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Anne Sexton, born Anne Gray Harvey, (November 9, 1928 - October 4, 1974) was an American poet known for her highly personal, confessional verse. She won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1967 for her book Live or Die. Her poetry details her long battle with bipolar disorder, suicidal tendencies, and intimate details from her private life, including relationships with her husband and children, whom she physically and sexually assaulted.

Shirley Temple (April 23, 1928 - February 10, 2014) was an American actress, singer, dancer, and diplomat, who was Hollywood's number-one box-office draw as a child actress from 1934 to 1938. Temple began her film career in 1931 when she was three years old. In 1935, she received a special Juvenile Academy Award for her contributions in motion pictures. Temple embarked on her U.S. diplomatic career in 1969, later being named Ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia, and also served as Chief of Protocol of the United States.

Irwin Allen Ginsberg (June 3, 1926 - April 5, 1997), born in Newark NJ, was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with Lucien Carr, William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Generation. He vigorously opposed militarism, economic materialism, and sexual repression, and he embodied various aspects of this counterculture with his views on drugs, sex, multiculturalism, and hostility to bureaucracy. "America" is a poem by Ginsberg written in 1956.

Burton Stephen Lancaster (November 2, 1913-October 20, 1994), born in New York City, was an American actor, producer and director. Initially known for playing tough guys with a tender heart, he went on to achieve success with more complex and challenging roles over a 45-year career in films and television. He was a four-time Academy Award Best Actor nominee, winning the Oscar and Golden Globe for the 1960 film, Elmer Gantry, and BAFTA award winner for Birdman of Alcatraz (1963) and Atlantic City (1982). The following recordings are from tv interviews from 1963 and 1973.

Virginia Woolf (January 25, 1882 - March 28, 1941) was an English writer from Kensington, London, who pioneered a narrative mode called "stream of consciousness" to describe the thoughts and feelings of the narrator. Regarded as one of the most prominent modernist 20th-century writers, Woolf's works have gained much attention for inspiring feminism, as well as, numerous films, novels, and plays. The following recording is from a radio broadcast on April 29th, 1937.

Roald Dahl (September 13, 1916 - November 23, 1990), born in Cardiff, Wales, was a novelist, poet, screenwriter, and short story author, as well as a fighter pilot and intelligent officer in the Royal Air Force (RAF) during World War II. Considered one of the greatest storytellers for children of the 20th century, Dahl's classic works include Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, The Witches, The Twits and Matilda. His books have sold more than 300 million copies worldwide.

Thomas Stearns Eliot (September 26, 1888 - January 4, 1965) was an American-British poet, essayist and playwright. He is considered to be one of the 20th century's greatest poets, as well as a central figure in English-language Modernist poetry. His use of language, writing style, and verse structure reinvigorated English poetry. He is also noted for his critical essays, which often re-evaluated long-held cultural beliefs.