Sylvia Plath, one of the best-known names in American women's literature, signed her first and her last books with pseudonyms. A poet since childhood, she published her debut volume "A Winter Ship" relatively late, in 1960. After studying at Smith College and later at Newnham College in Cambridge (a

Confessional poetry, Death, Feminine, Grotesque, Melancholy, Primal, Voluminous, Women's literature

American poet Anne Sexton could tell a story that would elicit tears. And yet, her words hold the ring of truth as well as the hollow toll of misery and despair. Just when the sense of her lines seems unbearable, the poetry of them hooks into the reader's veins and persists there. Sexton, a Confessio

Anxiety, Confessional poetry, Dark, Death, Feminine, Melancholy, Moody, Visceral, Women's literature

Toni Morrison, arguably the most famous living African American author, was born Chloe Anthony Wofford in 1931 in Ohio. As a child, she was an avid and precocious reader, and her family of masterful storytellers raised her on a steady diet of tales and legends. She studied literature at Howard and Co

African american fiction, Dense, Feminine, Layered, Melancholy, Pathos, Religious, Southern gothic, Spectral, Women's literature

Prince Rogers Nelson (born June 7, 1958 in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an American musician. He performs under the mononymous name of Prince, but has also been known by various other names, among them an unpronounceable symbol, leading fans and critics to dub him The Artist Formerly Known As Prince or

Eclectic, Excessive, Feminine, Funk, In-your-face, Moody, Sexy, Smarty arty pop, Wise assy