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Li Po (701-762) rivals Du Fu for the title of China's greatest poet, and is considered to be the great Romantic poet of the Tang Dynasty (618-907). He grew up in Sichuan province, China, and set out at the age of twenty-five to travel in the country, writing poems. A well-read student of both Confucianism and Taoism in his youth, and later an unofficial court poet, Li Po is credited as the author of over one thousand poems about wine, friendship, nature, solitude, and time. His works are revered for their exquisite imagery, rich and effortless language, and cadence – although some critics admonished his violation of traditional poetic form. The poet was a member of a group in Shandong called the «Six Idlers of the Bamboo Brook,» an informal group dedicated to literature and wine. Popular legend tells that an intoxicated Li Po drowned after falling from his boat in an attempt to embrace the reflection of the moon in the Yangtze River.

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The nine lyric poets were a canon of archaic Greek composers esteemed by the scholars of Hellenistic Alexandria as worthy of critical study. The most famous of which is probably Sappho, who was born sometime between 630 and 612 BCE on the Greek island of Lesbos. The famous Library of Alexandria collected Sappho's poems into nine books; however these editions have been lost. Today only fragments of the poetess' work remains. These fragments are collected together here in this volume of « The Poems of Sappho and the Other Greek Lyricists» along with fragments of other Greek lyric poets contemporary to Sappho. Altogether we find the poetry of Alcaeus, Pythermus, Anacreon, Anacreontea, Corrina, Telesilla, Praxilla, Erinna as well as Sappho in this volume of poetry translated by Walter Petersen.

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Born in 1572 in London England, John Donne was an English Jacobean poet of exceptional skill, whose poetry was known for its vibrancy of language and inventiveness of metaphor. While Donne was well educated and his poetic talents considerable he struggled for much of his life to provide for his family. Having published only two volumes during his lifetime, he was not a professional poet. Despite this his legacy on the world of poetry is a significant one. In this volume you will find a complete collection of John Donne's poetical works.

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Hafiz was a Persian lyric poet (1315/17-1390) whose collected works, or «Divan», are as sacred to most Iranians as the Qur'an. He was highly acclaimed during his lifetime, and is by far the most popular poet in Iran, where they celebrate Hafiz Day on October 12. Although he was influenced by Islam, Hafiz is widely respected by Hindus, Christians and others for his beautiful turn of a phrase and for his regard of the universal soul. «The Collected Poems of Hafiz» touch on themes of love, faith and exposing hypocrisy, and many people find personal guidance within its pages. Since Hafiz' work was first translated into English in 1771, scholars in the Western world have been conflicted between literal and mystical interpretations of the poems. Nevertheless, they provide fascinating details on life and culture in Persia, and to some, it brings valuable insight toward mysticism and the ineffable.

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This is the first edition of «Lyrical Ballads,» published in 1798, written by the English poets William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor. The collection is generally considered to have marked the beginning of the English romantic movement, and despite negative critical reception at first, subsequent editions were produced and the book has remained a staple in poetry and British literature studies for over two centuries. Wordsworth and Taylor sought to bring poetry to the average person by writing in vernacular language on subjects that are universally relevant. The majority of the poems in this edition were written by Wordsworth, including «Lines Written in Early Spring,» «Lines written near Richmond, upon the Thames, at Evening,» and «The Convict,» which was omitted from subsequent editions. Coleridge's contributions, though less popular at the time because of macabre or supernatural nature, include his now famous «The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere,» and «Lines written a few miles above Tintern Abbey.»

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Ludovico Ariosto (1474-1533) was the oldest of 10 children being the successor to the patriarchal position of his family. From his earliest years, Ludovico was interested in poetry, but was obliged by his father, a commander of the Reggio Emilia citadel, to study law. In 1517, he served under the cardinal's brother, Alfonso, duke of Ferrara, and it was then that he began writing his masterpiece and romance epic «Orlando Furioso». The earliest version appeared in 1516 but was not published in its complete form until 1532. The poem is a prolongation of Matteo Maria Boiardo's work, «Orlando Innamorato», and is separated into two volumes consisting of forty-six cantos in all. Volume I entails the first twenty-four cantos describing the adventures of Orlando, Charlemagne, and the Franks as they combat against the Saracens with diversions into many side plots. Ariosto includes many fantastical elements and creatures, yet the most important plot centers around Orlando's unreciprocated love for the pagan princess Angelica, which develops into the insanity suggested in the title.

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Referring to her olive-skinned complexion Robert Browning called his wife, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, «his little Portuguese.» It is from this nickname that the title «Sonnets from the Portuguese» is derived. Sonnets from the Portuguese, a series of love poems from Elizabeth to her husband, is combined here with a collection of 60 of her other poems.

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The youngest of the well-known Brontë siblings, Anne Brontë (1820-1849) grew up drawing and writing poetry in secret. As a child, Anne spent countless hours on the Yorkshire moors with her sister, Emily, creating an imaginary world called Gondal. Anne attended school at age fifteen, and there she experienced an episode of spiritual crisis, which is evidenced in many of her poems. She later worked as a governess before collaborating with her sisters, Emily and Charlotte, on a collection of poetry in 1846. The sisters used pen names to publish their work – Anne wrote as Acton Bell – to avoid unfair judgment as women writers. Although the collection sold poorly, Anne found a market for her own poetry, and was published in Fraser's Magazine. Unfortunately, her deeply insightful collection of work was cut short by an early death, and is therefore often overshadowed by that of her sisters.

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Milton's «Paradise Lost» is considered to be one of the most classic epic poems ever written. It is a retelling of the biblical story of the Genesis of man, of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and of how Eve when tempted by Satan disobeyed God and ate from the tree of knowledge. Written in 1667 by the English Poet John Milton, «Paradise Lost» is a poetic and intriguing interpretation of ancient biblical legend.

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"Spoon River Anthology" is a collection of poetry taken from the tombstones of the dead in a small rural American town. There is of course no Spoon River as the entire town and its inhabitants are fictional. «Spoon River Anthology» is Masters's masterpiece, a collection of poetry that reveals the posthumous confessions of the transgressions of a group of small-town Americans. Together this collection reads like a novel exposing the fallacy in the idea of the rural American utopia. «Spoon River Anthology» is a truly original work of American literature.

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