William Jay Smith: Quick Facts

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Facts

Born	April 22, 1918 • Louisiana
Died	August 8, 2015 (aged 97) • Pittsfield • Massachusetts

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Elizabeth Coatsworth

American author

Portrait of Shel Silverstein with a bald head and beard, leaning forward with hands clasped and a thoughtful expression.

Shel Silverstein

American illustrator and author

Alice Walker smiling and wearing glasses, a beaded necklace, and a burgundy velvet top at the opening of The Color Purple in New York City.

Alice Walker

American writer

Gwendolyn Brooks

Gwendolyn Brooks

American poet and educator

Dr. Maya Angelou sits and smiles, wearing a black outfit, in a wooden chair at her home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Maya Angelou

American poet, memoirist, and actress

Kwame Alexander

Kwame Alexander

American poet and children’s author

Juan Felipe Herrera

Juan Felipe Herrera

American poet, author, and activist

Julia Alvarez

Julia Alvarez

Dominican-American author and educator

Author Sandra Cisneros stands outdoors with arms crossed, wearing a patterned brown shawl, large earrings, turquoise bracelet, and pink ribbons in her hair.

Sandra Cisneros

American author

Pat Mora

Pat Mora

American poet, author, and activist

Nikki Grimes

Nikki Grimes

American author and poet

Nikki Giovanni

Nikki Giovanni

American poet

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Maxine Kumin

American author

Anne Sexton

Anne Sexton

American poet

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John Ciardi

American poet and critic

Ana Castillo

Ana Castillo

American poet and author

Sarah Orne Jewett

Sarah Orne Jewett

American writer

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Constance Lindsay Skinner

American writer and historian

O'Neill, Rose Cecil

Rose Cecil O’Neill

American illustrator and writer

Carl Sandburg

Carl Sandburg

American poet and historian

Book Jacket of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by American children's author illustrator Eric Carle (born 1929)

Classic Children’s Books Quiz

4:043 Dickinson, Emily: A Life of Letters, This is my letter to the world/That never wrote to me; I'll tell you how the Sun Rose/A Ribbon at a time; Hope is the thing with feathers/That perches in the soul

Famous Poets and Poetic Form

4:043 Dickinson, Emily: A Life of Letters, This is my letter to the world/That never wrote to me; I'll tell you how the Sun Rose/A Ribbon at a time; Hope is the thing with feathers/That perches in the soul

Famous Poets and Poetic Form

Illustration of "The Lamb" from "Songs of Innocence" by William Blake, 1879. poem; poetry

A Study of Poetry

Illustration of "The Lamb" from "Songs of Innocence" by William Blake, 1879. poem; poetry

A Study of Poetry

Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) only confirmed photograph of Emily Dickinson. 1978 scan of a Daguerreotype. ca. 1847; in the Amherst College Archives. American poet. See Notes:

Poetry: First Lines

Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) only confirmed photograph of Emily Dickinson. 1978 scan of a Daguerreotype. ca. 1847; in the Amherst College Archives. American poet. See Notes:

Poetry: First Lines