Robert Seymour Bridges, b. 1844. English poet, poet laureate from 1913 to his death in 1930. According to Wikipedia, “At Corpus Christi College, Bridges became friends with Gerard Manley Hopkins, who is now considered a superior poet but who owes his present fame to Bridges’ efforts in arranging the posthumous publication (1916) of his verse.” Bridges was also a translator of hymns, including O Sacred Head, Sore Wounded, When Morning Gilds the Skies, and Bach’s famous Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring.
Holy wisdom, love most bright;
Drawn by Thee, our souls aspiring
Soar to uncreated light.
Word of God, our flesh that fashioned,
With the fire of life impassioned,
Striving still to truth unknown,
Soaring, dying round Thy throne.
Through the way where hope is guiding,
Hark, what peaceful music rings;
Where the flock, in Thee confiding,
Drink of joy from deathless springs.
Theirs is beauty’s fairest pleasure;
Theirs is wisdom’s holiest treasure.
Thou dost ever lead Thine own
In the love of joys unknown.
Laurie Halse Anderson, b. 1961. She’s the same age as my baby sister. She wrote Speak, an excellent YA book about a difficult subject. Semicolon review here. She’s also the author of Fever 1793, a fictional account of the yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia in that year.