Who is the very most world famous poetess?

The most famous woman poet of all time is probably the Greek poetess Sappho. Sappho's poems were so erotic that they were suppressed by the Catholic Church (and nearly all of them have been lost). Sappho's erotic poems adressed to other women became so famous that the Word Lesbian entered most European languages (Sappho was from the Greek island of Lesbos).

The only Roman poetess whose work has survived is Sulpicia - and even then, only because some of her poems were included in the works of a male poet Tibullus. Sulpicia is probably very good, but there is hardly enough to make her an important figure in world literature.

Sei Shonagon is an important writer in the history of Japanese Literature. Whether or not her works count as poetry is something scholars argue over.

Aphra Behn, Ann Bradstreet, Felicia Hemans, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Christina Rossetti, Bozena Nemcova, Annette von Droste-Hulsoff, Hildegard von Bingen, Rosalia de Castro, Anna Akhmatova ... and many many others have been highly regarded both in their own countries and internationally.

Currently famous woman poets include Carol Ann Duffy - England's new poet laureate - Fleur Adcock, Gillian Clarke, Menna Elfyn, Medbh McGuckian, Irina Ratushinskaya, Rita Dove ... and many many more.

You will need to choose your own favourite from these. You have a deal of reading to do.