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Writer's Almanac

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The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, January 16, 2022

The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, January 16, 2022

Today is the birthday of three very different modern writers: food writer Ruth Reichl (1948), poet Mary Karr (1955), and activist Susan Sontag (1933).

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The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, January 15, 2022

The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, January 15, 2022

Today is the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. (1929). He said, “If a man hasn’t discovered something that he will die for, he isn’t fit to live.”

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The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, January 14, 2022

The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, January 14, 2022

Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd celebrates her 70th birthday today. She said, “The minute you settle for less than you deserve, you get even less than you settled for.”

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The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, January 13, 2022

The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, January 13, 2022

On this day in 1968 country musician Johnny Cash recorded a live concert at Folsom Prison in California.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, January 12, 2022

The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, January 12, 2022

Myself, I’m a very realistic person. […]But when I write, I write weird.” –novelist Haruki Murakami, born on this day in Kyoto, Japan,1949.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, January 11, 2022

The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, January 11, 2022

“The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook” — psychologist and philosopher William James, born on this day 1842.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, January 10, 2022

The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, January 10, 2022

It’s the birthday of Stephen Ambrose, who said of why he chose to become a historian “[It] occurred to me that I could add to the sum of the world’s knowledge.”

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The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, January 9, 2022

The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, January 9, 2022

“The writer of originality, unless dead, is always shocking, scandalous; novelty disturbs and repels.” –Simone de Beauvoir, born this day in Paris, 1980.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, January 8, 2022

The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, January 8, 2022

My goal is simple. It is a complete understanding of the universe, why it is as it is and why it exists at all.” – Stephen Hawking, born on this day, 1942.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, January 7, 2022

The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, January 7, 2022

Africain American filmmaker, author, and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston was born in Alabama on this day in 1891. Author of “Their Eyes Were Watching God.”

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