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Writer's Almanac

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The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, November 23, 2021

The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, November 23, 2021

On this date in the year 534 B.C.E., Thespis reportedly became the first Western actor to portray a character onstage. Prior to that theater was chorus based storytelling.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, November 22, 2021

The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, November 22, 2021

It’s the birthday of novelist George Eliot, born Mary Ann Evans in England (1819). She took a male pseudonym to be taken seriously as a writer.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, November 21, 2021

The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, November 21, 2021

Today is the birthday of playwright and philosopher Voltaire, born François-Marie Arouet in Paris (1694).

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The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, November 20, 2021

The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, November 20, 2021

Today is the birthday of astronomer Edwin Powell Hubble (1889). He discovered that these distant galaxies were moving away from the Milky Way.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, November 19, 2021

The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, November 19, 2021

On this date in 1863, Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address at the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

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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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