Poets  
 
  William Stanley Braithwaite (1878-1962) was an African-American writer, poet, and literary critic born in Boston, Massachusetts. He was forced to quit school at the age of 12 after the death of his father. He wrote for many periodical and journals, and became the literary editor for the "Boston Evening Transcript." From 1935-1945, he was a professor of creative literature at Atlanta University. Braithwaite published three volumes of poetry before his death at his home in Harlem, New York.  
 
  Abbie Farwell Brown (1859-1927) was a writer of adult poetry and short stories, but is best remembered for her children's books. Many of her poems have also been turned into songs including the Girl Scouts' anthem. Brown lived her entire life in the family home on Beacon Hill in Boston. Many of her books are still available in reprint including The Book of Saints and Friendly Beasts, The Christmas Angel, and The Gift; a Christmas Story.  
 
  Joseph S. Cotter, Jr. (1861-1949) was an African-American writer and educator born in Nelson County, Kentucky. It is said that he taught himself to read at the age of four, yet he only completed the third grade. Cotter would eventually get his diploma by attending night school and would go on to be a teacher and school principal in Louisville, Kentucky for over fifty years. He published several books of poetry and a book of short stories.  
 
  Stillman J. Elwell (1894-1977) was known as the "farmer-poet of Dryden." He spent over forty years living and farming in rural Dryden, Michigan. Although he only had a tenth grade education, Elwell became known for his poems about his love of nature, rural life, and devotion to God. He published four books of poetry and said that his farmland grew more poems than it did crops.  
 
  Eleanor Farjeon (1881-1965) was an English writer of children's stories, plays, and poetry. She came from a literary family where her father was a novelist, two brothers were writers, and another brother a composer. Farjeon won many literary awards and many of her children's books can still be found in print. She may be best known for the hymn Morning Has Broken, popularized by singer Cat Stephens in the early 1970's.  
 
  Dana Gioia (1950- ) is an award winning American poet, critic, and writer who has worked to encourage jazz and promote the arts in general. He served as the chairman of the "National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) from 2003-2009. His written work also includes the libretto for two operas.  
 
  Edgar A. Guest (1881-1959) was an American poet who worked for the Free Press newspaper of Detroit, Michigan, for more than sixty years. For more than thirty of those years, a Guest poem appeared daily in the Free Press and was syndicated in over 300 newspapers. Known as the "Poet of the People", he also hosted a weekly radio show in Detroit from 1931 until 1942, and later hosted an NBC television series. Guest published more than twenty books of poetry. New editions of his poetry are still available today.  
 
  George W. Jones (1888-1952) was the beloved Episcopal priest at Epiphany Mission in Sherwood, Tennessee, from 1932 until his death in 1952. Beginning in 1932, Father Jones published "The Booklet", a quarterly report of the Mission activities. It was here that he would write about daily life in this small remote area of the Cumberland Mountains and include his inspirational and spiritual writings. A collection of his essays and poems can be found in his book Life's Journey.  
 
  Stanley Kunitz (1905-2006) was an American poet who divided his time between New York City and Provincetown, Massachusetts for most of his life. He received many awards and honors including the Pulitzer, National Book Award, and the National Medal of Arts. He served as Poet Laureate of the United States and was the founder of the respected Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown. An avid gardener, he was known to have one of the most impressive gardens in Provincetown. Kunitz died at age 100.  
 
  Jim Metcalf was a newspaper reporter and columnist from Texas who is perhaps best remembered as the writer, producer, and host of the top-rated New Orleans television program, A Sunday Journal, during the 1960's and 1970's that earned him a Peabody Award for broadcasting. Metcalf was also an acclaimed best-selling poet who published four books of poetry. He was a writer "whose commentaries on everyday objects and events offer a keen insight into man, nature and ourselves". Jim Metcalf Died in 1977.  
 
  David Morton (1886-1957) was a native of Elkton, Kentucky, and a graduate of Vanderbilt University. He worked as a reporter and editorial writer for newspapers in Kentucky and New York City before becoming a professor at Amherst and poet-in-residence at Deerfield Academy in Deerfield, Massachusetts. He also served as an English professor in the American International College in the Azores. In addition to his books of poetry, Morton also published a diary about music and musicians entitled The Amateur Listener.  
 
  Mary Oliver (1935- ) is a native of Ohio, but has been a long time residence of Provincetown, Massachusetts. She has published over two-dozen books of prose and poetry. Oliver has received numerous awards including a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book award. She remains one of the most popular poets alive today.  
 
  Abram J. Ryan (1838-1886) was known as the poet-priest of the South. Born in Norfolk, Virginia, he became a Catholic priest – serving during the Civil War as a chaplain with the Confederate Army. During the war, he was known to deliver sacraments to the soldiers on both sides. After the war, Father Ryan became a popular lecturer in the North, as well as the South. A book of his poems, "Poems: Patriotic, Religious, Miscellaneous", has been through numerous printings.  
 
  James Still (1906-2001) was a native of Alabama, but spent most of his life living in a log house in the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky. He was a poet, novelist, and folklorist who is best known for the novel River of Earth.  
 
  David Wagoner (1926- ) was born in Ohio and raised in Indiana, but has been a long time resident of Washington state. The Pacific Northwest is frequently the subject of his poetry. In addition to being an award-winning poet, Wagoner has also published ten novels.  
   
     
 

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