Writer's Almanac Archives - Garrison Keillor

Albums APHC Clips Audio Events Prairie Home Archives Songs Writer's Almanac

Writer's Almanac

To subscribe to the Writer’s Almanac Anniversary Episode email, which includes the unedited text and audio from one daily anniversary episode selected from the archive, click here >>>

To browse archived episodes of The Writer’s Almanac from before 2017, click here >>>

• • • • •

To support The Writer’s Almanac Anniversary Episodes newsletter, please consider “buying” a donation here >>>

You can also buy a paid subscription to the Anniversary Episode newsletter here >>>

Checks may be made out to Prairie Home Productions, LLC and mailed to:

Prairie Home Productions
P.O. Box 2090
Minneapolis, MN 55402

(Note: donations to LLCs are not tax-deductible)

• • • • •

The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, March 28, 2026

Posted on March 28, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of St. Teresa of Ávila, born in Gotarrendura, Spain (1515). She grew up in a wealthy household in a walled city. She was fascinated by the spiritual life even as a young girl, particularly the martyred saints. At the age of seven, she ran away from home with her younger brother, hoping to find wherever it was that the Moors lived and be martyred.

The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, March 27, 2026

Posted on March 27, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

The first segment of the Washington Metro opened on this date in 1976. There had been talk of establishing a subway in the rapidly expanding capital since the end of World War II, but it took 20 years before any progress was made. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority was created in February 1967, and construction began almost three years later.

The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, March 26, 2026

Posted on March 26, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

And it is the birthday of poet Robert Frost, born in San Francisco (1874). Frost’s life was filled with tragedy and loss: his father died of tuberculosis when Frost was 11. Three of Frost’s children died: one from cholera, one from fever, and one from suicide. He would lose his wife, once his co-valedictorian in high school, to breast cancer.

The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, March 25, 2026

Posted on March 25, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

Today is the birthday of American novelist and short-story writer Flannery O’Connor, born Mary Flannery O’Connor in Savannah, Georgia (1925). At six, she and her pet chicken, which could walk backward, were featured in a national newsreel. “It was the high point of my life,” O’Connor joked. “Everything after that was an anti-climax.” When she was 15, her father died of lupus, the same disease that would claim her life 24 years later.

The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, March 24, 2026

Posted on March 24, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of poet and bookseller Lawrence Ferlinghetti, born in Bronxville, New York (1919). He was raised by French relatives after his father died and his mother was committed to an asylum. He joined the Navy, went to college on the GI Bill, and moved to San Francisco. He translated some French poems and submitted them to City Lights, a new pop culture magazine run by Peter Martin.

The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, March 23, 2026

Posted on March 23, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

It was on this day in 1775 that Patrick Henry gave a famous speech and probably delivered the line: “Give me liberty or give me death!” Henry spoke at the Second Virginia Convention, a meeting of American colonial leaders. The Convention was held at St. John’s Church in Richmond, Virginia.

The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, March 22, 2026

Posted on March 22, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

Today is the birthday of former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins, born in New York City (1941). He’s the author of many volumes, including The Art of Drowning (1995), Taking Off Emily Dickinson’s Clothes (2000), and The Trouble with Poetry (2005). Collins wrote his first poem when he was a lad of seven.

The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, March 21, 2026

Posted on March 21, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach, born on this day in Eisenach, Germany (1685) according to the Old Style calendar. He was born into a family of professional musicians; the Bachs were well known throughout the region as town organists, pipers, cantors, composers, or directors.

The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, March 20, 2026

Posted on March 20, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of beloved children’s television host Fred Rogers, born in 1928 in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. In 1962, Rogers earned a divinity degree from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, and he was ordained by the Presbyterian Church. Rogers continued his work in television, appearing on camera for the first time in 1963 on his new show, Misterogers, which was aired by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, March 19, 2026

Posted on March 19, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of Russian writer Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol, (March 31st according to the Old Calendar), born in Great Sorochintsy, Ukraine (1809). His mother was extremely devout, and his father was a bureaucrat who owned a vodka distillery on 3,000 acres and had more than 300 serfs working for him.

Load next posts