Which New York Poet is your Zodiac Sign?
Okay, so not everyone in this list was actually born in New York state, but they all influenced New York poetry in significant ways. Incidentally, a large number of these poets are/were queer, which makes sense considering New York City has such a rich queer history, notably with the Stonewall Riots. In the words of Derrick Berry, “That was fighting for gay rights.”
And since gays love astrology, let’s find out which New York poet you are based on your zodiac sign!
Aries
Maya Angelou. Angelou was born in Missouri on April 4, 1928, and she was a memoirist, poet and civil rights activist who worked with both Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. She lived in Harlem, New York City for most of her prolific writing career. I recommend you read her posthumous complete poetry collection: Maya Angelou The Complete Poetry. If you don’t have time for a complete collection, at least read her poem “Phenomenal Woman” because that’s what this Aries legend was. She died in 2014, one year after receiving the Literarian Award for her contributions to the literary community.
Taurus
Bernadette Mayer. Mayer was born in Brooklyn, New York City on May 12, 1945, and she was associated with both the Language poets and the New York School of poets. In February 1972, her exhibit Memory, which consisted of a total of 1,100 photographs she shot and nearly six hours worth of poetry she had recorded since July 1971—yes, in just seven months because this Taurus had determination—was shown in an art and performance space in SoHo, New York City.
Gemini
Walt Whitman. Whitman was born in Long Island, New York on May 31, 1819. He is most famous for his poetry collection Leaves of Grass, which had little success in the US during his lifetime due to its subject matter and unconventional style. However, his work received positive attention in the UK (because of course the Gemini is either loved or hated), which leads me to a fun gay fact about his life! Whitman met Oscar Wilde in 1882, when Wilde visited the US, and there is evidence that they may have had what straight historians would call “a very intimate conversation,” but gays on the internet believe they had sex, and as Oscar Wilde’s reincarnation, I sense this is the truth. If you want to read more about the affair between Whitman and Wilde, click here. And, while you’re at it, read his poem “I Hear America Singing.” It’s going to come up again later.
Cancer
June Jordan. Jordan was born in Harlem, New York City on July 9, 1936. Her incredibly prolific writing career spans a total of 27 volumes of poetry, essays, libretti and children’s books. This Cancer fought for civil rights, women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and the freedom of oppressed peoples. Her poem “Poem about My Rights” is a must-read. What is there to say besides she should be read in every school in North America. She died in 2002.
Leo
Me, born on July 27, 2000! I’m joking, but that would be the most Leo thing I could say. Until I’m a famous poet, I have to say John Ashbery, who was born in Rochester, Upstate New York on July 28, 1927. Pretty cool that I’m almost birthday twins with John Ashbery, who won almost every major American award for poetry in addition to international awards such as the Canada-based Griffin International Award—in a typical Leo fashion, one might say. He published over 30 books of poetry in his lifetime. His 1975 Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror won the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and the National Book Critics Circle Award—an impressive literary triple-crown. He died in 2017.
Virgo
Alain Locke. Locke was born on September 13, 1885, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but he became known as the “dean” of The Harlem Renaissance for his significant contributions to the movement. In 1925, Locke published an anthology entitled “The New Negro: An Interpretation,” comprising of fiction, poetry and essays by Black writers, effectively launching the careers of several, including Langston Hughes, who was the unrequited love of our favourite Virgo writer. While Locke only lived in New York after his retirement in 1953, his role as mentor in the lives of many New York-based Black poets significantly impacted the poetry scene in Harlem, specifically. He died in 1954 in Harlem, New York City.
Libra
Fanny Howe. Howe was born on October 15, 1940 in Buffalo, New York, but she grew up in Cambridge and would probably hate to be described as a “New York poet” considering she only lived in Buffalo in her very early childhood and never lived in New York City despite teaching at Columbia University in the 1970s. According to this interview, she was commuting from her home in Connecticut while teaching in Manhattan. She’s also given seminars and workshops for NYC-based centres, such as the CUNY Graduate Centre and The Poetry Project, so I like to think she’s influenced the New York poetry scene as much as anyone else on this list. She published over 20 books of poetry and prose during her lifetime and was shortlisted for the Canada-based Griffin International Poetry Prize in 2005 for On the Ground. In 2009, she was the recipient of the Ruth Lily Poetry Prize, a $100,000 award given by the Poetry Foundation to honour a living poet for lifetime achievement, which this Libra unquestionably deserved. She died in July 2025.
Scorpio
Marianne Moore. Moore was born on November 15, 1887 in Missouri, but she moved to New York City in 1918 and published her first collection, Poems, in 1921. She was celebrated by the poets of her generation, including T.S. Eliot, who believed she was one of the few writers of “durable poetry” of their generation. Her writing won the Pulitzer Prize, the Dial Prize and the National Book Award. Among her numerous achievements, she translated into English « Les Fables de La Fontaine » and was made Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Republic in 1967. Yeah, she was knighted for her translation of the French Fables, how very Scorpio of her. In 1969, she received an honorary doctorate in literature from Harvard University, marking her 16th honorary degree. She died in 1972 in New York City. Her most well-known poem is probably “Poetry,” which starts with the amusingly controversial, yet highly self-aware line “I too, dislike it: there are things that are important beyond all this fiddle.”
Sagittarius
Eileen Myles. Myles was born on December 9, 1949 in Cambridge, but they moved to New York City in 1974, becoming a poet, novelist, art journalist and libretti writer. They have published 20 books of poetry and fiction and won numerous awards. Their poem “An American Poem” is a fitting recommendation considering the poems I’ve recommended in the other horoscopes, and it shows their Sagittarius fire. They are still alive and living in New York and Texas.
Capricorn
Patti Smith. Smith was born on December 30, 1946 in Chicago, but in 1967, she moved to New York City, where she played her first gig in 1971. She is now considered the “punk poet laureate” and has influenced artists such as Madonna, Johnny Marr (from The Smiths) and Orville Peck (who is also a Capricorn). Capricorns know how to be trend-setters, and Smith is no exception. Her debut album Horses, released in 1975, was greatly celebrated in New York’s punk scene, and her music career blossomed from there. Nonetheless, she doesn’t consider herself a musician, but rather a performer and songwriter, as she mentioned in this interview. She is still alive and living in New York.
Aquarius
Langston Hughes. Hughes was born on February 1, 1901 in Missouri (the third on this list who did the Missouri-NYC pipeline). He became an important figure in the Harlem Renaissance and popularized jazz poetry while living in Harlem, New York City, where he moved in 1921 to attend Columbia University, but he only studied there for a year before leaving due to racial prejudice. In 1929, Hughes earned a B.A. from Lincoln University before returning to New York. He published his first book of poetry, The Weary Blues, in 1926 while studying at Lincoln. Since then, this prolific Aquarius wrote a total of 16 poetry collections, 12 novels and short story collections, 11 major plays, eight children’s books, seven works of non-fiction and several essays, according to this website. The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes contains 868 poems, but if you just one to start with one poem, you can read “Theme for English B” (on page 409 of my edition), which is likely inspired by his experiences at Columbia. If you want a second recommendation, his poem “I, Too” was inspired by Walt Whitman’s “I Hear America Singing.” Hughes died in 1967.
Another one of my favourite Aquarius poets is Audre Lorde, who was born on February 18, 1934 in Harlem, New York City. You’ve probably heard the saying “the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house,” which she coined. She described herself as being “black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet,” and she dedicated her life and her career as a writer to fighting against racism, sexism, classism and homophobia. She wrote 18 books of essays and poetry, and won several awards. Zami, a new spelling of my Name, is a biomythography—a term this insightful Aquarius invented to encapsulate how this book blends elements of history, biography, and myth. She died in 1992.
Pisces
W.E.B Du Bois. Du Bois was born on February 23, 1868 in Massachusetts, and he was a scholar, writer, editor and civil rights pioneer who was the first African American to earn a doctorate, which he received from Harvard University in 1895. He briefly lived in Brooklyn, New York City from 1951 to 1961, but he was a leading figure in the Harlem Renaissance from the very beginning, as his concept of “double consciousness” resonated with many within the movement. In 1910, this hardworking Pisces founded The Crisis, the NAACP’s official magazine, which allowed for the collaboration between intellectuals and creatives in addition to creating a platform for emerging Black writers. He died in 1963 at the age of 95.
Editor’s Note: Thank-you to Sophie for this on-theme article that compliments our biggest Fall event, our Zodiac Masquerade Ball on October 4th! There, we will meet under the stars to chart a more poetic future, & you’re invited!
Sophie Dufresne (he/they) studies creative writing at Concordia University in Tio’tia:ke/Montreal, Canada. He fell in love with poetry after reading "Hope" by Emily Dickinson in sixth grade and is now interested in the way form informs content (or is it the other way around?). He is currently the copy editor of The Encore Poetry Project, a local literary and arts initiative.
