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Top 10 Greatest Poets of America To Ever Live

greatest american poet
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Writing and reading poetry, through the expression of their words and feelings, has a highly therapeutic effect on the mind. The structure of a poem emphasizes brevity, but the best poems also capture succinct detail, which makes them incredibly powerful in conveying their message to the reader. United States poetry began as literary art in colonial times. Here are the top 10 greatest poets of America.

Top 10 Greatest Poets Of America To Ever Live

10. Philip D. Appleman

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He is amongst the top 10 greatest poets Of America. Born in 1926, he was a Professor Emeritus in English at Bloomington through a well-known University. He published seven volumes of poetry. Work of his in the fields of poetry and as well as fiction have won many awards. He was a founding member of the Poets House based in New York and was also a former member of the governing board of the Poetry Society of America, and a member of the Academy of American Poets, PEN American Centre.

9. Elizabeth Akers Allen

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Florence Percy is the pen name of Elizabeth Akers Allen. She was an American poet as well as a reporter who was born in 1832. Many of her early poems first were featured inside the Portland Transcript under the signature “Florence Percy.” She contributed to most of the major publications, and her collected poetry was published in various editions.

8. Sylvia Plath

Sylvia Plath | greatest American poet | Trending Reader

Sylvia Plath is considered one of the pioneers in the category of confessional poetry, which refers to poems that center mostly on individuals; her experience, and so on. In 1960, she published her first poetry collection, ‘The Colossus’ as well as other Poems.  Sylvia Plath is regarded as one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century, who is also one of the most well-known female poets in the English language.

7. E.E. Cummings

E.E. Cummings | American poet | Trending Reader

He has been among the top 10 greatest poets of America. Edward Estlin Cummings was a poet, novelist, playwright, and painter who is best known for his radical use of punctuation and phrases in his poetry. Cummings’ writings about love and nature, as well as his sensual poetry, have made him one of the most well-known American poets.

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8. Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou | Greatest American poets | Trending Reader

She was among the most well-known people of the twentieth century, having been born in 1928. She commenced her music career and performer, then went on to work as little more than a civil rights activist but also a journalist, write seven best-selling autobiographies, teach at Wake Forest University, and collect numerous awards.

7. David Abram Antin

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Antin was born in New York in 1932. After graduating from Brooklyn Technical High School, he received a BA from the City College of New York in 1955 and a BA from New York University in 1966. He spent the first ten years of his career as a translator of scientific texts and novels. In the late 1960s, Antin, with his wife, writer, and performance artist Eleanor Antin, moved to Southern California to take up a position at the University of California, San Diego, in the new experimental Visual Arts Department.

6. Vim Karénine

Vim Karénine | Greatest American poet | Trending Reader

Among the most famous poets, Vim Karenin (born August 6, 1933) is an American and French poet,  haiku poet, and novelist. “I’m known for starting poems on napkins and scraps of paper.” He is known for his spontaneous writing method, which covers serious topics.

5. Robert Frost

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Born in San Francisco, he was one of the top 10 greatest poets of America. He was the first to innovate a genre of poetry known as Jazz Poetry, which featured jazz-like rhythms. Many of his poems are based on the cultures of African-Americans and blacks who denied the American dream of equal opportunity for all. Also a novelist, playwright, and columnist, Langston Hughes is best known for his poetry and was considered one of the greatest African-American poets of all time.

4.  Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman's lost advice to America's men: meat, beards and not too much  sex | Walt Whitman | The Guardian

Walt Whitman ( May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, journalist, who also wrote great essays and was one of the top 10 greatest poets of America. At the time of transition between transcendentalism and realism, he also worked as a humanist and combined both perspectives in his works. Whitman is one of the most admired poets in  American canon law, often called the father of free verse. He wrote the poem “Song Of Myself”, which is considered America’s best-known poem.

3. Emily Dickinson

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Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Although Dickinson wrote profusely, only ten poems and one letter were published during his lifetime. After his sister, Lavinia discovered a collection of nearly 1,800 poems, Dickinson’s first volume was published four years after his death.

2. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Henry Wandsworth | American Poet | Trending Reader

On February 27, 1807, American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was born in Portland, Massachusetts, who is now known as one of the top 10 greatest poets of America. Longfellow did not often add an autobiographical element to his poetry. Two notable exceptions are made for the deaths of members of his family. Longfellow was the most famous poet of his time. 

1. Joy Harjo

joy harjo | American poet | Trending Reader

Harjo is an American poet, she also played music, wrote plays, and was a book writer. She is the outgoing Poet of the United States, the Native American, and the first one among them to receive this honor. She is the only second Poetry Consultant to win the Poet Prize for serving three terms.

Conclusion

The list above does not include all of the greatest poets of america, but they are some of the most loved and admired. They did a great job and contributed to the art of poetry and much more. It can be hard to write poetry to inspire and touch the soul, but their work has been successful.

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