Ivan Itfellov

Born in Pernik, Bulgaria, in 1860, Ivan Itfellov lived with his father as his mother had died giving birth to him. He studied at the Durmstrang Institute, where he excelled in potions, a subject he later returned to teach. In 1936 he was appointed headmaster at the Institute. Itfellov began writing poetry from a very early age, and considering that he died in 1977, there are several hundred poems written under his name.

His love of magical creatures is apparent in many of his poems, and indeed there is barely a fantastic beast in the world not immortalised on paper by his quill. At the time of his death, Itfellov was working on a poetic version of Newt Scamander's famous book, with detailed rhyme introducing each of the creatures in turn.

Itfellov lived a lonely life, never marrying, despite numerous chances. Instead, he was happy to lock himself away in his study and write. While he had a preference for the sonnet, Itfellov also wrote in plenty of other forms, including this from his unfinished Fantastic Beasts anthology:

Doxy

The biting fairy
With four arms and legs
Teeth sharp and scary
The biting fairy
Skin black and hairy
Laying hundreds of eggs
The biting fairy
With four arms and legs