12/20/2019 Famous American Poets

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List of famous American poets with their biographies that include trivia, interesting facts, timeline and life history.

Famous American Poets

Famous People From United States (//www.thefamouspeople.com/united_states.php)

‣ 19th Century American Poets (//www.thefamouspeople.com/19th-century-american-poets.php)

‣ American Male Poets (//www.thefamouspeople.com/american-male- ‣ American Female Poets (//www.thefamouspeople.com/american-women-

poets.php) poets.php)

"I celebrate myself, and sing myself, And what I assume you shall assume, For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you." - wrote Walt Whitman, one of the
first great American poets (//www.thefamouspeople.com/poets.php) known to the world. Dwelling in a digital age, with computer and Internet controlling every aspect
of your life and leisure, how often does your mind ache to break free from the monotony of machineries and repose in verse? Poetry, the panacea for worldly tedium, has
inspired generations to greatness. Over the years America, the goldmine of poetic talent, has produced literary bards like Robert Frost, Edgar Allan Poe, Pablo Neruda,
and Emily Dickinson, whose poems are read and cherished to this day by connoisseurs and lay man alike. Whether you understand the iambic pentameter or not or
appreciate the use of caesura, you will surely love going through the biographies, trivia and facts of these famous American poets who gave poetry its own niche.

Sylvia Plath (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/sylvia-plath-125.php) Emily Dickinson (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/emily-dickinso

27 October 1932 10 December 1830
Poet, Novelist, and Writer
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/sylvia-plath-125.php) Poet
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/emily-dickinson-121.php)

Edgar Allan Poe (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/edgar-allan-poe-169.php)

Jim Morrison (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/jim-morrison-178
19 January 1809 08 December 1943
Author, Poet, Editor and Literary Critic
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/edgar-allan-poe-169.php) Singer, Lyricist, Poet, Musician, Filmmaker
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/jim-morrison-178.php)

Maya Angelou (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/maya-angelou-2329.php)

04 April 1928
Author
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/maya-angelou-2329.php)

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Henry David Thoreau (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/henry-david-thoreau-1608.php)

Aldous Huxley (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/aldous-huxley-2
12 July 1817 26 July 1894
Writer and Philosopher
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/henry-david-thoreau-1608.php) Writer
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/aldous-huxley-265.php)

T. S. Eliot (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/t-s-eliot-33.php) Walt Whitman (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/walt-whitman-29

26 September 1888 31 May 1819
Poet
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/t-s-eliot-33.php) Poet & humanist
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/walt-whitman-29.php)

Robert Frost (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/robert-frost-133.php) Ralph Waldo Emerson (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/ralph-wa

26 March 1874 25 May 1803
Poet
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/robert-frost-133.php) American Lecturer, Philosopher, Essayist & Poet
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/ralph-waldo-emersion-41.php)

Charles Bukowski (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/henry-charles-bukowski-998.php)

Jack Kerouac (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/jack-kerouac-202
16 August 1920 12 March 1922
Poet
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/henry-charles-bukowski-998.php) Novelist, Poet
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/jack-kerouac-202.php)

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Shel Silverstein (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/shel-silverstein

25 September 1930
Poet
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/shel-silverstein-129.php)
Allen Ginsberg (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/allen-ginsberg-136.php)
Langston Hughes (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/langston-hug
Allen Ginsberg
03 June 1926 Langston
01 FebruaryHughes
1902
Poet
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/allen-ginsberg-136.php) Poet, Novelist, Playwright, & Columnist
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/langston-hughes-187.php)
William Faulkner (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/william-cuthbert-faulkner-3198.php)
Ezra Pound (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/ezra-pound-161.ph
William Faulkner
25 September 1897 30Ezra Pound
October 1885
Writer, Nobel Laureate
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/william-cuthbert-faulkner-3198.php) Poet
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/ezra-pound-161.php)
Gertrude Stein (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/gertrude-stein-1520.php)
Gertrude
03 Stein
February 1874
American novelist
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/gertrude-stein-1520.php)

Dorothy Parker (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/dorothy-parker-32082.php)

Francis Scott Key (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/francis-scott
Dorothy
22 August Parker
1893 Francis Scott
01 August 1779 Key
Poet
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/dorothy-parker-32082.php) Lawyer
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/francis-scott-key-8118.php)

The Famous People

Joyce Carol Oates (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/joyce-carol-oates-2019.php)

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/h
Joyce Carol
16 June 1938Oates Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
27 February 1807
Writer
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/joyce-carol-oates-2019.php) Poet & Educator
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/henry-wadsworth-longfellow-186.php)
John Updike (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/john-updike-4900.php)E. E. Cummings (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/e-e-cummings
John
18 Updike
March 1932 E.14E. Cummings
October 1894
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/john-updike-4900.php) Poet
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/e-e-cummings-160.php)
Audre Lorde (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/audre-lorde-243.php) Sherman Alexie (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/sherman-alexie
18Audre Lorde
February 1934 Sherman Alexie
07 October 1966
Writer
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/audre-lorde-243.php) Novelist
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/sherman-alexie-4128.php)
Neal Cassady (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/neal-cassady-501
Neal
08 Cassady
February 1926
Ron Cephas Jones (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/ron-cephas-jones-46207.php)
Anne Sexton (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/anne-sexton-143.p
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/neal-cassady-5016.php)
08 January 1957 09 November 1928

Ron Cephas Jones Anne Sexton

Actor Poet
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/ron-cephas-jones-46207.php) (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/anne-sexton-143.php)

Wendell Berry (//www thefamouspeople com/profiles/wendell berry 3166 php)

Phillis Wheatley (//www thefamouspeople com/profiles/phillis wheatle
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Wendell Berry (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/wendell-berry-3166.php)
Phillis Wheatley (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/phillis-wheatle
Wendell Berry
05 August 1934 Phillis
08 MayWheatley
1753
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/wendell-berry-3166.php) Poet
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/phillis-wheatley-106.php)
Continue Reading Below
Saul Williams (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/saul-stacey-williams-2821.php)
Saul
29 Williams
February 1972
Singer, Musician, Poet
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/saul-stacey-williams-2821.php)
Horatio Alger (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/horatio-alger-3422.php)
Adrienne Rich (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/adrienne-cecile-
Horatio
13 January Alger
1832 Adrienne Rich
16 May 1929
American writer
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/horatio-alger-3422.php) American poet
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/adrienne-cecile-rich-621.php)
Richard Cabral (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/richard-cabral-46008.php)
Edward Gorey (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/edward-gorey-42
Richard
28 August Cabral
1984 Edward
22 FebruaryGorey
1925
Actor
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/richard-cabral-46008.php) (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/edward-gorey-4266.php)
Edna St. Vincent Millay (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/edna-st-vincent-millay-1297.php)
Carson McCullers (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/carson-mccu
Edna
22 St. Vincent
February 1892 Millay Carson McCullers
19 February 1917
Poetess and Playwright
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/edna-st-vincent-millay-1297.php) American novelist
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/carson-mccullers-3704.php)
Wallace Stevens (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/wallace-stevens-204.php)
Elizabeth Bishop (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/elizabeth-bish
Wallace
02 OctoberStevens
1879 Elizabeth
08 February Bishop
1911
Poet
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/wallace-stevens-204.php) Poet
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/elizabeth-bishop-197.php)
Betty Aberlin (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/betty-aberlin-4330
30Betty Aberlin
December 1942
Actress
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/betty-aberlin-43303.php)
Amiri Baraka (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/amiri-baraka-3330.php)
Robert LaSardo (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/robert-lasardo-
Amiri
07 Baraka
October 1934 Robert
20 LaSardo
September 1963
Writer
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/amiri-baraka-3330.php) Actor
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/robert-lasardo-47670.php)
Barbara Kingsolver (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/barbara-kingsolver-797.php)
Ogden Nash (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/ogden-nash-207.p
Barbara
08 AprilKingsolver
1955 Ogden
19 August Nash
1902
Novelist, Poet, Essayist
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/barbara-kingsolver-797.php) Poet
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/ogden-nash-207.php)
Gwendolyn Brooks (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/gwendolyn-brooks-271.php)
Gwendolyn Brooks
07 June 1917
Poet
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/gwendolyn-brooks-271.php)

Gary Snyder (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/gary-snyder-3806.php)James Weldon Johnson (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/james-

Gary
08 MaySnyder
1930 James17Weldon
June 1871Johnson
American man of letters
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/gary-snyder-3806.php) Author
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/james-weldon-johnson-113.php)
Claude McKay (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/claude-mckay-3723.php)
William Cullen Bryant (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/william-c
Claude
15 McKay
September 1889 William Cullen
03 November Bryant
1794
Writer
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/claude-mckay-3723.php) Romantic Poet
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/william-c-bryant-5211.php)
John Greenleaf Whittier (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/john-greenleaf-whittier-1912.php)
Paul Bowles (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/paul-bowles-7071.
John17Greenleaf Whittier
December 1807 30Paul Bowles
December 1910
Poet
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/john-greenleaf-whittier-1912.php) Writer, Music Composer
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/paul-bowles-7071.php)
Alan Jay Lerner (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/alan-jay-lerner-3269.php)
Theodore Roethke (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/theodore-ro
Alan Jay 1918
31 August Lerner Theodore Roethke
25 May 1908
American lyricist
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/alan-jay-lerner-3269.php) Pulitzer Prize Winning Poet
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/theodore-roethke-2999.php)
Bret Harte (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/bret-harte-7066.php)
25Bret Harte
August 1836
Author & Poet
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/bret-harte-7066.php)

Ella Wheeler Wilcox (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/ella-wheeler-wilcox-105.php)

John M. Ford (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/john-milo-ford-19
Ella Wheeler1850
05 November Wilcox John M.
10 April Ford
1957
Poet and Mystic Rosicrucian
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/ella-wheeler-wilcox-105.php) Novelist, Writer, Game Designer
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/john-milo-ford-1934.php)
Lucille Clifton (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/lucille-clifton-3379.php)
Allen Tate (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/allen-tate-4575.php)
Lucille Clifton
27 June 1936 Allen Tate
19 November 1899
American poet
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/lucille-clifton-3379.php) Poet
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/allen-tate-4575.php)
Robert Hayden (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/robert-hayden-200.php)
Robert Hayden
04 August 1913
Poet, Essayist, Educator
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/robert-hayden-200.php)

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Charles Simic (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/charles-simic-5955.php)

A. R. Ammons (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/a-r-ammons-441
Charles Simic
09 May 1938 A.February
18 R. Ammons
1926
Poet
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/charles-simic-5955.php) Poet
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/a-r-ammons-4419.php)
Malcolm Cowley (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/malcolm-cowley-5418.php)
Henry Van Dyke (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/henry-van-dyk
Malcolm
24 August Cowley
1898 Henry Van1852
10 November Dyke
Novelist & Poet
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/malcolm-cowley-5418.php) Writer
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/henry-van-dyke-239.php)
Thomas Bailey Aldrich (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thomas-bailey-aldrich-7069.php)
John Reed (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/john-reed-4897.php)
Thomas Bailey
11 November Aldrich
1836 22John Reed
October 1887
Poet & Novelist
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thomas-bailey-aldrich-7069.php) Journalist, Poet
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/john-reed-4897.php)
James Wright (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/james-wright-104.php)
David Wagoner (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/david-wagoner-
13James Wright
December 1927 David Wagoner
05 June 1926
Poet
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/james-wright-104.php) Poet, Novelist, Professor
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/david-wagoner-109.php)
Amy Clampitt (//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/amy-clampitt-459
Amy Clampitt
15 June 1920
Poet
(//www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/amy-clampitt-4591.php)

Garth Brooks L. Ron Hubbard

07 February 1962 13 March 1911
Garth
Singer-songwriter, Brooks
Musician,
Stephen Gyllenhaal Singer, Poet, L.Musician,
Officer, Novelist, Ron Hubbard
John Doe Writer, Screenwriter,

04 October 1949 25 February 1953

Stephen
Ursula K.Gyllenhaal
Le Guin
Director John
SingerDoe
21 October 1929
Ursula
American K. Le
author of Guin
novels

Marty Feldman Stephenie Meyer

08 July 1934 24 December 1973
Marty
Actor, Comedian, Feldman Poet
Jill Scott
Screenwriter, Stephenie
Captain
American Meyer
Beefheart
fiction writer
04 April 1972 15 January 1941
Jill Jordan
Robert Scott
Singer, Singer-songwriter, Actor, Poet, Jazz Captain
Charles J.Beefheart
Guiteau
Singer
17 October 1948 08 September 1841
Robert
Gil Jordan
Scott-Heron
American author Charles J. Guiteau
ExeneWriter
Cervenka
01 April 1949 01 February 1956
GilComposer,
Singer, Writer, Scott-Heron
Poet, Pianist Ruby
Exene Dee
Cervenka
singer
27 October 1922
Ruby Dee
Actress

Talib Kweli Carmine Giovinazzo

03 October 1975 24 August 1973

Poet, Musician, Songwriter,

Talib Kweli Rapper, Singer Actor
Carmine Giovinazzo
Thurston Moore Tim Armstrong
25 J l 1958 25 N b 1965
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12/20/2019 Famous American Poets
25 July 1958 25 November 1965
Thurston
Jim Moore
Carroll
Musician Tim Artist,
Singer, Songwriter, Armstrong
Film director, Poet,
01 August 1949
Jim Carroll
Writer

Margaret Mitchell
08 November 1900
Margaret
Mary
Mitchell
Author
Oliver Julia Cameron
10 September 1935 04 March 1948
MaryHammett
Dashiell
Poet, Oliver
Writer Screenwriter,Julia
Sue Cameron
Grafton
Film director, Novelist, Poet
27 May 1894 24 April 1940
Dashiell
American Hammett
author
Italo Calvino
Sue Grafton
American author
Bernie Casey
15 October 1923 08 June 1939
Italo Calvino
Writer, Poet, Politician, Journalist, Reporter, Bernie
ActorCasey

N. Scott Momaday
27 February 1934
Robert Ludlum
25 May 1927
Author
American author

Stephen Crane Fanny Crosby

01 November 1871 24 March 1820
Writer, Journalist, Poet, Baseball player, composer, poet, singer, writer, teacher,

Joy Harjo
09 May 1951
Poet

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12/20/2019 Famous American Poets

Lanny Poffo
Rita Mae Brown 28 December 1954
28 November 1944
Wrestlers
Screenwriter, Poet, Polo player, Novelist,

Jim Harrison
Emma Lazarus 11 December 1937
22 July 1849
Poet
Poet, Writer, Journalist

Ernest Cline
William Carlos Williams 29 March 1972
17 September 1883
Novelist
Poet

Nikki Giovanni Win Butler

07 June 1943 14 April 1980
Poet, Writer Songwriter, Singer, Composer, Poet, Guitarist

Margaret Truman
17 February 1924

actor, novelist, writer, biographer

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12/20/2019 Famous American Poets

Louise Erdrich John Perry Barlow

07 June 1954 03 October 1947
Author Poet

Mary Karr
Philip Kotler 16 January 1955
27 May 1931
Poet
Author

Roger Zelazny
13 May 1937
American poet

Whittaker Chambers
01 April 1901
Lawrence Ferlinghetti
24 March 1919
Journalist
Officer, Poet, Writer, Publisher, Painter,

Ruth Benedict Robert Penn Warren

05 June 1887 24 April 1905
Anthropologist, Folklorist, University teacher, poet, novelist, writer, literary critic,

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Rod McKuen
29 April 1933
Peter Orlovsky
08 July 1933
Poet
Poet, Writer, Actor

Paul Laurence Dunbar

27 June 1872
Writer, Novelist, Playwright, Poet

Erica Jong
26 March 1942
Richard Brautigan
30 January 1935
Novelist
Writer, Poet, Novelist

Julia Ward Howe James Russell Lowell

27 May 1819 22 February 1819
Songwriter, poet Poet, Diplomat, Essayist, Writer, Literary critic,

Emilie Autumn Robert Lowell

22 September 1979 01 March 1917

Singer, Poet, Violinist, Pianist Poet, Writer

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Joyce Kilmer
06 December 1886
W. S. Merwin
30 September 1927
Writer
Poet, Writer, Translator

Hart Crane
21 July 1899
Poet, Writer

Ntozake Shange
18 October 1948
Billy Collins
22 March 1941
Playwright
Poet, Writer, University teacher

James Dickey Otep Shamaya

02 February 1923 07 November 1969
American poet Singer, Poet, Singer-songwriter

Alexander Theroux
17 August 1939
Writer

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Fritz Leiber
24 December 1910
John Berryman
25 October 1914
Author
Poet, Writer, University teacher

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