Philip Freneau, b. 1752. Known as the Poet of the American Revolution, he was a close friend of Madison and of Jefferson. His poetry leaned toward propaganda, first anti-British and then anti- Federalist and supporting the party of his friends Madison and Jefferson. Here’s a few lines from a more personal poetic ode:

If I should quit your arms to-night
And chance to die before ‘t was light,
I would advise you — and you might —
Love again to-morrow. From Song of Thyrsis

William Lyon Phelps, b. 1865, American educator, critic, author and preacher, professor of literature at Yale. “Those who decide to use leisure as a means of mental development, who love good music, good books, good pictures, good plays, good company, good conversation – what are they? They are the happiest people in the world.”
“You can learn more about human nature by reading the Bible than by living in New York.”

Robert Nathan, American novelist and author of The Bishop’s Wife and Portrait of Jenny, both of which were made into movies in the late 1940’s.