Maya Angelou, Ghana
William Blake, Romania
Robert Burns, Russia
Lord Byron, Greece
Paul Laurence Dunbar, U.S.A.
T.S. Eliot, Nicaragua
Langston Hughes, U.S.A.
John Keats, U.K.
Rudyard Kipling, DRC
Edgar Lee Masters, U.S.A.
Pablo Neruda, Poland
Alexander Pushkin, Russia
Carl Sandburg, U.S.A.
Dr. Seuss, U.S.A.
Rabindranath Tagore, Uruguay
20th century poets, U.S.A.
Derek Walcott, Saint Lucia
Walt Whitman, Czechoslovakia
John Greenleaf Whittier, U.S.A.
Oscar Wilde, San Marino
William Wordsworth, U.K.
William Butler Yeats, Ireland
* Literary Stamps
* Poetry in Stamps at Bob's Home for Writing.
* William Shakespeare on Stamps at The British Postal Museum & Archive
* Shakespeare on Stamps at the Philatelic Database
* Emily Dickinson stamp
And a poem by a stamp-poet inspired by another stamp-poet:
On the Sale by Auction of Keat's Love-Letters
by Oscar Wilde
These are the letters which Endymion wrote
To one he loved in secret and apart,
And now the brawlers of the auction-mart
Bargain and bid for each poor blotted note,
Aye! for each separate pulse of passion quote
The merchant's price! I think they love not art
Who break the crystal of a poet's heart,
That small and sickly eyes may glare or gloat.
Is it not said, that many years ago,
In a far Eastern town some soldiers ran
With torches through the midnight, and began
To wrangle for mean raiment, and to throw
Dice for the garments of a wretched man,
Not knowing the God's wonder, or his woe?
Tara at A Teaching Life has the Poetry Friday round-up today.
14 comments:
Thank you for another great post. I loved seeing all the stamps and the Oscar Wilde poem was a good read.
I'm always learning from you. Thanks for the education.
You do always find the neatest things to post! I have some of the recent US poet stamps, and I need to get them in the mail as I promised them to Renee LaTulippe! Thank you for this museum visit this morning...so cool. Happy Poetry Friday! a.
How much fun is this! It's oh, so sad, though, that letter writing and postage stamps may shortly be found only in poems.
You DO find the coolest stuff! I love these, and how fun to see the poet stamps from other countries. (And, sigh, timely - with the USPS woes of late. I think, hope, pray - there will always be some letter and card writers among us.)
Thanks for sharing the powerful Oscar Wilde poem, too.
I had the 20c. American poets. I loved considering which to put on each letter. The poem made me sad--how we can think the meaning is money when it's something else entirely.
LOVE these stamps -- had only seen a few before. The Keats is my favorite, I think. Each a work of miniature art, beautiful! You continue to find the best stuff!!
Each stamp is amazing in its artistry. So good to see poets honored and revered throughout the world. Thanks so much for sharing, Tabatha. =)
Thank you for sharing these stamps, Tabatha. Hmm. I wonder if there's one for Edgar Allan Poe. It's interesting to see which countries claim which poets.
Love the situation Wilde chooses for his poem and these lines:
"I think they love not art
Who break the crystal of a poet's heart"
Laura, there are a bunch of E.A. Poe stamps. I ended up being too indecisive to include him because I was torn between one from Nicaragua and one from a country that I couldn't identify (although there are some very nice U.S. Poe stamps).
I used to collect stamps as a child. Love this post!
These are fabulous, Amy. They make me want to collect poet stamps. I love the Pushkin and Wordsworth stamps.
I also love the line in Wilde's poem:
"I think they love not art
Who break the crystal of a poet's heart,"
He makes an interesting comparison between bidding for the poet's letters and gambling for Christ's garment.
Powerful poem! Thanks for sharing. Just a couple of weeks ago, Charles Ghigna and I were discussing the 20th century poet stamps, and the fact that almost all of them looked so serious and dour - must be the 'brooding poet' thing. ;)
I liked so many-hard to choose a favorite! Wonderful post, tabatha. You teach me a lot! The poem is touching. I was careful about personal things during my sale.
Perfect pairing of art and words!
Walt looks particularly at home on a Russian stamp!
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