The history of English poetry stretches from the middle of the 7th
century to the present day. Over this period, English poets have
written some of the most enduring poems in European culture, and the
language and its poetry have spread around the globe. Consequently,
the term English poetry is unavoidably ambiguous. It can mean poetry
written in England (and, by extension, the United Kingdom), or poetry
written in English. With the growth of British trade and the British
Empire, the English language has been widely used outside England. In
the twenty-first century, only a small percentage of the world's
native English speakers live in England, and there is also a vast
population of non-native speakers of English who are capable of
writing poetry in the language. A number of major national poetries,
including the American, Australian, New Zealand and Canadian poetry
have emerged and developed. Since 1922, Irish poetry has also been
increasingly viewed as a separate area of study.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_poetry
Today's selected anniversaries:
1034 Malcolm II of Scotland died. Duncan, the son of his second
daughter, instead of Macbeth, the son of his eldest
daughter, inherited the throne.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_II_of_Scotland)
1960 The Mirabal sisters, who opposed the dictatorship of
military strongman Rafael Leonidas Trujillo in the
Dominican Republic, were beaten and strangled to death.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirabal_sisters)
1984 Band Aid: 36 of Britain and Ireland's top pop musicians
gathered in a Notting Hill studio to record the song "Do
They Know It's Christmas" in order to raise money for
famine relief in Ethiopia.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Band_Aid_%28band%29)
1993 Velvet Divorce: Legislators in Czechoslovakia voted to
split the country into the Czech Republic and Slovakia,
effective January 1, 1993.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velvet_Divorce)
Wikiquote of the day:
"Great minds have purposes, others have wishes. Little minds are
tamed and subdued by misfortune; but great minds rise above them."
~ Washington Irving
(
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Washington_Irving)