William Blake !

BIO: William Blake was born in 1757 into a poor working-class family in London, England. A self-educated, free-thinking rebel and spiritualist, Blake reportedly found his poetic and artistic inspiration via periodic encounters with angels and other heavenly spirits. When he was but ten years old Blake observed a "host of angels sitting in a tree." When he was twenty, he saw his dying brother's soul "ascend heavenward clapping its hands for joy." As a young man Blake honed his engraving skills and practiced his poetry, until 1784 when he published his first fully illustrated text, All Religions Are One. The year 1789 saw publication of the masterpieces, The.Book.of.Thel, and Songs.of.Innocence. From that point forward, Blake became enraptured with his craft - writing, engraving, and printing book after beautiful handmade book during the next forty or so years of his life. Like the complimentary genius, painter Vincent Van Gogh, Blake was ahead of his time and never achieved significant financial success or popular appreciation until after his death. William Blake died in 1827, and was buried in a common grave.

For inspirational information about William Blake see:
William Blake’s Relevance to the Modern World
The William Blake Page
or Penn Hackney's really great William Blake Page

AND BE SURE TO READ:
William Blake and Allen Ginsberg: Poets of a Fallen World