Ye Old Reading Room

-- By Alfred Lord Tennyson -- 

-- By Edgar Allen Poe -- 

-- By Robert Lowell --

-- By Walter Crane -- 

-- By Walter Crane -- 

Happy Birthday to the Legend!

-- By Walter Crane -- 

-- By John Frederick Freeman --

He was part of the Arts and Crafts movement: producing an array of paintings, illustrations, children's books, ceramic tiles, and wallpapers arts along with associations with the international Socialist movement.

H.G. Wells most prolific works include: The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, and The Invisible Man.

Sara Teasdale was born on August 8, 1884 in St. Louis, MO.

Walter Crane was born on the 15th of August 1845. 

H.P. Lovecraft was known to live semi-nocturnally. He preferred to stay up into the night to read, write, and study astronomy. 

This poem was published just one year after his first publication The Alchemist. 

Robert Frost was born in San Francisco on March 26, 1874. 

Robert Frosts work is painted by tragedy just like his life. His father died in 1885, his mother in 1900, and his sister, who was committed to a mental institution, dies in 1920.

Kate Chopin was born in St. Louis, Missouri on February 8, 1850. Most of her writing accurately portrayed the lives of women. Desiree's Babywas first published in 1893. Kate Chopin died in 1904. 

Perhaps H.P. Lovecraft was not a fan of those who objected to WWI. 

-- By Christina Rossetti -- 

Rossetti's poem helps offer a a pensive, retrospective, meditation on the year passed, while simultaneously capturing the hope we all have for an even more magnificent year ahead.  

-- By James Kelly -- 

This poem was printed in The Printers' Carnival and Other Poemscollection by James Kelly; a book that was first published in 1875. The book was published by Love & Duncan on Bank Street in London. Information on the book and author are both extremely difficult to find. 

-- By Thomas Hardy --

This masterwork was written on December 31, 1900 -- the last day of the 19th century. Although it is very early still in this century, reflect on how far we have come in the last 122 years. 

-- By A.E. Housman -- 

Alfred Edward Housman was born in Bromsgrove of Worcestershire, England in 1859. He was a profound poet during his lifetime which included many works that captured the dark emotion of the First World War era. 

-- By John Clare -- 

John Clare was the son of a farmer; born in Northamptonshire, England in 1793. Much of his work romanticizes the rural English life and laments the loss and disruption of the countryside. 

As much as we love Lovecraft; we need better names for our poetry

-- By H.P. Lovecraft -- 

By H.P. Lovecraft

Remember to save your Christmas letters; they may be famous one day

By H.P. Lovecraft 

The first of many correspondence we will be hearing :)

-- By H.P. Lovecraft -- 

-- By H.P. Lovecraft -- 

-- By H.P. Lovecraft --

By H.P. Lovecraft

#GiveUsMoreCatChristmasLetters

Merry Christmas

Written in 1897, HP Lovecraft was only 7 years old. It was not published until after his death. 

-- By Richard Watson Gilder -- 

Richard Watson Gilder lived a rich and fulfilling life: he served during the civil war as a teenager. He would go on to become a founding member of the Society of American Architects, the Authors' Club, and the International Copyright League. 

-- By H.P. Lovecraft -- 

Happy Independence Day, America! 

Here H.P. Lovecraft offers a unique perspective on the holiday, primarily influenced by the unification of the U.S. and its former adversary, mothernation: Great Britain. 

-- By H.P. Lovecraft -- 

By the birth name of Howard Phillips Lovecraft, the well known cosmic level horror writer actually has an extensive collection of poetry and letters that are often overlooked! 

-- By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow -- 

One year after the publication of this poem, Longfellow sold a poem to the New York Ledger for $3,000; the highest paid poem at the time (in 1874). 

-- By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow --

Having been born in 1807, Longfellow spent a majority of his youth in Spain during the 1820's.

-- By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow -- 

Confronting death in this piece, Longfellow was not long behind his friend. In The Harborwas the last collection he would publish before passing later in the year of 1882

-- By Ernest Hemingway --

10 of 10

These poems were included in Hemingway's first publication in 1923. 3 Stories and 10 Poems was published by Robert McAlmon's "Contact Publishing" in Paris with a limited run of 300 copies.

-- By Ernest Hemingway --

9 of 10

These poems were included in Hemingway's first publication in 1923. 3 Stories and 10 Poems was published by Robert McAlmon's "Contact Publishing" in Paris with a limited run of 300 copies.

-- By Ernest Hemingway --

8 of 10

These poems were included in Hemingway's first publication in 1923. 3 Stories and 10 Poems was published by Robert McAlmon's "Contact Publishing" in Paris with a limited run of 300 copies.

-- By Ernest Hemingway --

7 of 10

These poems were included in Hemingway's first publication in 1923. 3 Stories and 10 Poems was published by Robert McAlmon's "Contact Publishing" in Paris with a limited run of 300 copies.

-- By Ernest Hemingway --

6 of 10

These poems were included in Hemingway's first publication in 1923. 3 Stories and 10 Poems was published by Robert McAlmon's "Contact Publishing" in Paris with a limited run of 300 copies.

-- By Ernest Hemingway --

5 of 10

These poems were included in Hemingway's first publication in 1923. 3 Stories and 10 Poems was published by Robert McAlmon's "Contact Publishing" in Paris with a limited run of 300 copies.

-- By Ernest Hemingway --

4 of 10

These poems were included in Hemingway's first publication in 1923. 3 Stories and 10 Poems was published by Robert McAlmon's "Contact Publishing" in Paris with a limited run of 300 copies.

-- By Ernest Hemingway --

3 of 10

These poems were included in Hemingway's first publication in 1923. 3 Stories and 10 Poems was published by Robert McAlmon's "Contact Publishing" in Paris with a limited run of 300 copies.

-- By Ernest Hemingway --

2 of 10

These poems were included in Hemingway's first publication in 1923. 3 Stories and 10 Poems was published by Robert McAlmon's "Contact Publishing" in Paris with a limited run of 300 copies.

-- By Ernest Hemingway --

1 of 10

These poems were included in Hemingway's first publication in 1923. 3 Stories and 10 Poems was published by Robert McAlmon's "Contact Publishing" in Paris with a limited run of 300 copies.

Our first writer special series THIS WEEK!!

-- By Sir Walter Scott -- 

A Scottish poet, novelist, playwright, and historian, Sir Walter Scott was knighted in 1820 and organized the visit of King George to Scotland two years later. 

-- By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow -- 

The midnight ride of Paul Revere delivered the news that the U.S. Revolutionary War was beginning, and that hostile British troop enforcements were beginning their military invasion of the American colonies. Longfellow commemorated the historic act with this poem, first published in The Atlantic Monthlyin January 1861. In Longfellow's poetry collection, The Tales of a Wayside Inn, Paul Revere's Ride was retitled The Landlords Tale!

-- By Walt Whitman --

This memorial poem for Abraham Lincoln was published less than 7 months after his death. Whitman and Lincoln never met, but Whitman accounts in his writings that he saw the President many times, even in the same room some of those times.

Unlike yesterdays reading, Oration for Abraham Lincoln By Frederick Douglass, Whitman had unwavering admiration for the President in every way. If you wanna know more, listen to Douglass' Oration, the most recent episode.

-- By Frederick Douglass --

Eleven years after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass delivered this speech at the unveiling of the first Lincoln Memorial statue in Washington D.C. (The famous Lincoln Memorial Building was later constructed between 1914 and 1922.

150 years later this oration helps give a lens into the true contemporary view of President Lincoln, an insight that does not exaggerate or brush over the faults of the former President.

-- By William Butler Yeats --

Also known as W.B. Yeats, he was a 20th century Irish poet, dramatist, and writer. 

-- By John Hartley --

Hartley lived from 1839 to 1915 and published 18 compendiums of tales and lyrics. He specialized in works of the Yorkshire dialect, as you hear in this episode. 

**Excuse my poor accent; read as written**

-- By Christina Rossetti -- 

Besides her numerous work of children's poetry and stories, Christina primarily produced poetry with a strong religious focus. 

-- By Edgar Allen Poe --

The Tell-Tale Heartwas first published in the ill-fated Boston magazine The Pioneer: A Literary and Critical Magazinein 1843. Since then, it has become one of Poe's most well known narratives and was publish multiple times during Poe's short life.

-- By John Keats --

In this piece, Keats' envisions himself as the 'sod' that the nightingale watches over. Ode to a Nightingaleis one of six that Keats wrote culminating in Ode to Autumn.Experts theorize, based on Keats' writings, that this ode was written between April and May 1819 under a plum tree.

-- By Christina Rossetti -- 

This is the title poem from Christina Rossetti's first poetry collection: Goblin Market & Other Poems, first published in 1862. 

-- By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow -- 

This poem was actually run in the Atlantic SouvenirSpecial Christmas & New Years offering issue in 1826. At that time, Longfellow was only 19 years old!

-- By Frank Stockton --

This is the most well-known story by Stockton. Born in Philadelphia in 1834, Frank Stockton did not write for adults until he was nearly 40 years old.

The first or many play adaptions of The Lady and the Tigerwas created by Sydney Rosenfeld in 1888. Of the numerous stage adaptions, the most famous adaption is found in The Apple Treefrom 1966 by Jerry Bock.

-- By Christina Rossetti -- 

Last week, we read Goblin Market, the title poem from Rossetti's first collection. This week we hear a love poem from the same collection. 

Happy Valentines Day!

-- By H.P. Lovecraft -- 

Cthulhu and Azathoth are both deity level monsters from the mind of H.P. Lovecraft. 

He features and mentions both beasts in the shared universe of his writings. 

Keep an ear open for many more Lovecraft readings to come. 

-- By Robert Browning -- 

Robert Browning's poems often explore the viewpoints and mentality of emotionally imbalanced people, and we hear an excellent exploration of that concept in Porphyria's Lover.The poem was first published in the British publication the 'Monthly Repository' in January 1836. 

-- By Christina Rossetti --

Dante Gabriel, William Michael, Maria, and Christina Rossetti were all successful writers in their lifetimes, and Dante even more so as a painter. Winter: My Secret was written by Rossetti at the age of 18. 

-- By Frederick Douglass -- 

After escaping from the grasp of a birth into slavery, Douglass became the most well regarded African American writer, orator, and social reformist of the 19th century, and perhaps the greatest of all time, maybe only second to Martin Luther King Jr. 

Douglass escaped from slavery around the time he turned 20 year old. His last name was adopted from the poem The Lady of the Lakeby Walter Scott. In the years after escaping slavery, Douglass worked as a preacher and orator, doing national speaking tours with the American Anti-Slavery Society. Douglass' most famous work was his first autobiography, entitled: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave.He would go on to publish two more autobiographies during his lifetime. Douglass directly advised President Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Jackson on the issues of emancipation, treatment of black soldiers in the civil war, and black suffrage. 

The Future of the Colored Racewas first published as an essay in 1881. The version you heard today is the revised version from 1892, republished by Douglass just three years before his death on February 20, 1895. 

-- By The Founding Fathers--

The first 10 Amendments of the United States Constitution were written at the time of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia and became known as the Bill of Rights.

In a masterstroke, the founding fathers built in the capacity for the Bill of Rightsto be updated, and extra Amendments be added to the document. Since the inception of the document in 1789, and its ratification in 1791 thereafter, 14 Amendments have been added, one of which was repealed. 

-- By The Founding Fathers --

The newly founded nation was held together by stitches, under the Articles of Confederation, until the ratification of the U.S. Constitution in 1788.

Representatives from the states argued for months over the terms in the Constitution. James Madison had a pivotal role in the writing with his introduction of the Virginia Plan, which included the structure of the three branch government, therein: their structure and functions. 

After the Constitutional Convention closed, the drafted Constitution was sent to all 13 states (the former 13 British Colonies) for ratification. In his final remarks, Benjamin Franklin endorsed the document by saying, "There are several parts of this Constitution which I don not at present approve, but I am not sure I shall never approve them...I expect no  better and because I am not sure that it is not the best." 

The U.S. Constitution has become the longest standing written document of government structure at this time.

-- By H.P. Lovecraft -- 

Lovecraft is most well known for his creation of the legendary cosmic god, Cthulhu in his short story The Call of Cthulhu.However, Lovecraft's short stories and novelizations extend far past the subject matter of his created monstrosity.

H.P. Lovecraft's love of literature was nurtured by his grandfather, who introduced him to classis such as The Odysseyand One Thousand and One Nights. 

Keep an eye out for more H.P. Lovecraft readings in the weeks ahead!  

-- By Dr. Ulysses G. Weatherly -- 

Dr. Weatherly earned his PhD from Cornell University in 1894. He went on to teach at Indiana University starting in 1895, before becoming a full professor in 1899 in the Department of Economics and Sociology. 

Thank you to all our listeners! 

Here's a little information about the content plan for 2022. 

-- By Jacob Riis --

Born on May 3, 1849 in Ribe, Denmark, Jacob Riis would eventually work right alongside President Theodore Roosevelt.

Jacob Riis emigrated to The United States in 1870, at the age of 21. At the time of his arrival the U.S. was in turmoil; the whole country reeling from the damage, loss, and displacement caused by the civil war. Riis struggled to find work for many years and bounced around the country. Yet, he eventually fell into journalism; chronicling the lives of immigrants, both rich and poor. 

In 1895, Riis worked alongside Theodore Roosevelt. At that time, the young Roosevelt was President to the New York City Police Commissioner Board. The two became friends for life on account of their shared sense of justice; Riis had a reputation for "muckraker" journalism.  

-- By Edgar Allan Poe --

The Bellswas published in the Sartain's Unionmagazine in November 1849, just one month after Poe's death. Edgar Allan Poe is perhaps the most well known 'dark' and macabre American writer to have ever lived, and his life reflected the tone of his extensive writing. 

Poe was born in Boston in 1809. In 1810, his father abandoned the family, and in 1811 his mother died. He was taken in by the Allan family in Richmond, Virgina, but was never officially adopted. He attended the University of Virginia, but was forced to drop out over a lack of funding for his tuition. After leaving the University of Virginia, he enlisted in the army and was enlisted when he published his first work: Tamerlane and Other Poems.The authorship of that poem simply read in the byline "by a Bostonian". Poe then went on to the military academy, West Point, where he failed out before graduation. It was finally then that Poe began to seriously pursue a career in writing. 

It was in 1845 with the publication and popularity of The Raventhat Poe became a household name. Sadly, Poe was burdened by alcoholism which assumedly contributed to his demise in 1849 at the age of 40. Poe's death is shrouded in mystery. He was found deliriously walking the streets of Baltimore in another man's clothes. He was taken to Washington Medical College where he passed the next morning on October 7, 1849. 

-- By Lord Alfred Tennyson --

Ring Out, Wild Bellswas first published in 1850 in Tennyson's poetry collection In Memoriam.The collection was written in dedication to Tennyson's fellow student from Trinity College, the poet Arthur Hallam, who had passed from a stroke in 1833 at the age of 22. 

1850, the year of this poems publication, was also the year that Tennyson was honored as Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom. The position carries the expectation that the title holder will write poetry to commemorate significant holidays and occasions for the country and crown. The title of Poet Laureate has since been held by other writers such as Cecil Day-Lewis, Carol Ann Duffy, and, currently, Simon Armitage. Lord Alfred Tennyson began writing poems as a teenage, with his first publication at the age of 17, and continued the practice as Poet Laureate until his death at age 83 in 1892. 

-- By Robert Burns --

Auld Lang Syneis one of the most well known New Years poems, the musical tune to which the poem is set dates back to 1799. Auld Lang Synedirectly translates to "old long since", referring to days and times of past. 

While the poem was written by Robert Burns, it is actually based on an older Scottish folk song. Robert Burns happened to be the first to submit a written version to the Scots Music Museum in 1788, thus entering the song into the historical record. Auld Lang Synewas written in the Scottish language and thus easily gained popularity in English. The song has a melancholy nostalgia, and while mostly sang at New Years, it is also applicable to, and repeated, at graduations, funerals, or the conclusion of large celebrations.   

-- By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow --

1863 

Snowflakescarries quite a gloomy and melancholy tone, yet vividly accurate depiction of the winter cold.   

Longfellow wrote this piece less than to years after the tragic death of his wife. Frances Longfellow passed the morning after a burning accident; her dress caught fire while she was trying to seal a letter with wax. Longfellow was scorched while trying to put out the fire and his signature beard, later in life, was the result of not being able to shave due to his burnt face. He as even unable to attend Frances' funeral while hospitalized for his own injuries. 

Longfellow never emotionally recovered; it would take him 18 years before writing the sonnet The Cross of Snowto commemorate her death. Shortly after publishing Snowflakes,Longfellow took up the task of translating the English version of Dante's Inferno. 

-- By Oscar Wilde --

Oscar Wilde lived a bright burning, short life. He was born in 1854 and passed away in the new century on November 30, 1900. During his 30's he had success in a number of avenues of writing  including poetry, short stories, and novels. However, he is most well known for his stage plays, most prevalently The Importance of Being Earnest.Almost all of Oscar Wilde's stage plays are considered comedies satirizing the Victorian Era. 

Oscar Wilde had a salacious life and was wrapped up in two lawsuits, alleging sexual impropriety, that ultimately led to his exile, a deep depression, and his untimely death. In both trials he was accused of homosexuality and convicted as such. The final years of Oscar Wilde's life were spent in exile after release from Pentonville Prison in North London in 1897. In October of 1900 Wilde fell ill and ultimately succumbed to meningitis on November 30, 1900.   

-- By Ella Wheeler Wilcox --

Ella Wheeler was born on November 5, 1850 in Johnstown, Wisconsin. From a young age, Ella amused herself with literature, the likes of Shakespeare, and by the age of 8 began writing poetry, and was published by the age of 13. She was inspired to submit her first poem after her family lost their subscription to The New York Mercury.She submitted a poem for the sole purpose of receiving a copy of the paper in the event that her submission was published. 

In 1884, Ella Wheeler married Robert Wilcox. The two were married for over 30 years and over that time built many houses and had mutual interests in Theosophy and Spiritualism. Robert Wilcox passed in 1916. Ella Wilcox wrote The Yearin 1917, just two years before her death in 1919. 

-- By Christina Rossetti --

This poem was included in two collections by Christina Rossetti. First, a collection named Time Flies: A Reading Diaryin 1885 that offered daily reflective poems and written meditations. In the final years of her life, Rossetti wrote a number of daily meditation, devotional books including The Face of the Deepand Sing-Song. Christmastide was again featured in Verses,the last poetry collection that Rossetti published during her lifetime in 1893, before she passed on December 29, 1894. 

-- By O. Henry --

William Sydney Porter, best known by his pseudonym O. Henry was born on September 11, 1862 in North Carolina. At the time of his birth, the Southern Confederacy State was a contentious battleground in the American Civil War. In his youth, Porter was an avid reader, but originally had taken a path away from the writer he would become and became a licensed pharmacist at the age of 19. 

At the age of 35, Porter was convicted of embezzlement and began a five year sentence at the Ohio Penitentiary. It was during this time that Porter began writing; publishing 14 stories under various pseudonyms including the first use of the name O. Henry. The name was first used under his publication of the story Whistling Dick's Christmas Stocking. Gift of the Magiwas first published in The New York Sunday WorldNewspaper in 1905 and again later in O. Henry's 1906 anthology The Four Million,his second collection of short stories.   

-- By Emily Dickenson --

Emily Dickenson wrote over 1,800 poems in her lifetime, none of which were titled. Of those 1,800 only 10 were published during her lifetime. It was not until, upon her death in 1886, her younger sister Lavinia found a cache of Emily's work. Emily's first collection of poetry was published four yeas after her death in 1890. A complete collection of her work was not published until 1955 under the oversight of scholar Thomas H. Johnson. 

-- By Christina Rossetti --

While Rossetti's famous poem is often known by the first line, In the Bleak Midwinterwas originally published under the title A Christmas Carol.The poem was first published in Scribner's Monthlyin 1872 before Rossetti republished it in the 1875 collection Goblin Market, The Prince's Progress and Other Poems.Gustav Holst was the first to write music for In the Bleak Midwinterin 1906, however he is not the only composer to have arranged the song. Famous composer Harold Darke also arranged the piece while still studying at the Royal College of Music in South Kensington, London. The piece has been featured in modern television shows like Peaky Blinders,and most notably the series premier of The Crown. 

Contemporaneously, Rossetti was diagnosed with Graves' disease in 1872 and suffered a major flare up that almost took her life around the time of her diagnosis. Christina's sister, Maria Francesca Rossetti an essayist and nun, would also pass away just one year after in 1876. Christina had previously dedicated the title poem Goblin Marketto her sister. 

-- By John Milton --   

During his lifetime John Milton received international renowned for his English, Latin, and Italian poetry. The son of John Milton the musical composer, John Milton the poet was born on Bread Street in London on December 9, 1608. He attended St. Paul's School in London, where he began his studies in Greek and Latin, before continuing his studies at Christ's College in 1625. 

On the Morning of Christ's Nativityappeared in Milton's first publication, a collection of poetry entitled 1645 Poems.This was his only poetry publication until his most famous work Paradise Lost,was published in 1667. By that time, Milton was completely blind and dictated all of his work to assistants. The exact cause of Milton's blindness is unknown to historians. Milton lived until November 8, 1674 and his grave can still be found in the Anglican church, St.Giles Cripplegate, on Fore St. in London. 

-- By E.E. Cummings --

Edward Estlin Cummings was born October 14th, 1894 and was a prolific American writer through poetry, books, stage plays, essays, and TWO autobiographical novels. Cummings was one of the pioneers of modern free-form poetry including the use of irregular lowercase spellings as a vessel of artistic expression. 

During the First World War Cummings enlisted into the Ambulance Corp through the American Field Service where he met fellow novelist and French literary translator William Slater Brown. The two were able to explore Paris for five weeks thanks to not receiving assignment due to a clerical error. During the war Cummings wrote his first novel, The Enormous Room,which was published in 1922 (just two years after this poem) and was lauded even by the likes of F. Scott Fitzgerald. 

Following the war, Cummings returned to Paris a number of times and even lived there for a short time. He continues to travel extensively through the rest of his life. E.E. Cummings passed away on September 3, 1962 at the age of 67. 

-- By Francis Pharcellus Church -- 

In September of 1897, Eight-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon wrote a letter to the editor of New York’s Sun and a response was printed as an editorial. The editorial response, written by Francis Pharcellus Church, has since become history’s most reprinted newspaper editorial in over 50 languages.

Virginia gained a minor level of national celebrity. She went on to enroll at the Hunter College and in 1910 she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts. Two years later in 1912, O’Hanlon received her Masters in education from Columbia University. Virginia earned her doctorate degree from Fordham University in 1930. O’Hanlon went on to become an assistant principal in the New York public school system.

Francis Pharcellus Church was born in Rochester, New York and graduated from Columbia University. He was a war correspondent for the New York Times during the civil war. He published Yes, Virginia there is a Santa Clauseat the age of 56 years old. He lives until 1906 and passed at the age of 67. The local daily published her letter every Christmas season until 1949.

-- By Robert Southwell --

Robert Southwell was a Jesuit priest born in 1561 and ordained in 1584. His extensive studies began in 1576 and would take him from Douai in France to Paris to Rome where he completed his studies. 

In 1584 Queen Elizabeth began to enact sanctions on Catholic believers and clergy. Upon his own request, Southwell was sent as a missionary to England and arrived in July of 1586. Southwell worked for 6 years before his arrest and brutal execution on February 21, 1595.  

After Southwell's death his poems were published in St.Peter's Complaint with Other Poems which was printed by renowned book printers and publishers John Windet for sale by John Wolfe in Elizabethan England.  

-- By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow --

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was born on February 27, 1807 in Portland, Maine while the area was still a part of Massachusetts. Henry was the second of 8 children and his mother was the descendent of Richard Warren, a passenger of the Mayflower.He studied at both Bowdoin College and Harvard College. 

At the age of 13, he published his first poem in the Portland Gazettein November 1820. At Bowdoin College Longfellow began a life long friendship with (yet to be) renowned American novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne. After college, Longfellow spent a significant amount of time in Europe before delving into his immensely successful writing career.

Christmas Bellswas published in his 1863 poetry collection Tales of a Wayside Inn. 

Longfellows life is well documented and we will be revisiting his background in future episodes. 

-- By Christina Rossetti --

While most known for Christmas carols In the Bleak Midwinterand Love Came Down at Christmas,Christina Rossetti was quite a prolific 19th century English poet.  In the Bleak Midwinter was written in 1871 but was only arranged by composer Gustav Holst 35 years later in 1906. 

Rossetti was born in London on December 5, 1830. She was first published in April 1850 at 19 years of age with her literary periodical The Germ.Her most extensive work, Goblin Market and Other Poems,was published in 1862. Rosetti suffered from Graves' disease late in life and developed breast cancer in 1893 before succumbing to breast cancer on December 29, 1894. She was laid to rest on New Years Day 1895 at Highgate Cemetery in North London where her grave can still be visited. 

-- By Anne Brontë --

Anne Brontë was born January 17, 1820 to Maria Branwell and Patrick Brontë. The youngest member of the Brontë family, Anne and her sisters Charlotte and Emily all achieved great literary success in both novels and poetry during their lifetimes. 

Anne Brontë is most well known for her novel: Wuthering Heights.The book was her second publication and released in December 1847, the same month as her first novel Agnes Grey.Anne used a number of pseudonyms in publication including Acton Bell and Ellis Bell. 

Tragically, none of the 6 Brontë children made it past the age of 38. The father Patrick Brontë outlived all his children and died in June 1777. Although their time on Earth was short the children of Patrick Brontë have had an impact on Literature that continues for centuries. Anne Brontë's grave can be visited at the churchyard of St. Mary's Church in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England.  

-- By Clement Clarke Moore --

This poem, commonly retitled after the first line, was anonymously written by Clement Clarke Moore in 1823 at 44 years olde. The poem was first published in the Sentinelnewspaper in Troy, New York after being submitted my one of Moore's friends. 

Throughout his career Moore published a number of pamphlets and other literature, often outspoken about political issues or offering extensive support to he Episcopalian church. Moore served twice as president of Columbia College(now Columbia University). 

The poem was first attributed to Moore in The New-York Book of Poetryin 1837. The poem is well known throughout the world, however the origin and authorship is still widely debated by scholars.

-- By 'The Founding Fathers' --

The United States Declaration of Independence was drafted by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1766; now honored as Independence day, a federal, nationally celebrated holiday. 

The document was taken as a declaration of war by the 13 colonies against Great Britain. The rest is history...