Samuel Taylor Coleridge

In the "Poet to Poet" series, a contemporary poet advocates a poet of the past or present whom they have particularly admired. By their selection of verses and their critical reactions, the selectors offer intriguing insights into their own work. Here, James Fenton surveys Coleridge.Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) was born in Ottery St Mary, Devon, the youngest son of a clergyman. He was educated at Christ's Hospital School, London, where he met Charles Lamb, and at Jesus College, Cambridge. He met Wordsworth in 1797, and in 1799 they published the Lyrical Ballads, one of the most revolutionary collections of poetry in the history of English literature. In his later years, Coleridge wrote primarily on philosophy, politics and literature. He is one of the seminal figures of his time, described by Wordsworth as 'the only wonderful man I ever knew.'