Margaret Atwood is a Canadian poetess of considerable fame. She was born in Ontario in 1939 to a forest entomologist and spent much of her early life in Quebec.  At the age of seven she moved to Toronto where she studied at the University of Toronto and then earned her masters degree at Radcliffe College in Massachusetts in 1962.

She is by far Canada’s most eminent novelist and poet and she is also well known for writing short stories, critical studies, screenplays, radio scripts and also books for children. Her reviews and articles have appeared in many eminent magazines and she herself has also edited many books. Atwood has been a full time writer since 1972 and first taught English and then held a number of academic posts. In 1981-82 she was the president of the Writers Union of Canada and also president of the PEN, Canada from 1984-86.

Her first published work was a book of poetry called The Circle Game which was published in 1964 and received the Governor General’s Literary Award for Poetry. Since then she has written many other poetry collections.  She is famed for her novels in which she creates strong and enigmatic female characters and talks about urban life and other contemporary issues.  Her debut novel The Edible Woman published in 1969 was about a woman who couldn’t eat and felt she was being eaten.  Her most recent book has been Oryx and Crake in 2003 which was a vision of a scientific dystopia and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2003 and for the 2004 Orange Prize for fiction.

She is currently a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and is the recipient of sixteen honorary degrees. She has lived in many countries and currently lives in Toronto.

Maya Angelou is one of those people who change the way others think and leave an impact on the world forever. Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Johnson in St Louis in Missouri on the 4^th of April, 1928. She is multi faceted and is popular as a author, poet, songwriter, playwright, historian, dancer, stage and screen producer, performer, singer, director and importantly as a civil rights activist.

She is immensely popular for her books which are of an autobiographical nature including ‘The Heart of a woman’, ‘Gather together in my name’, ‘Singin and swingin and getting’ merry like christmas’ and ‘I know why the caged bird sings’ for which she was nominated for the National Book Award.

The poetry volumes for which she is best known include ‘A brave and startling truth’, ‘The complete collected poems of Maya Angelou’, ‘Now Sheba sings the song’, ‘I shall not be moved’ and many others. ‘Just give me a cool drink of water ‘fore I die’ was also nominated for the Pulitzer prize.

At the request of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. she agreed to become the northern coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1959 and was also the associate editor of the Arab Observer in Cairo for two years. After her return to the United States in 1974 she was appointed by General Ford to the Bicentennial Commission and later by Jimmy Carter to the Commission for International Woman of the year.

She happens to be the first black woman director in Hollywood and has written, produced and starred in many stage, television and film productions. She has also been nominated for a Tony twice; for her debut in Broadway in ‘Look Away’ in 1973 and for her role as Nya Boto in the television adaptation of Alex Haley’s ‘Roots’ in 1977.

I believe that writing poetry comes naturally to a person but even for those to whom it doesn’t come naturally there are always ways they can find it in themselves. For those who are natural poets it is also necessary that they hone their skills a little. I have the following pointers for you:

·         The first thing is to drop any inhibitions you might have. Feel free to write a poem even if you know that it will be a bad one. No one has ever been perfect the first time. So don’t let your apprehensions come in the way of your art.

·         If you are starting out there are some things you should know. It is great if you’re writing a poem on a wide issue like love, life or death. Just try to avoid putting those words in the title because then they create way too many expectations. Also when you write a poem on such a wide topic you should remember that there are many things involved so you should go into the details. However never explain everything and let some things remain open to interpretation.

·         Keep a notebook with you all the time so that you can write at different places. You never know when you will be inspired to write a poem.

·         One more thing about a poem is that it should be so tight that if you remove one line the entire poem should fall away. A poem should only be ask long as necessary to say what you want to.

·         Always be open to criticism but don’t set too much store by it. In the end it is your poetry and you have the right to do as you wish.

·         Don’t back away from topics that are uncomfortable or hurtful for you. Poetry is something that draws from your past and your personal demons and makes it all the more beautiful.

Poetry is always personal and different things work for different people. Follow your heart and pick your own style.

Lord Alfred Tennyson is one of the best and most well known poets of the 19^th century and he is to date day regarded as such. Tennyson was born in 1809 to a clergyman and was one of 12 children. The family had to survive on a clergyman’s paltry salary as his father who was a wealthy man had disowned him. He was quite unhappy at school and after 4 years of schooling he began to be tutored at home.

By the time he was 17 several of his poems had been published in collections of others works and this gave him some amount of recognition as a poet. It was in 1830 when at the age of 21 when he was studying at Trinity College, London that the first collection of his poems titled ‘Poems chiefly lyrical’ was published. This book brought him a lot of fame. It was in college that he met his closest friend Arthur Hallam who greatly influenced his writings. His greatest works including ‘In Memoriam’ were written when he mourned his friend’s death. It is commonly believed that most of the inspiration for his poems came from real life in which he underwent a good deal of struggle and ill fortune.

His father died subsequently due to which he had to discontinue his education. In 1833 he published another book ‘Poems’ which received bad reviews due to which Tennyson did not publish anything for nearly a decade. He married Emily Sellwood later on- a relationship which was heavily frowned upon and this was another source of trouble to him.

Throughout the mid-1840s he continued to write and it was in 1850 that he attained great success when he replaced William Wordsworth in the post of the Court’s Poet Laureate. He remained in this post until his death on the 6^th of October, 1892.

D.H. Lawrence is one of the greatest literary figures of the 20^th century. He has written many highly acclaimed books and poems including the very controversial ‘Lady Chatterley’s Lover’s’ which has been made into movies and ‘Sons and Lovers’ as well as many poems that have stood the test of time including ‘Snake’ and ‘How Beastly the Bourgeoisie is’. After his death he was also acknowledged as a talented expressionist painter.

He was born David Herbert Lawrence on the 11^th of September, 1885 in Nottinghamshire to a coal miner father and a mother who was a retired school teacher. His father was plagued by problems of drinking and his mother -who was far more educated than his father- and his father constantly fought. The family was extremely poor and he was educated at the Nottingham High School where he had won a scholarship.  He matriculated from the Nottingham University and then began a career as a teacher for a brief while.

His first poems were published in the English Review when Lawrence was 24 years old following which his first novel ‘The White Peacock’ was published two years later which announced the beginning of his career as a writer and poet.  Soon after he fell in love with Frieda von Richthofen who was married to Ernest Weekly and subsequently eloped with her. They were married a year later.

During the First World War he and his wife were accused of being German spies and were not allowed to emigrate. When they were finally allowed to leave in 1919 they began their years of wandering. He died on the 2^nd of March, 1930 at the age of 45 in France. His writings were very often ahead of their time and were accused of being obscene on a few occasions.

Writing poetry is a very personal thing and each individual has his or her own unique style. However no matter what technique or method you use to write a poem it is the emotion in it that is most important. There are some techniques used to write poetry such as:

One of the most common and well known techniques is alliteration. This means using three or more words that start with the same sound. For ex: rabbits running over roses. These words all begin with an r and sound similar.

Rhyming is extremely popular. However it is a popular misconception that for something to be a poem it has to rhyme. That is however not true as rhyming is also just another technique.

Another popular style is poetry is the use of metaphors. Metaphors are words that are used in one way and mean another. For ex: John swelled and ruffled his plumage (versus John was a peacock). These are some things that are allowed to poets to help express themselves better.

Onomatopoeia is basically a word which imitates a sound. It is used to help the reader identify with something. For example: words like ‘slam’ etc.

Similes are also highly popular. They are as their name would suggest and they are used to compare one thing to another. For ex: As black as coal.

Another style which is rather hard to master is assonance. Here vowels which sound the same are used within syllables between different consonants. For ex: “And murmuring of innumerable bees”- Alfred Lord Tennyson, The Princess VII.203

These techniques have been used over centuries by some of the finest poets. To fully master poetry it is necessary for one to become fully conversant with these techniques and be able to use them in his or her poems.

Just as musical genius or sporting talent is inborn, so is the gift of poetry. It cannot be created within a person. However talent can be honed and improved upon so as to improve the quality of writing. If you are new to writing poetry, this is how you can begin.

To be able to write good poetry you should have a poetic soul. Be aware of poetry, of the various forms and kinds, of great works of poetry and literature.  It is necessary to develop a love for the language. Spend some time reading the works of other so that you know how poems are to be written. Poetry should appeal to the emotions as well as the intellect. That is what makes one a good poet. Merely one will not make what you write poetry in the true sense of the term. The rhyme of the poem is also very important and its is of no use if there is a great thought in the poem along with great usage of words if there is no rhyme. If you feel that there is something missing or wrong with the poem read it aloud several times. You will realize what is wrong and correct it yourself.

When you are writing it is always best to write about something you know about. Write about things that surround you, your emotions etc. It is always a little tough to deal with topics that you have no experience of.  The best poetry is written from the heart and not for the sake of writing poetry. Avoid using clichés and rhyming words just for the sake of it. Poetry which is original and natural is very refreshing indeed.

As a poet it is necessary to be open to criticism and draw out the positive from it. Choose a group of people to show your poem to. Ask for their honest opinion and try to implement the suggestions. Don’t get discouraged and try to do better the next time. If you can take negative reviews, you will only make a better poet.

In history poetry was always looked upon as a form of art but then prose was merely a way to record happenings or events. It was only in modern time when novels written in prose began to come out, that prose became a form of literature. Poetry is still given more importance than prose. Poetry is more artificial but prose is more natural. It is not constructed and represents ordinary conversation.

Prose when used is generally thought of as dull and unimaginative. Shakespeare used prose and poetry to describe the class of a person, mental state etc. In Romeo & Juliet the servants spoke in prose while the family spoke in poetic form.  Prose is used to depict many things and the style changes according the situation that is to be depicted. Prose is used to depict romance, thrillers. Also when poems are translated from one language to another, prose in used in the adapted version.  Prose is also used in newspapers, magazines, philosophy, geography and other media.

Thus though poetry is more favored by critics and is at the top of the hierarchy, prose is becoming increasingly popular with the publication of more and more books in prose form. The form is far easier to understand and reaches a wider audience base.

He has been hailed as one of the most daring and forward thinking poets of all time and his belief was that poetry should represent the difficulties and present a true picture of modern life.  He had a strained relationship with his wife whom he had considered separating from and her avoided meetings with her and did not even meet her after she was confined to mental hospital while still wedded to him.

Elliot was never known for the volume of his poetry; he was known rather for its quality. He published one or a couple of poems every year in the form of pamphlets or in periodicals.

His most famous work is the Four Quartets for which he won the Nobel Prize. It consisted of four long poems which related to the four elements and still continue to be interpreted differently.  His other famous works are The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufock, The Waste Land and Ash Wednesday along with others.

Elliot’s work has been rubbished by many critics and it was also alleged that he quoted liberally from the works of others.  He has also been known to have been anti-Semitist and many of his poems refer to Jews in a derogatory or impolite manner.

Like most famous and brilliant authors and poets, Thomas Elliot faced his share of criticism both for his work as well as his beliefs.

Wilde was born on the 16^th of October, 1964 in Dublin, the capital city of Ireland to parents of quite some literary talent. His father was Sir William Wilde who was an antiquarian and also quite a gifted writer and his mother Lady Jane Francesca Wilde was a poet and a journalist and wrote several revolutionary poems roughly around the same time as Wilde’s birth. Wilde studied at Trinity College, Dublin and at Magdalen College, Oxford from where he received his B.A in 1978.

Famed for his witty repertoire and lifestyle, Wilde soon became an authority on aestheticism and this also took him to the United States and France.  He soon became known for his skill and he contributed to numerous magazines and also was appointed the editor of a women’s magazine Lady’s World.

Soon however he received criticism because of The Picture of Dorian Gray which spoke about a homosexual young man and this shocked Victorian London and earned Wilde a lot of criticism. Wilde also at the same time became involved with Alfred Douglas, a relationship which became quite public. Homosexuality was then illegal in Britain and soon Wilde went to prison and spent two years in Redding Jail. Upon his release a few poems were published but by then Wilde’s career had already begun the rapid path towards the end. He was penniless and had very few or no friends. After reuniting with Douglas for a few months, Wilde left for France where he died penniless and alone in a Paris hotel of celebral meningitis at the age of 46.

Shunned and criticized for the later part of his life because of his homosexual tendencies which were then illegal and shocking to Victorian society, Wilde became immensely popular after the 1950s where his works began to be read in universities around the world and are finally being understood.