(Encyclopedia) Nguyen Chi Thien, 1939–2012, Vietnamese poet. Thien began composing poetry during the three years he spent in prison after he told his history students that their textbook wrongly…
(Encyclopedia) nicotiananicotiananĭkōˌshēāˈnə [key], any plant of the genus Nicotiana of the family Solanaceae (nightshade family). Most species are herbs native to tropical America, although there…
(Encyclopedia) meadow saffron or autumn crocus, perennial garden ornamental (Colchicum autumnale) of the family Liliaceae (lily family). Native to Europe and N Africa, it has escaped from gardens to…
(Encyclopedia) RivieraRivierarĭvēârˈə [key], narrow coastal strip between the Alps and the Mediterranean, extending, roughly, from La Spezia (Italy) to Hyères (France). Famous for its scenic beauty…
(Encyclopedia) columbinecolumbinekŏlˈəmbīn [key], any plant of the genus Aquilegia, temperate-zone perennials of the family Ranunculaceae (buttercup family), popular both as wildflowers and as garden…
(Encyclopedia) coneflower, name for several American wildflowers of the family Asteraceae (aster family). The purple coneflowers (genus Echinacea), found E of the Rockies, have purple to pinkish…
(Encyclopedia) chamomile or camomilechamomileboth: kămˈəmīlˌ, –mēlˌ [key] [Gr.,=ground apple], name for various related plants of the family Asteraceae (aster family), especially the perennial…
(Encyclopedia) poison hemlock, lethally poisonous herbaceous plant (Conium maculatum) of the family Umbelliferae (parsley family). It has rank, finely divided foliage, flat-topped clusters of small…
(Encyclopedia) onomatopoeiaonomatopoeiaŏnˌəmătˌəpēˈə [key] [Gr.,=word-making], in language, the representation of a sound by an imitation thereof; e.g., the cat mews. Poets often convey the meaning…
(Encyclopedia) Howard, Richard (Richard Joseph Howard), 1929–, American poet, translator, and essayist, b. Cleveland, studied Columbia (B.A. 1951), the Sorbonne, Paris. Beginning with Quantities (…
