Thomas Stearns Eliot was the poet who took the chaos of the modern world, threw it into a pot full of literary references and served it up in verses so complex that they still generate debate today. Born in 1888 in the USA, he moved to England, became a British citizen and redefined poetry with works such as ‘The Wasteland’, in which he basically said that civilisation was a wreck (and he said it brilliantly).
 

As well as being a poet, he was a fierce critic, playwright and even the inspiration for the musical Cats - yes, that one. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1948 and continued to be a reference point for anyone who likes poetry that challenges the brain. He died in 1965, but his words live on, especially for those who love a good literary puzzle.