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Writer's Almanac

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The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, November 18, 2021

The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, November 18, 2021

Today is the 82nd birthday of poet, novelist, activist, and feminist Margaret Atwood, who said, “I read for pleasure and that is the moment I learn the most.”

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The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, November 17, 2021

The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, November 17, 2021

Today we feature the poem “As Toilsome I Wander’d Virginia’s Woods” by Walt Whitman.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, November 16, 2021

The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, November 16, 2021

Today is the birthday of the Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Paula Vogel (1951). Author “How I Learned to Drive” and “The Baltimore Waltz.”

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The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, November 15, 2021

The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, November 15, 2021

“Each poem I think will be the last. But something always comes up and catches my fancy.” –Marianne Moore, born on this day in 1887.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, November 14, 2021

The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, November 14, 2021

It was on this day in 1851 that Moby-Dick was published. This historic work entered the public domain this year and begins with the words “Call me Ishmael.”

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The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, November 13, 2021

The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, November 13, 2021

It was on this day in 1789 that Ben Franklin wrote his famous phrase “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”

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The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, November 12, 2021

The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, November 12, 2021

Today is the birthday of Elizabeth Cady Standon, an author, speaker, and activist promoter of womens rights and sufferage.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, November 11, 2021

The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, November 11, 2021

Today is the birthday of Kurt Vonnegut (1922), author of many books including “Slaughterhouse-Five,” “Jailbird,” and “Welcome to the Monkey House.”

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The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, November 10, 2021

The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, November 10, 2021

It was on this day in 1956 that American jazz singer Billie Holiday performed a legendary concert at Carnegie Hall after a three-year absence due to drug addiction and jail.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, November 9, 2021

The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, November 9, 2021

Poet Anne Sexton was born on this day in 1928. “The beautiful feeling after writing a poem is on the whole better even than after sex, and that’s saying a lot.”

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