Saadi Youssef was born in 1934 in Basra, Iraq. He has published thirty volumes of poetry, seven books of prose, and has rendered into Arabic major works by such writers as Walt Whitman, Constantine Cavafy, Federico Lorca, George Orwell, Nuruddin Farah, and Wole Soyinka. He left Iraq in 1979, and after many detours, working as a journalist, publisher, and political activist, he has recently settled in London.
Ralph Waldo Emerson was born on May 25, 1803 in Boston, Massachusetts. He is widely regarded as one of America's most influential authors, philosophers and thinkers. At one time a Unitarian minister, Emerson left his pastorate because of doctrinal disputes with his superiors. Soon after, on a trip to Europe, he met a number of intellectuals, including Thomas Carlyle and William Wordsworth. 
During World War I, the British and Americans faced a serious threat from German U-boats, which were sinking allied shipping at a dangerous rate. All attempts to camouflage ships at sea had failed, as the appearance of the sea and sky are always changing. Any color scheme that was concealing in one situation was conspicuous in others. A British artist and naval officer, Norman Wilkinson, promoted a new camouflage scheme.
Du Fu was a prominent Chinese poet of the Tang Dynasty. Along with Li Bai (Li Bo), he is frequently called the greatest of the Chinese poets. His greatest ambition was to serve his country as a successful civil servant, but he proved unable to make the necessary accommodations. His life, like the whole country, was devastated by the An Lushan Rebellion of 755, and his last 15 years were a time of almost constant unrest.
Margaret Elizabeth Sangster was born at New Rochelle, New York, February 22, 1838. Educated privately, chiefly in New York.
Carl Sandburg's "Grass" is a three-stanza poem in free verse with simple words expressing a profound message. The dominant figure of speech in the poem is personification, which turns the grass into a person who observes wars and cleans up after them. 
Afzal Shauq is a well known poet who writes in Pashto and the Afghani languages. He has published six books in Pashto, consisting of two books of poetry, one novel and three travel books of European and Asian countries. He is also known as the peace wisher. 
Kathryn Roth-Douquet is a writer, lawyer, political activist and Marine Corps wife. She writes on issues of patriotism, engagement, and the military in society.