Years ago famous poets had to work hard to get their poems published in monthly magazines so their name would become a common household word. The only other way to do it was to print up fliers with a poem on it and pass them around in town. Eventually certain poets published books of their poems, and they were sold on the market.

Poets who have been famous over the years wrote poems about every topic imaginable. Interestingly, many of them were not recognized by society at all until after their death. Emily Dickinson is a perfect example of this. She wrote some 1,800 poems mainly on death and immortality with a few on nature and faith before she died, but only seven were published while she was alive. She only became famous after her death.

Some poets were fortunate enough to publish a work that was well liked among the public. As a result, the publisher would see the benefit of promoting them, and would continually print their works. This caused the poet's name and poems to become well known among the public, thus making him famous.

Andrei Voznesensky from Russia was one of the greatest twentieth century poets. He published his first poems in 1958. Interestingly, he did not become famous until 1963 when Nikita Khrushchov called him a dissident and a pervert, neither of which were true. That criticism caused his poems to rise to fame nearly overnight.

Robert Burns was a famous poet from Scotland. He was already known for his wild lifestyle which included wine and women. He wrote poems which were made into songs, making him famous when he was just twenty-seven years old. "Tam O'Shanter" was his most famous poem. His poems live on today as a reminder of his wicked lifestyle and the love of Jean Armour who married him in spite of what he was.

Robert Lee Frost was one of America's most famous poets. He published his first poems in Great Britain, but it was not long until he became widely read in his own country. His poems were made famous because of their use in the classroom and in speeches. He basically wrote on nature and his own surroundings in rural New England. In 1984, a New York newspaper published his first poem and paid him $15.00.

All of the famous poets have a different story to tell about how they rose to fame. For some it was their position in life, who they knew, sheer luck or their wild lifestyle. No matter how it happened, their fame has been long lasting and continues on today.