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The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, December 10, 2022

Posted on December 10, 2022 - Writer's Almanac

On this day in 1938, American writer Pearl S. Buck received the Nobel Prize in literature for “The Good Earth”, a novel about the life of a farming family in a Chinese village on the eve of World War I. Buck was the first American woman to win the Nobel Prize in literature.

The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, December 9, 2022

Posted on December 9, 2022 - Writer's Almanac

Today is the birthday of English poet, pamphleteer, and historian John Milton (1608). When he was blind, impoverished, and living in seclusion in the countryside, Milton wrote “Paradise Lost”, considered the finest epic poem in English.

The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, December 8, 2022

Posted on December 8, 2022 - Writer's Almanac

“The Roman poet Horace is said to have been born on this day in 65 B.C.E.. He is most famous for his Odes, which take up a diverse set of topics, including springtime, Virgil, a friend’s farm, Cleopatra’s defeat, old age, and the Roman Empire.”

The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, December 7, 2022

Posted on December 7, 2022 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of American writer Willa Cather (1873). Cather’s novels, like “O Pioneers!” and “My Ántonia” examined frontier life on the Nebraska plains. Willa Cather’s headstone reads, “That is happiness; to be dissolved into something complete and great.”

The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, December 6, 2022

Posted on December 6, 2022 - Writer's Almanac

Today is the birthday of lyricist Ira Gershwin, in the year 1896. With his brother George he wrote more than a dozen Broadway shows, including the memorable songs “I Got Rhythm”, “The Man I Love”, and “Someone to Watch Over Me.”

The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, December 5, 2022

Posted on December 5, 2022 - Writer's Almanac

“In the bleak midwinter/Frosty wind made moan,/Earth stood hard as iron,/Water like a stone;/Snow had fallen, snow on snow,/Snow on snow,/In the bleak midwinter/Long ago. — poet Christina Rossetti, born on this day in London in the year 1830.”

The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, December 4, 2022

Posted on December 4, 2022 - Writer's Almanac

Today is the birthday of poet Rainer Maria Rilke, born in Prague (1875). He made a career as a poet by seducing a series of rich noblewomen who would support him while he wrote his books.

The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, December 3, 2022

Posted on December 3, 2022 - Writer's Almanac

Neon lighting was first demonstrated on this date in 1910. It was invented by a Frenchman named Georges Claude, and he debuted it at a Paris auto show — which also happened to be the world’s first auto show.

The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, December 2, 2022

Posted on December 2, 2022 - Writer's Almanac

Today is the birthday of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known as Mark Twain (1835), born in Florida, Missouri. One of the most quotable of authors, Mark Twain said: “It were not best that we should all think alike; it is difference of opinion that makes horse races.”
And “Truth is mighty and will prevail. There is nothing the matter with this, except that it ain’t so.”
And “Familiarity breeds contempt — and children.”

The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, December 1, 2022

Posted on December 1, 2022 - Writer's Almanac

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