sahitya Academy Award, WH Smith Literary Award, Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, Crossword Book Award, Padma Shri, Commonwealth Poetry Prize, and Commonwealth Writers Prize.

 31 
Moondog
(Musician)
Moondog
11
Birthdate: May 26, 1916
Birthplace: Marysville,United States
Died: September 8, 1999
 32 
Simon Armitage
(Poet)
Simon Armitage
5
Birthdate: May 26, 1963
Birthplace: Huddersfield, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
 33 
Henry Lawson
(Writer)
Henry Lawson
4
Birthdate: June 17, 1867
Birthplace: Grenfell
Died: September 2, 1922

Henry Lawson was an Australian bush poet and writer. Often referred to as Australia's greatest short story writer, Lawson is one of the best-known Australian fiction writers and poets of the colonial period. Also a nationalist, Henry Lawson contributed immensely to a popular Australian magazine named The Bulletin. In 1949, he was featured in an Australian postage stamp.

 34 
Julia Ward Howe
(Known for Writing the ‘Battle Hymn of the Republic’)
Julia Ward Howe
5
Birthdate: May 27, 1819
Birthplace: New York City, United States
Died: October 17, 1910
 35 
Philip Kotler
(Author)
Philip Kotler
4
Birthdate: May 27, 1931
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois
 36 
Lemn Sissay
(British Author and Broadcaster)
Lemn Sissay
4
Birthdate: May 21, 1967
Birthplace: Higher End, Orrell, United Kingdom
 37 
Paul Beatty
(Novelist, Poet)
Paul Beatty
3
Birthdate: June 9, 1962
Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, United States
 38 
Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis
(One of the Greatest Writers of Brazilian Literature)
Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis
3
Birthdate: June 21, 1839
Birthplace: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Died: September 29, 1908

Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis was a Brazilian novelist, playwright, poet, and short-story writer. Hailing from a family of freed slaves, he had a difficult childhood that he overcame to become a famous writer. He founded the Brazilian Academy of Letters and became the organization’s first president. He is credited with having shaped the realism movement in Brazil.   

 39 
Marguerite Yourcenar
(French Novelist, Essayist and First Woman Elected to the 'Académie Française')
Marguerite Yourcenar
3
Birthdate: June 8, 1903
Birthplace: Brussels, Belgium
Died: December 17, 1987

Belgian-born French novelist Marguerite Yourcenar, who later settled in the US, is best remembered for her award-winning works such as Mémoires d'Hadrien. She was also the first female member to be elected to the Académie Française. She used an anagram of her original last name, Crayencour, as her surname.

 40 
Rodolfo Gonzales
(Boxer)
Rodolfo Gonzales
3
Birthdate: June 18, 1928
Birthplace: Denver, Colorado, United States
Died: April 12, 2005
Height: 5'9" (175 cm)
 41 
Anne Carson
(Linguist, Poet, Translator, Writer, University teacher, Literary critic)
Anne Carson
3
Birthdate: June 21, 1950
Birthplace: Toronto

Born to a banker in Toronto, Anne Carson grew up to study Classics and later taught at institutes such as Princeton University. Her signature style consists of a mix of prose and poetry. One of her notable works, Autobiography of Red: A Novel in Verse, was inspired by Greek mythology.

 42 
Judith Wright
(Poet, Environmentalist, Campaigner for Aboriginal Land Rights)
Judith Wright
3
Birthdate: May 31, 1915
Birthplace: Armidale, Australia
Died: June 25, 2000

Judith Wright was an Australian environmentalist, poet, and campaigner for Indigenous land rights. Wright is credited with founding one of the earliest environmental conservation movements in Australia. Best remembered for her poetry skills, Judith Wright won the prestigious Christopher Brennan Award in 1976. In 1991, she was honored with the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry.

 43 
Bülent Ecevit
(Turkey's 16th Prime Minister)
Bülent Ecevit
4
Birthdate: May 28, 1925
Birthplace: Istanbul
Died: November 5, 2006

The 16th prime minister of Turkey, Bülent Ecevit had held the post for 4 terms. He had led both the Democratic Left Party and the Republican People's Party and is remembered as the only left-wing prime minister that Turkey ever had. He was also a journalist and a talented poet and author.

 44 
Naim Frasheri
(Historian)
Naim Frasheri
3
Birthdate: May 25, 1846
Birthplace: Fraşer, Yanya Eyalet, Ottoman Empire (now Frashër, Albania)
Died: October 20, 1900
 45 
Rosario Castellanos
(One of Mexico's Most Important Literary Voices in the 20th Century)
Rosario Castellanos
3
Birthdate: May 25, 1925
Birthplace: Mexico City, Mexico
Died: August 7, 1974

Mexican poet and author Rosario Castellanos was one of the most prominent literary voices of Mexico and perhaps the most significant Mexican woman writer of the last century. Her literary work on cultural and gender oppression has greatly influenced Mexican feminist theory and cultural studies. Her notable works include her master’s thesis, Sobre cultura femenina and the poem Valium 10.

 46 
John Agard
(Playwright, Poet, Children's writer)
John Agard
4
Birthdate: June 21, 1949
Birthplace: Georgetown, Guyana
 47 
Alfonsina Storni
(Argentine Poet and Playwright of the Modernist Period)
Alfonsina Storni
3
Birthdate: May 29, 1892
Birthplace: Sala Capriasca, Switzerland
Died: October 25, 1938

Alfonsina Storni was an Argentine playwright and poet of the modernist period. She was one of the first women to find success in the Argentine literature and theater scene, which were dominated by men. Her literary works not only inspired her readers but also inspired other writers. 

 48 
Adah Isaacs Menken
(Actress)
Adah Isaacs Menken
3
Birthdate: June 15, 1835
Birthplace: Bordeaux, France
Died: August 10, 1868
 49 
Sarah Kay
(poet)
Sarah Kay
3
Birthdate: June 19, 1988
Birthplace: New York City
 50 
Felix Dennis
(Publisher)
Felix Dennis
6
Birthdate: May 27, 1947
Birthplace: Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey, England
Died: June 22, 2014