Baudelaire, Charles (1821–67)
Charles Baudelaire is a pivotal figure of modernist aesthetics. His contributions to poetry, the prose poem and criticism, as well as his focus on urban…
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al-Ḥājj, Unsī (1937–2014)
Unsī al-Ḥājj (1937–2014) was a Lebanese poet largely recognized as the pioneer of Arabic prose poems (qaṣīdat al-nathr) thanks to his renowned but controversial first…
Bose, Buddhadeva (1908–1974)
Buddhadeva Bose was a major Bengali poet, who showed an exemplary dedication to modernism. He was a novelist, short-story writer, essayist, playwright, children’s writer, and…
Shi’r
The journal, Shi’r (Poetry 1957–70) was established in Beirut by Yūsuf al-Khāl and the poet theorist Adunis to save poetry from politics. It emerged as…
Symbolism Overview
Symbolism is a late-nineteenth-century literary movement centred mostly around the work of poets such as Stéphane Mallarmé, Arthur Rimbaud, Paul Verlaine, Philippe Villiers de L’Isle-Adam,…
Ross, W. W. E. (1894–1966)
William Wrightson Eustace Ross was a pioneering modernist poet in Canada in the early twentieth century. He experimented with free verse, Imagism, and Japanese poetic…
Altenberg, Peter (1859–1919)
Born in Vienna on 9 March 1859, the Jewish-Austrian poet Peter Altenberg (birth name: Richard Engländer) became a literary sensation with his characteristically telegraphic writing…
Hikmet, Nâzım (1902–1963)
Nâzım Hikmet (Ran) (b.January 15, 1902, Thessaloniki–d.June 3, 1963, Moscow) was a Turkish poet, playwright, novelist, and screenwriter who spent nearly fifteen years of his…
Jacob, Max (1876–1944)
The poet and painter Max Jacob was a major figure in the Parisian artistic movements of the early twentieth century. With his friends Guillaume Apollinaire…
Rimbaud, Jean Nicolas Arthur (1854–1891)
The late nineteenth-century French poet Arthur Rimbaud is known just as much for his poetic output as for his personality. His made important contributions to…
Segalen, Victor (1878–1919)
Physician, musician, archaeologist and sinologist, essayist, novelist, poet, librettist, and world traveller whose works were largely published after his death, Victor Segalen has achieved largely…
Free Verse
Free verse is a technique of poetic composition that was employed and discussed by poets and critics during the modernist period. Exemplified by a disregard…
Buckler, Ernest (1908–1984)
Ernest Buckler (1908–1984) was a walking paradox. Born in the bookless society of poor, rural Nova Scotia, he earned a BA in mathematics and philosophy…
Obstfelder, Sigbjørn (1866–1900)
Sigbjørn Obstfelder is considered the first Norwegian modernist writer. He wrote poetry, dramas and novels but is primarily known for his collection of poems, Digte…
Freytag-Loringhoven, Baroness Elsa von (1874 –1927)
Born Else Hildegard Plötz in the German Baltic seaport town of Swinmünde in 1874, the Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven was an avant-garde poet, performer, visual…
Hansson, Ola (1860–1925)
Ola Hansson was among the most innovative and ground-breaking authors and critics of early Swedish modernism. With his delicate prose sketches Sensitiva amorosa he established…
Rifbjerg, Klaus (1931–2015)
Since the late 1950s, Klaus Rifbjerg has been a dominant figure of literary modernism in Denmark. His productivity is legendary (his bibliography includes more than…
al-Khāl, Yūsuf (1917–1987)
Yūsuf al-Khāl was a Lebanese poet and writer, born in 1917 in Syria. He graduated in 1944 from the Philosophy Department at the American University…
Qabbani, Nizar (نزار توفيق قباني) (1923-1998)
Nizar Qabbani (1923–98) was born in Damascus, Syria, into a merchant family. He studied law at Damascus University and then entered the Syrian diplomatic service,…
Beydoun, Abbas (Bayḏūn, ʿAbbās) (1945--)
Abbas Beydoun is one of Lebanon’s most famous poets and writers, and one of the most outstanding and important intellectuals in the Arab world. He…
Tagore, Rabindranath (1861–1940)
Rabindranath Tagore is India’s pre-eminent writer and was the first Asian to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, in 1913. He is best known for…
Lowell, Amy (1874–1925)
Born in Brookline, Massachusetts, to a prominent Boston family, Amy Lowell was a poet, lecturer, editor, and critic who was particularly well known for her…
Garnett, Edward (1868–1937)
Although he wrote little of artistic merit himself, Edward Garnett was very influential on British modernism. Like Ezra Pound, Garnett had an uncanny ear for…
De Maré, Rolf (1888–1964)
Rolf de Maré was a Swedish-born impresario, art collector, and philanthropist. Born into one of Sweden’s wealthiest families, he began collecting modern art at an…
Huxley, Aldous (1894–1963)
Aldous Huxley is an English writer who is best known for his dystopian novel Brave New World (1932) and his disquisition on psychedelic substances, The…