Unsung literary heroes

@dancingGrotto

Aww that's a very thoughtful idea, hope to see many amazing authors and writers under spotlight here!💛

Shttps://storymaps.arcgis.com,stories,5643a9902b494936924bcd76bce3f574o I'm just gonna jump in with a poet I thought of today.

i know in the first post I talked specifically of authors but who care right?

So this poet's name is Lord Alfred Douglas. He was most famous for being the lover of Oscar Wilde but he also did some pretty amazing stuff himself. If you wanna find more out about the tragic story of their love affair I suggest you watch Wilde (it's on Youtube I think). It stars Stephen Fry and is amazing. You can also learn about the history of queer literature which is really fascinating here:

https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/5643a9902b494936924bcd76bce3f574

But anyway. Douglas wrote this one poem that I absolutely adore and I don't think it gets enough credit. It's called "The Two Loves". You can look it up if you want. It's all about straight love vs gay love and ends with the line: "I am the love that dares not speak it's name" as a refference to how homosexuality wasn't seen as actual love, but of course it was veiled since homosexuality could get you sent to prison for "sodomy" back then.

I think it's really beautiful as the poem doesn't attempt to paint either straight- nor gay love as being better than the other, but it emphasises the cruelty with which homosexuality was oppressed and the inherent sadness that can come (even today) with LGBTQ+ - individuals having the way they love not acknowledged as real.

Oh my, this is such a good idea! It might not be completely overlooked, but all the books by Terry Pratchett. They definitely do get the credit they deserve, but only in specific...reader circles, and i think that's partially unfair. On the other hand, they aren't for everyone, not all people get the jokes or like the story lines and i guess that's fair enough. Anyway, here's to captain Samuel Elánius, my top favourite character.

I adore Terry Pratchet. But I have only just started reading him in a sense. Like when you find a new author you love, that's him for me right now. What are some of you're favorite books by him?

This is such a good question. I have too many to post them all, so I'm going to go with my first thought which is the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. Not only does he share my name (lol), but he also has some pretty amazing works.

One of my favorites is "Mutability." Here's a link if anyone would like to read: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/54563/mutability-we-are-as-clouds-that-veil-the-midnight-moon