Albums APHC Clips Audio Events Prairie Home Archives Songs Writer's Almanac
Writer's Almanac

To subscribe to the Writer’s Almanac Anniversary Episode email, which includes the unedited text and audio from one daily anniversary episode selected from the archive, click here >>>

To browse archived episodes of The Writer’s Almanac from before 2017, click here >>>

• • • • •

To support The Writer’s Almanac Anniversary Episodes newsletter, please consider “buying” a donation here >>>

You can also buy a paid subscription to the Anniversary Episode newsletter here >>>

Checks may be made out to Prairie Home Productions, LLC and mailed to:

Prairie Home Productions
P.O. Box 2090
Minneapolis, MN 55402

(Note: donations to LLCs are not tax-deductible)

• • • • •

The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, April 23, 2021

The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, April 23, 2021

William Shakespere is believed to have been born on this day in 1564. He gave us the phrases “dead as a doornail,” “come what may,” “heart’s content,” and “wild goose chase.”

Read More
The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, April 22, 2021

The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, April 22, 2021

“Writing is a kind of revenge against circumstance too: bad luck, loss, pain. If you make something out of it, then you’ve no longer been bested by these events.”– Louise Glück (1943)

Read More
The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, April 21, 2021

The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, April 21, 2021

Today is the 105th birthday of Charlotte Brontë, author of “Jane Eyre” and the last of the literary Brontë siblings to walk this earth.

Read More
The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, April 20, 2021

The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, April 20, 2021

Today we feature the poem “I Can’t Stop Loving You John Keats” by Kim Addonizio, from her new collection “Now We’re Getting Somewhere.”

Read More
The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, April 19, 2021

The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, April 19, 2021

On this day in 1824, British poet Lord Byron died while fighting in the Greek War of Independence. A romantic poet, playboy, rogue, Byron’s spirit lives on in the poetic imagination.

Read More
The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, April 18, 2021

The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, April 18, 2021

It’s birthday of the man who inspired the word “beatnik,” poet Bob Kaufman. A man who aspired to be forgotten and was frequently arrested for shouting his poetry in public.

Read More
The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, April 17, 2021

The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, April 17, 2021

According to legend, it was on this day in 1397 that Geoffrey Chaucer recited The Canterbury Tales to the court of Richard II.

Read More
The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, April 16, 2021

The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, April 16, 2021

Gertrude Chandler Warner, born this day in 1890, gave the world “The Boxcar Children,” a series that has continued to capture the imagination of children to this day.

Read More
The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, April 15, 2021

The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, April 15, 2021

Today we feature a poem by Barbara Quick, “Conjuring Nana.” A vision of childhood, memories of family.

Read More
The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, April 14, 2021

The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, April 14, 2021

Today is the birthday of Anne Sullivan (1866), who was the governess to Hellen Keller, teaching her to communicate.

Read More