Lorenzo Sosso ( March 2 , 1867 - October 1 , 1965 ) was an Italian-American poet who published several books of poetry in the late-19th and early-20th centuries . Sosso published his first collection of poetry , '' Poems '' , when he was 21 years old , most of its contents having been written during his teenage years . In the preface to '' Poems '' , Sosso reveals his first language to have been Italian , but boasts that , despite whatever difficulties he may have had with writing poetry in English , he was " especially ordained by a superior power for such a calling . " Although he was born in New York , Sosso lived in California for most of his career , especially in the San Francisco , where he was an acquaintance with more well-known participants in the city 's literary scene , including Ina Coolbrith , the first poet laureate of the state . Sosso was living in the city during the 1906 San Francisco earthquake , upon which he remarked : " Out of the ashes thy life will requicken , / Courage loves fighting ' gainst terrible odds . "
1906 San Francisco earthquake
1906 San Francisco earthquake
Lorenzo Sosso