Well I’ll tell you, as far as children’s poets I try not to mention any of the 20th century for leaving out some because there aren’t that many of us, and we’re all friends, obviously I have my favorites, so I stick with the 19th century because they haven’t been improved in my opinion, Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear.
They set the standard and it’s a standard that hasn’t been matched in my opinion. As far as adult poets, oh my the list is endless. Frost, Dickinson, Emily Dickinson, oh my, Philip Larkin, Charles Causley, a British poet, is one of my favorites. And then some second tier poets, E.A Robinson, A.E Housman, there are just so many wonderful poets.