24 October

Born in 1830 – Marianne North, English biologist and painter.

Above: A Brazilian Columnar Cactus, c. 1880

Also, born in 1923, American poet Denise Levertov, who said:

Writing poetry is a process of discovery...you can smell the poem before you see it....Like some animal.

and

I long for poems of an inner harmony in utter contrast to the chaos in which they exist. Insofar as poetry has a social function it is to awaken sleepers by other means than shock.

Previously on October 24, Konstantin Yuon & Levertov.