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Writer's Almanac

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The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, April 10, 2021

The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, April 10, 2021

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic “The Great Gatsby” was published on this day in 1925. This year it entered the public domain, joining Fitzgeralds’ works “This Side of Paradise” and “The Beautiful and the Damned”.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, April 9, 2021

The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, April 9, 2021

It’s the birthday of scientist Gregory Goodwin Pincus (1903). He co-invented the first oral contraceptive pill with Dr. Min-Chueh Chang, work supported by activist Margaret Sanger.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, April 8, 2021

The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, April 8, 2021

“I’m not a risk-taker in life, generally speaking, but as a writer I definitely choose the fast car, the impossible rock face, the free fall.”—Barbara Kingsolver, born this day in 1955.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, April 7, 2021

The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, April 7, 2021

Poet William Wordsworth was born on this day in England, 1770. We feature his poem “I Have Thoughts that Are Fed by the Sun” for his birthday.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, April 6, 2021

The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, April 6, 2021

Today is the birthday of musician Merle Haggard (1937) who gave the world 250 original songs, including “Mama Tried,” “Hungry Eyes,” and “Workin’ Man Blues.”

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The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, April 5, 2021

The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, April 5, 2021

Dr. Hattie Alexander was born in Baltimore (1901). An American pediatrician and microbiologist who developed the vaccine, known as Hib, to prevent influenzal meningitis.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, April 4, 2021

The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, April 4, 2021

This Easter marks the birthday of two American icons: poet, writer, and activist Maya Angelou (1928), and blues musician and songwriter Muddy Waters (1915).

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The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, April 3, 2021

The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, April 3, 2021

Today is the birthday of author and illustrator Sandra Keith Boynton, 1953. She began her career writing greeting cards, developing her humor and the cohort of animals that populate her dozens of childrens books.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, April 2, 2021

The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, April 2, 2021

Today is the birthday of Giacomo Casanova (1725). He wrote 12 volumes of autobiography, leaving posterity the best record we have of 18th-century society and its customs, and his own womanizing.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, April 1, 2021

The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, April 1, 2021

Anne McCaffrey was born on this day 1926. A pioneer for women in science fiction writing, she was the first female winner of both the Hugo and Nebula awards.

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