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Writer's Almanac

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The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, November 10, 2022

The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, November 10, 2022

Today is the birthday of Martin Luther, born in Eisleben, Saxony, in what is now Germany (1483). He was a theologian, a prolific writer, and a religious reformer that sparked the Protestant Reformation.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, November 9, 2022

The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, November 9, 2022

“I wonder if the artist ever lives his life — he is so busy recreating it. Only as I write do I realize myself. I don’t know what that does to life.” –poet Anne Sexton, born on this day in 1928.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, November 8, 2022

The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, November 8, 2022

Today is Election Day in the United States. It is also the birth date of American social activist and journalist Dorothy Day (1897), Indian novelist Raja Rao (1908), and American novelist Margaret Mitchell (1936).

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The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, November 7, 2022

The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, November 7, 2022

Today is the 79th birthday of Canadian singer songwriter and painter Joni Mitchell. Despite contracting polio at age 9 she’s had a legendary career as an artist and continues to perform music to this day.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, November 6, 2022

The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, November 6, 2022

Scottish poet and journalist Kate Clanchy celebrates her 58th birthday today. She’s the author of plays, poetry, and memoir. When she was asked in an interview what she thought the role of the poet was in today’s society, she said: “What are we for? Nobody cares about us, I think. I think probably we’re for what we’ve always been for: recording intimate experience and speaking for people. It’s not about public utterance, I don’t think. When was poetry about that? People say Dryden and Pope. Maybe.”

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The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, November 5, 2022

The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, November 5, 2022

Today is the 62nd birthday of novelist and food writer Diana Abu-Jaber, who writes most often about Arab-American culture in the United States. Abu-Jaber was born in Syracuse, New York, to an American mother and Jordanian father. Abu-Jaber’s novels include “Arabian Jazz” (1993) and “Birds of Paradise” (2011)

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The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, November 4, 2022

The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, November 4, 2022

It’s the birthday of the man who said “I am not a member of an organized political party. I am a Democrat,” and “There’s no trick to being a humorist when you’ve got the whole government working for you.” That’s Will Rogers, born 1879 on the Cherokee Nation land that is now part of Oklahoma.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, November 3, 2022

The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, November 3, 2022

On this day in 1903 Walker Evans, the American photographer of Dust Bowl Sharecroppers, ghost towns, and automobile graveyards was born. It’s also the 80th birthday of mystery novelist Martin Cruz Smith, and the 72nd birthday of satirist and critic Joe Queenan.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, November 2, 2022

The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, November 2, 2022

It’s the birthday of American writer Thomas Mallon (1951), whose books of historical fiction, like Watergate (2012) and Finale (2015), examine American politics and culture through the lens of the American presidency. Mallon once joked, “I seem to only want to see presidents at the lowest points in their fortunes.”

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The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, November 1, 2022

The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, November 1, 2022

Today is All Saints’ Day. In the Western Catholic tradition, it’s a time to honor Christian saints and martyrs. It is also the date the first medical school for women opened (1848), the date of the race run between horses Seabiscuit and War Admiral (1938), the day the US Weather Bureau made it’s first forecast (1870), and the day the Arecibo Observatory opened (1963).

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