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The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, May 2, 2023

Posted on May 2, 2023 - Writer's Almanac

On this date in 1536, Anne Boleyn, the second wife of England’s King Henry VIII, was arrested for high treason, adultery, and incest. She was intelligent and outspoken, and had educated opinions about politics and religious reform and came to the court of Henry VIII when she was 20 years old, to serve as lady-in-waiting to Queen Catherine of Aragon.

The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, May 1, 2023

Posted on May 1, 2023 - Writer's Almanac

Today is May Day, the first of May, a date that may have more holidays than any other. It’s the date when many countries celebrate Labor Day, a tradition with its roots in the 19th-century labor movement in the United States.

The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, April 30, 2023

Posted on April 30, 2023 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of American nonfiction writer and novelist Annie Dillard born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (1945). Her advice: “One of the few things I know about writing is this: spend it all, shoot it, play it, lose it, all, right away, every time…”

The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, April 29 2023

Posted on April 29, 2023 - Writer's Almanac

Today is the birthday of American composer, pianist, and bandleader Duke Ellington, born on this day in Washington, D.C. (1899). He liked to tell his band, “Let’s not pout, gentlemen. It makes bad notes.”

The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, April 28 2023

Posted on April 28, 2023 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of the writer who once said, “All I want is to be the Jane Austen of South Alabama.” That was Harper Lee (1926), the author of the classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird (1960), which introduced the characters of Scout Finch and her father, lawyer Atticus Finch, to the world.

The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, April 27, 2023

Posted on April 27, 2023 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of activist and civil rights leader Coretta Scott King, the widow of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. She also worked alongside her husband on the Montgomery bus boycott, fought for passage of the Civil Rights Act, and — after his assassination in 1968 — founded the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change.

The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, April 26, 2023

Posted on April 26, 2023 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of American comedienne Carol Burnett, born in San Antonio, Texas (1933).
Explaining her determination to succeed as an actress, she said: “There is something about being poor and having alcoholic parents that either poisons you or toughens you for life. I realized it was either sink or swim — get out, or be pulled down.”

The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, April 25, 2023

Posted on April 25, 2023 - Writer's Almanac

The queen of jazz Ella Fitzgerald was born in Newport News, Virginia (1917). Her smooth voice and technical skill remain unmatched in the jazz world decades after her death. Fitzgerald got her start at Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater in Harlem when she was just 17 years old.

The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, April 24, 2023

Posted on April 24, 2023 - Writer's Almanac

Today is the birthday of Irish novelist and journalist Clare Boylan, born in Dublin (1948). In 2003, she published Emma Brown, which she described as “the only book I’ve written that didn’t feel lonely to write.” The book is a continuation and completion of an unfinished novel by Charlotte Brontë.

The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, April 23, 2023

Posted on April 23, 2023 - Writer's Almanac

Today is the birthday of Roy Orbison (1936), born in Vernon, Texas, to Orbie Lee, a mechanic, and Nadine, a nurse. His fame declined after “Oh, Pretty Woman” until he formed the supergroup the Traveling Wilburys with Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, and Tom Petty in 1988.

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