Dante Alighieri, the great Italian poet of the 14th Century, brought Italian literature into a more modern era.  Incorporating Medieval themes with an increasing humanism, a famous but anonymous quote states that he "stand with one foot firmly placed in the Middle Ages while with the other he salutes...

One of the fathers of the Beat generation, and an influential 20th century American poet, Allen Ginsberg was a major contributor to modern poetry. He rose to fame during the counter-culture era of the 1950’s and 60’s, challenging the norms of society. While most poets of the time used...