Read by Ghizela Rowe (Unabridged: 32mins)

American poet Ella Wheeler Wilcox was born on 5th November, 1850 in Wisconsin. She started writing poetry at the age of 7 and derived an income from her poems as a teenager. She married Robert Wilcox and together they shared a deep interest in mysticism, spiritualism and theosophy, travelling the world to learn more and socialising and spreading their ideas back in their home in Connecticut which was named Bungalow Court. Popularly known as the poetess of passion her work is often quoted by a wide variety of public figures from Diana, the Princess of Wales and Margaret Thatcher to F Scott Fitzgerald and Jack London.

The universal themes and simple expression often convey fundamental truths.  Laugh and the world laughs with you, Weep, and you weep alone; and  "Love lights more fires than hate extinguishes" are just a couple of her insightful lines that live on for every new generation. 

Ella Wheeler Wilcox Biography

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