Poets L-Z, SNY-TER
Discover poets whose language, rhythm, and imagination have distilled love, grief, protest, wonder, and everyday life into memorable lines.
Poets L-Z Encyclopedia Articles By Title
Snyder, Gary
Gary Snyder is an American poet who was early identified with the Beat movement and, from the late 1960s, became......
Socé, Ousmane
Ousmane Socé was a Senegalese writer and politician who was one of the first novelists of his country. After attending......
SolomĂłs, DhionĂsios, Count
DhionĂsios, Count SolomĂłs was the first poet of modern Greece to show the capabilities of Demotic Greek when inspired......
Somadeva
Somadeva was a Kashmiri Brahman of the Ćaiva sect and Sanskrit writer who preserved much of Indiaâs ancient folklore......
Somerville, William
William Somerville was a British writer who, after studies directed toward a career at law, lived the life of a......
Sordello
Sordello was the most renowned Provençal troubadour of Italian birth, whose planh, or lament, on the death of his......
Sorrentino, Gilbert
Gilbert Sorrentino was an American poet and experimental novelist, whose use of devices such as nonchronological......
Soupault, Philippe
Philippe Soupault was a French poet and novelist who was instrumental in founding the Surrealist movement. Soupaultâs......
Soutar, William
William Soutar was a Scottish poet, second in importance to Hugh MacDiarmid among the writers of the Scottish Renaissance......
Southey, Robert
Robert Southey was an English poet and writer of miscellaneous prose who is chiefly remembered for his association......
Southwell, Robert
Robert Southwell was an English poet and martyr remembered for his saintly life as a Jesuit priest and missionary......
Soyinka, Wole
Wole Soyinka is a Nigerian playwright and political activist who received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986.......
SoĂștsos, AlĂ©xandros
AlĂ©xandros SoĂștsos was a Greek poet who founded the Greek Romantic school of poetry. SoĂștsos studied in Chios (KhĂos)......
Spark, Muriel
Muriel Spark was a British writer best known for the satire and wit with which the serious themes of her novels......
Spender, Sir Stephen
Sir Stephen Spender was an English poet and critic, who made his reputation in the 1930s with poems expressing......
Spenser, Edmund
Edmund Spenser was an English poet whose long allegorical poem The Faerie Queene is one of the greatest in the......
Spieghel, Henric Laurenszoon
Henric Laurenszoon Spieghel was a poet of the northern Dutch Renaissance whose highly individual spiritual beliefs......
Spitteler, Carl
Carl Spitteler was a Swiss poet of visionary imagination and author of pessimistic yet heroic verse. He was awarded......
Squire, Sir J C
Sir J. C. Squire was an English journalist, playwright, a leading poet of the Georgian school, and an influential......
Staff, Leopold
Leopold Staff was an influential poet and translator associated with the Young Poland movement at the end of the......
Stafford, William
William Stafford was an American poet whose work explores manâs relationship with nature. He formed the habit of......
Stagnelius, Erik Johan
Erik Johan Stagnelius was one of the strangest and most romantic of the Swedish Romantic poets. Most of his childhood......
Stanley, Thomas
Thomas Stanley was an English poet, translator, and the first English historian of philosophy. Stanley was the......
Statius
Statius was one of the principal Roman epic and lyric poets of the Silver Age of Latin literature (ad 18â133).......
Stead, C.K.
C.K. Stead is a New Zealand poet and novelist who gained an international reputation as a critic with The New Poetic:......
Stedman, Edmund Clarence
Edmund Clarence Stedman was a poet, critic, and editor, whose writing was popular in the United States during the......
Steel, Danielle
Danielle Steel is an American writer best known for her numerous best-selling romance novels. Steel was an only......
StefĂĄnsson, DavĂĂ°
DavĂĂ° StefĂĄnsson was an Icelandic poet and novelist, best known as a poet of humanity. StefĂĄnsson came of a cultured......
Stein, Gertrude
Gertrude Stein was an avant-garde American writer, eccentric, and self-styled genius whose Paris home was a salon......
Stephansson, Stephan G.
Stephan G. Stephansson was an Icelandic-born poet who wrote virtually all his poems in North America. The son of......
Stephens, Alfred George
Alfred George Stephens was an Australian literary critic and journalist whose writings in newspapers and periodicals......
Stephens, James
James Stephens was an Irish poet and storyteller whose pantheistic philosophy is revealed in his fairy tales set......
Stesichorus
Stesichorus was a Greek poet known for his distinctive choral lyric verse on epic themes. His name was originally......
Stevens, Wallace
Wallace Stevens was an American poet whose work explores the interaction of reality and what man can make of reality......
Stevenson, Robert Louis
Robert Louis Stevenson was a Scottish essayist, poet, and author of fiction and travel books, best known for his......
Stewart, Douglas
Douglas Stewart was a poet, playwright, and critic who helped establish an Australian national tradition through......
Stewart, Maria
Maria Stewart was an American writer, lecturer, teacher, and activist who was the first known American woman to......
Stiernhielm, Georg
Georg Stiernhielm was a poet and scholar, often called âthe father of Swedish poetry.â Stiernhielm, the son of......
Stoddard, Richard Henry
Richard Henry Stoddard was an American poet, critic, and editor, more important as a figure in New York literary......
Stolberg-Stolberg, Friedrich Leopold, Graf zu
Friedrich Leopold, Graf zu Stolberg-Stolberg was a German lyric poet of the Sturm und Drang (Storm and Stress)......
Storm, Theodor Woldsen
Theodor Woldsen Storm was a poet and novelist whose novellas are among the finest in German literature. He is an......
Storni, Alfonsina
Alfonsina Storni was one of the foremost poets in Latin American literature. Storniâs family immigrated to Argentina......
Stow, Randolph
Randolph Stow was an Australian novelist and poet noted for his economical style and great powers of description.......
Strachwitz, Moritz, Graf von
Moritz, count von Strachwitz was a German poet remembered for his Neue Gedichte (âNew Poemsâ), which included such......
Strand, Mark
Mark Strand was a Canadian poet, writer of short fiction, and translator whose poetry, noted for its surreal quality,......
Strange, Michael
Michael Strange was an American writer and performer who produced poetry and plays, acted onstage, and did readings......
Su Shi
Su Shi was one of Chinaâs greatest poets and essayists, who was also an accomplished calligrapher and a public......
Suckling, Sir John
Sir John Suckling was an English Cavalier poet, dramatist, and courtier, best known for his lyrics. He was educated......
Sugawara Michizane
Sugawara Michizane was a Japanese political figure and scholar of Chinese literature of the Heian period, who was......
Sully Prudhomme
Sully Prudhomme was a French poet who was a leading member of the Parnassian movement, which sought to restore......
Sumarokov, Aleksandr Petrovich
Aleksandr Petrovich Sumarokov was a Russian Neoclassical poet and dramatist, director of the first permanent theatre......
Supervielle, Jules
Jules Supervielle was a poet, dramatist, and short-story writer of Basque descent who wrote in the French language......
Surrey, Henry Howard, Earl of
Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey was a poet who, with Sir Thomas Wyatt (1503â42), introduced into England the styles......
Sutherland, Efua
Efua Sutherland was a Ghanaian playwright, poet, teacher, and childrenâs author, who founded the Drama Studio in......
Sutzkever, Avrom
Avrom Sutzkever was a Yiddish-language poet whose works chronicle his childhood in Siberia, his life in the Vilna......
Swenson, May
May Swenson was an American poet whose work is noted for its engaging imagery, intricate wordplay, and eccentric......
Swift, Jonathan
Jonathan Swift was an Anglo-Irish author who was the foremost prose satirist in the English language. Besides the......
Swinburne, Algernon Charles
Algernon Charles Swinburne was an English poet and critic, outstanding for prosodic innovations and noteworthy......
Sylvester, Josuah
Josuah Sylvester was an English poet-translator, best known as the translator of a popular biblical epic, the Divine......
Symonds, John Addington
John Addington Symonds was an English essayist, poet, and biographer best known for his cultural history of the......
Symons, Arthur
Arthur Symons was a poet and critic, the first English champion of the French Symbolist poets. Symonsâs schooling......
Sze, Arthur
Arthur Sze is an American poet who was appointed U.S. poet laureate in 2025, making him the 25th person to hold......
Szymborska, WisĆawa
WisĆawa Szymborska was a Polish poet whose intelligent and empathic explorations of philosophical, moral, and ethical......
SĂĄ de Miranda, Francisco de
Francisco de SĂĄ de Miranda was a Portuguese poet who introduced Renaissance poetic forms to Portugal. The illegitimate......
SĂĄ-Carneiro, MĂĄrio de
MĂĄrio de SĂĄ-Carneiro was a poet and novelist, one of the most original and complex figures of the Portuguese Modernist......
SĂ©nac, Jean
Jean SĂ©nac was a French-language poet active in the cause of national literature in Algeria. SĂ©nacâs early poetry,......
Södergran, Edith
Edith Södergran was a Swedish-Finnish poet whose expressionistic work influenced a generation of Finnish and Swedish......
SĂŒleyman Ăelebi
SĂŒleyman Ăelebi was one of the most famous early poets of Anatolia. SĂŒleyman appears to have been the son of an......
SÄp SzarzyĆski, MikoĆaj
MikoĆaj SÄp SzarzyĆski was a Polish religious poet remembered for writing metaphysical sonnets with inverted word......
SĆonimski, Antoni
Antoni SĆonimski was a Polish poet, translator, and newspaper columnist known for his devotion to pacifism and......
SĆowacki, Juliusz
Juliusz SĆowacki was a Polish poet and dramatic author, one of the most important poets of the Romantic period.......
SĆchĆ
SĆchĆ was a Japanese renga (âlinked-verseâ) poet and chronicler of the late Muromachi period (1338â1573) who, along......
SĆ«rdÄs
SĆ«rdÄs, (fl. 16th century, probably in Braj, India; traditionally b. 1483âd. 1563), North Indian devotional poet......
Taggard, Genevieve
Genevieve Taggard was an American poet and biographer of Emily Dickinson who was much admired for her lyric verse......
Tagore, Rabindranath
Rabindranath Tagore was a Bengali poet, short-story writer, song composer, playwright, essayist, and painter who......
Takahama Kyoshi
Takahama Kyoshi was a haiku poet, a major figure in the development of haiku literature in modern Japan. Through......
Taliesin
Taliesin was one of five poets renowned among the Welsh in the latter part of the 6th century, according to the......
TannhÀuser
TannhÀuser was a German lyric poet who became the hero of a popular legend. As a professional minnesinger, he served......
Tanning, Dorothea
Dorothea Tanning was an American artist and author who, during her seven-decade career, moved between painting,......
Tansen
Tansen was an Indian musician and poet who was an important figure in the North Indian tradition of Hindustani......
Tao Qian
Tao Qian was one of Chinaâs greatest poets and a noted recluse. Born into an impoverished aristocratic family,......
Tarlton, Richard
Richard Tarlton was an English actor, ballad writer, favourite jester of Queen Elizabeth I, and the most popular......
Tasso, Bernardo
Bernardo Tasso was an Italian courtier and poet who was the father of Torquato Tasso, the greatest Italian poet......
Tasso, Torquato
Torquato Tasso was the greatest Italian poet of the late Renaissance, celebrated for his heroic epic poem Gerusalemme......
Tassoni, Alessandro
Alessandro Tassoni was an Italian political writer, literary critic, and poet, remembered for his mock-heroic satiric......
Tate, Allen
Allen Tate was an American poet, teacher, novelist, and a leading exponent of the New Criticism. In both his criticism......
Tate, James
James Tate was an American poet noted for the surreal imagery, subversive humour, and unsettling profundity of......
Tate, Nahum
Nahum Tate was a poet laureate of England and playwright, adapter of otherâs plays, and collaborator with Nicholas......
Tavares, Eugénio (de Paulo)
EugĂ©nio Tavares was a Cape Verdean poet who was one of the first Cape Verdeans to be published in the islandsâ......
Taylor, Edward
Edward Taylor was one of the foremost poets in colonial British North America. Unwilling to subscribe to the required......
Taylor, John
John Taylor was a minor English poet, pamphleteer, and journalist who called himself âthe Water Poet.â The son......
Tchernichowsky, Saul
Saul Tchernichowsky was a prolific Hebrew poet, whose poetry, in strongly biblical language, dealt with Russia,......
Tchicaya U Tamâsi
Tchicaya U Tamâsi was a Congolese French-language writer and poet whose work explores the relationships between......
Teasdale, Sara
Sara Teasdale was an American poet whose short, personal lyrics were noted for their classical simplicity and quiet......
Tegnér, Esaias
Esaias Tegnér was a Swedish teacher, bishop, and the most popular poet of his period. When Tegnér was nine his......
Teirlinck, Herman
Herman Teirlinck was a Flemish novelist, poet, short-story writer, essayist, and playwright who is considered one......
Telesilla
Telesilla was a Greek poet noted for saving the city of Argos from attack by Cleomenes and his Spartan troops after......
Tenreiro, Francisco José
Francisco José Tenreiro was an African poet writing in Portuguese whose poems express the sufferings caused by......
Terpander
Terpander was a Greek poet and musician of the Aegean island of Lesbos. Terpander was proverbially famous as a......
Terry, Lucy
Lucy Terry was a poet, storyteller, and activist of colonial and postcolonial America. Terry was taken from Africa......