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The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, March 18, 2025

Posted on March 18, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of novelist John Updike, born in Reading, Pennsylvania (1932). He went to Harvard, where he majored in English and drew cartoons for the Harvard Lampoon (he also wrote the majority of each issue). After graduation, he got married, sold his first short story to The New Yorker, and headed off to England with his new wife. In England, Updike studied painting at Oxford University and continued to send poems and stories to The New Yorker.

The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, March 17, 2025

Posted on March 17, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

Today is St. Patrick’s Day, a feast day honoring the patron saint of Ireland. St. Patrick’s Day was originally intended as a holy day to observe the arrival of Christianity into Ireland. St. Patrick himself was English, not Irish. He was born into an aristocratic family, but was kidnapped and taken to Ireland. Eventually, he escaped, went home, became a priest, and returned to Ireland to convert the natives to Christianity.

The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, March 16, 2025

Posted on March 16, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It was on this day in 1850 that Nathaniel Hawthorne’s masterpiece, The Scarlet Letter, was published. He was living at a time when there was almost no such thing as American literature, in part because the American publishing industry was so behind the times.

The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, March 15, 2025

Posted on March 15, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

Today is the Ides of March, the day Julius Caesar was stabbed to death by conspirators in 44 B.C.E. The assassination that was meant to save the Republic actually resulted, ultimately, in its downfall. It sparked a series of civil wars and led to Julius’ heir, Octavian, becoming Caesar Augustus, the first Roman emperor.

The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, March 14, 2025

Posted on March 14, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

Today is Albert Einstein’s birthday. He was born in Ulm, Germany (1879), and his pre-kindergarten fascination with a compass needle left an impression on him that lasted a lifetime. He liked math but hated school, dropped out, and taught himself calculus in the meantime.

The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, March 13, 2025

Posted on March 13, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It was on this day in 1891 that Henrik Ibsen’s play Ghosts opened on the London stage. Ghosts was considered a controversial play because it included content about incest and sexually transmitted diseases, and Ibsen refused to give his audiences the happy endings they were used to. When it premiered in London, the play had already been banned in St. Petersburg on religious grounds.

The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, March 12, 2025

Posted on March 12, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of Jack Kerouac,, born Jean-Louis Kerouac in Lowell, Massachusetts (1922). He was from a working-class French-Canadian family; he grew up speaking French, and he wasn’t fluent in English until he was a teenager. Kerouac was a star football player, and after an impressive performance in the Thanksgiving Day game his senior year, he was offered a scholarship to Columbia University. In New York City, he met a group of friends who would eventually be known as the Beat Generation — Allen Ginsberg, William S. Boroughs, Neal Cassady, and others. Kerouac wrote his novel On the Road (1957) about Cassady.

The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, March 11, 2025

Posted on March 11, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of media mogul (Keith) Rupert Murdoch, born on a farm outside of Melbourne, Australia (1931). His father was in the newspaper business, and by the time young Rupert was about 12, he had already made up his mind to carry on the family trade. When the elder Murdoch died unexpectedly in 1952,

The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, March 10, 2025

Posted on March 10, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It was on this day in 1965 that Neil Simon’s play The Odd Couple opened at the Plymouth Theatre in New York City, starring Walter Matthau and Art Carney as Oscar and Felix, who become roommates after their marriages fall apart. Oscar is a recently divorced sportswriter, a total slob, relishing his new apartment.

The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, March 9, 2025

Posted on March 9, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of a writer who called his books “the chewing gum of American literature.” That’s crime novelist Mickey Spillane, born Frank Morrison Spillane in Brooklyn (1918). His Irish father was a bartender, and Spillane grew up in a tough neighborhood in Elizabeth, New Jersey. He worked odd jobs, including as a lifeguard, circus performer, and salesman. He was selling ties at a department store when he met a coworker whose brother produced comic books, and he was convinced to try writing some himself.

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