Stephen Spender

Sir Stephen Harold Spender (28 February 1909 – 16 July 1995) was an English poet, novelist, and essayist known for his focus on themes of social injustice and the class struggle. He served as the U.S. Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1965. Born in Kensington, London, to journalist Harold Spender and painter-poet Violet Hilda Schuster, Spender attended various schools including Gresham's School and University College School. He later studied at University College, Oxford, where he became an honorary fellow in 1973. Throughout his life, Spender maintained that he never passed any exams. He had a close friendship with a influential individual.