Biography of Philip Larkin Philip Arthur Larkin was born on August 9, 1922, in Coventry. He was the second child, and only son, of Sydney and Eva Larkin. Sydney Larkin was City Treasurer between the years 1922-44. Larkin's sister, some ten years his senior, was called Catherine, but was known as Kitty. He attended the City's King Henry VIII School between 1930 and 1940, and made regular contributions to the school magazine, The Coventrian, which, between 1939 and 1940, he also helped to edit . After leaving King Henry VIII, he went to St. John's College, Oxford, and despite the war (Larkin had failed his army medical because of his poor eyesight), was able to complete his degree without interruption, graduating in 1943 with a First Class Honours in English. His closest friends at Oxford were Kingsley Amis and Bruce Montgomery. The first of his poems to be published in a national weekly was 'Ultimatum', which appeared in the Listener, November 28, 1940. Then in June 1943, three of his poems were published in Oxford Poetry (1942-43) . These were 'A Stone Church Damaged By A Bomb', 'Mythological Introduction', and 'I dreamed of an out-thrust arm of land'. After graduating, Larkin lived with his parents for a while, before being appointed Librarian at Wellington, Shropshire, in November of 1943. Here, he studied to qualify as a professional librarian, but continued to write and publish. In 1945, ten of his poems, which later that year would be included in The North Ship, appeared in Poetry from Oxford in Wartime. Two novels, Jill and A Girl in Winter were published in 1946 and 1947 respectively. In 1946, Larkin became assistant Librarian at the University College of Leicester. He completed his professional studies and became an Associate of the Library Association in 1949. In October 1950, he became Sub-Librarian at Queen's University, Belfast. It was in Belfast that he applied fresh vigour to his poetry activities, and, in 1951, had a small collection, XX Poems, privately printed in an edition of
Allen Ginsberg was a Jewish American poet, who was born in June 3 1929, he’s poetry vigorously opposed such topics as militarism, economic materialism and sexual- repression. Ginsberg is best known for his epic poem "Howl", in which he denounced what he saw as the destructive forces of capitalism and conformity in the United States.
Few people, if any, in the twentieth century have inspired as much careful study and criticism as James Joyce. His work represents a great labyrinth which many have entered but none have returned from the same. Joyce himself is a paradoxical figure, ever the artist, ever the commoner. He has been called the greatest creative genius of our century and, by some, the smartest person in all of history. His most famous novel, Ulysses, is considered by many to be the greatest novel ever written. Beyond all of these superlatives lies a perfect case study in the creative mind and process.
James Joyce, whose full name was James Augustine Aloysuis Joyce, known as one of the greatest Irish literature writers in the 20th century(FamousAuthors). Born in Dublin, Ireland, February 2, 1882 into a middle class family. Joyce was one of ten surviving children. John Stanislaus Joyce was James father. A talented singer, just about one of the best in Ireland during his time. Although he had an extraordinary talent, he could not provide a steady household for the family. After being laid off from a tax collector job he became an alcoholic and addicted to drugs. His father could not keep a steady job. His habit to spend money lead the family downhill. This caused the family to move from home to home. Joyce mother, Mary Jane Murray was an phenomenal pianist. Even though this was not enough to keep their family of twelve on their feet in the middle class area. Her life revolved around the catholic church.
William Blake is a literature genius. Most of his work speaks volume to the readers. Blake’s poem “The Mental Traveller” features a conflict between a male and female that all readers can relate to because of the lessons learned as you read. The poet William Blake isn’t just known for just writing. He was also a well-known painter and a printmaker. Blake is considered a seminal figure in the history of poetry. His poems are from the Romantic age (The end of the 18th Century). He was born in Soho, London, Great Britain. He was the third of seven children. Even though Blake was such an inspiration as a writer he only went to school just enough to read and write. According to Bloom’s critical views on William Blake; one of Blake’s inspirations was the Bible because he believed and belonged to the Moravian Church.
The Beat Generation of poets was created by a group of poets in the 1950s that were part of a new culture in literature. They chose to use their experiences in their writings which were widely criticized as well as loved by many readers. Two of the most influential Beat Poets of that Generation of writers were Allen Ginsberg and Lawrence Ferlinghetti. The Beat Generation poetry was the first poets to write about non-conventional subjects as well as using different forms of expression in their works. This generation of poets greatly influenced poets such as Anne Sexton, who wrote about personal experiences as well. The Beat Generation’s style of poetry have influenced many generations of poets after them.
In the early years or Eric Arthur Blair, or from 1903 to 1928, his life was lived as Eric Arthur Blair and not the popular name of George Orwell. Being educated until it became too costly, regarding the careers of parents, Orwell became a very vivid man. He was willing to inform others on his experiences. After his resignation from the Police Force in 1927; shortly one year into being an author, his “Lack of success” (BBC) caused him to work at low wages. His first book “Down and Out in Paris and London” was published as George Orwell but was legally changed shortly before it was published, from BBC History (lines 7-9). George Orwell had many works themselves, but he was known for his novels...
Picasso Changed the Way We Look at Art "There is no abstract art. You must always start with something. Afterwards you can remove all traces of reality." -Pablo Picasso Picasso had not always been so enlightened with the fact that there was more to art than the eye could see. During the course of his ninety-one year life, Picasso encountered many ideas and people that helped form the wonderfully talented and brilliant artist in history. Picasso was born Pablo Ruiz on October 25th 1881, in Malaga, Spain. His father was a inspiring artist while his mother took care of the house. Picasso had shown a great artistic talent in his early childhood years. At 14 years old, Picasso adopted his mother's less common name. Changing Ruiz to Picasso. Shortly after this event, Picasso had finished his one month qualification exam into the Acadamy of the Arts in Barcelona. The only exceptional thing about this was that Picasso had done this in one day. Picasso stayed with the acadamy for three years, before deciding to move to San Fernando where he would then attend the Acadamy of San Fernando until the turn of the century. Picasso then joined up with the group of aspiring artists. Pablo Picasso was probably the most famous artist of the twentieth century. During his artistic career, which lasted more than 75 years, he created thousands of works, not only paintings but also sculptures, prints, and ceramics, using all kinds of materials. He almost single-handedly created modern art.
Sylvia Plath’s life was full of disappointment, gloominess and resentment. Her relationship status with her parents was hostile and spiteful, especially with her father. Growing up during World War II did not help the mood of the nation either, which was dark and dreary. At age 8 Plath’s father of German ancestry died of diabetes and even though their relationship was never established nor secure, his death took a toll on her. “For Sylvia, who had been his favorite, it was an emotional holocaust and an experience from which she never fully recovered” (Kehoe 90). Since she was so young she never got to work out her unsettled feelings with him. Even at age eight, she hid when he was around because she was fearful of him. When she was in his presence his strict and authoritarian figure had left an overpowering barrier between their relationship. Sadly enough by age eight Plath instead of making memories with her dad playing in the yard she resented him and wanted nothing to do with him (Kehoe). These deep-seated feelings played a major role in Plath’s poetry writings. Along with his “hilterian figure,” her father’s attitude towards women was egotistical and dismissive, uncondemning. This behavior infuriated Plath; she was enraged about the double standard behavior towards women. Plath felt controlled in male-dominated world (Lant). “Because Plath associates power so exclusively with men, her conviction that femininity is suffocating and inhibiting comes as no surprise” (Lant 631). This idea of a male-dominated world also influenced Plath’s writing. Unfortunately, Plath married a man just like her father Ted Hughes. “Hughes abandonment apparently stirred in her the memories and feelings she had struggled with when her ...
Edward Albee burst onto the American theatrical scene in the late 1950s with a variety of plays that detailed the agonies and disillusionment of that decade and the transition from the calm Eisenhower to the turbulent 1960s. Albee became a serious dramatist dealing with serious but always relevant themes, primarily having to do with the predicament of humanity in a society with moral decay, as well as the conflict between reality and illusion. His work is considered to be unique, uncompromising, controversial, elliptical, and provocative.
Dylan Thomas was born in 1914 of intellectual parents both being literature professors. Long before he could read, his father would recite poetry from classic authors. Many of his poems can be traced to the illustrated style of D.H Lawrence. The imagery he provides of disparity and death in many of his poems. In the span of Dylan’s life, he witnessed both Great Wars. The first war may have been the main topic of discussion by his parents at childhood. And later at service in the air defense over London. Because of his determined health Thomas was not able to enroll in an active combat role during World War II. Thomas life’s experiences played a major role in influencing his writing...
rot. This may imply that he went berry picking just for the fun of it,
James Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, whose psychological views opened up a whole New World to twentieth century writers. He is still known as one of the most influential writers not only in Ireland, but all throughout Ireland. Joyce was born in Dublin on February 2, 1882, into the care of his mother and father, both poverty-stricken. He attended only Jesuit-run schools, first the boarding school, Clongowes, then the day school, Belvedere, and finally the Royal University, which was better known as the University College (Litz 8). While he attended Belvedere he enjoyed writing essays, and won several awards for his phenomenal test scores. Even as a young man, Joyce was destined to be well known and famous for the rest of his life. But by the end of his university years he had rejected Catholicism in favor of literature (Litz 8). His love for writing just had to come first before anything else.
Biography of Federico Garcia Lorca Federico Garca Lorca was born into an educated bourgeois family in Fuente Vaqueros, in Andalusia, Spain, in 1898. His mother was a teacher and his father a rich farm labourer. He read literature and music at Granada University and in 1919, at the age of 21, he published his first book, Impresiones y Paisaijes, that was inspired by a trip around Spain that he took as part of his degree. That year, Lorca went to Madrid to continue with his studies. He moved into the Residence of Scholars (residencia de estudiantes), a liberal institution that taught according to the social, political and religious philosophies of Krause.
William Blake was one of England’s greatest writers (Tejvan) in the nineteenth century, but his brilliancy was not noticed until after he was deceased. Blake was very much a free spirit who often spoke his mind and was very sensitive to cruelty. At the age of twenty five he married a woman named Catherine Boucher. They created a book of all Blake’s poems called Songs on Innocence, which was not very popular while he was alive. On the other hand Blake’s other book of poems, Songs of Experience, were much more popular. These two collections are so magnificent because it is two different forms of writing successfully written by one man. Two major poems written by William Blake were “The Tyger” and “The Lamb”. The Lamb is from Songs of Innocence while The Tyger is from Songs of Experience, they may share different perspectives on the world yet they both complement one another very well. Blake believed that life could be viewed from two different perspectives, those being innocence and experience. To Blake, innocence is not better than experience. Both states have their good and bad sides. The positive side of innocence is joy and optimism, while the bad side is naivety. The negative side of experience is cynicism, but the good side is wisdom (Shmoop Editorial Team). The Tyger and The Lamb are two completely different styles of poems yet it wouldn’t have the same affect on a reader if one poem didn’t exist.
This artist has done many works of art that some people just may not seem to understand why it was made. Some people find an interest in certain paintings while others may not find that exact attachment to the painting like others. I have chosen to write about this artist because of the many and beautiful arts of work he has created through many years. Although some I may not find a meaning to or why he would make a piece of art the way he did, they still seem to catch my attention to some.