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Writer's Almanac

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The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, December 2, 2020

The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, December 2, 2020

It’s the birthday of the artist Georges Seurat (Paris, 1859), whose technique of painting tiny dots of many colors became known as Pointillism.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, December 1, 2020

The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, December 1, 2020

It’s the birthday of “Madame Tussaud,” who sculpted her first wax statue, of the poet Voltaire, in 1777.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, November 30, 2020

The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, November 30, 2020

It’s the birthday of Mark Twain (born Samuel Clemens), who said, “A successful book is not made of what is in it, but of what is left out of it.”

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The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, November 29, 2020

The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, November 29, 2020

It’s the birthday of Amos Bronson Alcott (father of Louisa May), who founded a commune called Fruitlands and became a vegan before the term even existed.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, November 28, 2020

The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, November 28, 2020

The Grand Ole Opry, originally titled “WSM Barn Dance,” began broadcasting from Nashville on this date 95 years ago.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, November 27, 2020

The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, November 27, 2020

Penn Station opened on this date in 1910. The original building was pink granite, with stately columns and a skylit interior modeled after a Roman bath.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, November 26, 2020

The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, November 26, 2020

Today is Thanksgiving, a day for being grateful and eating lots of food. With a poem by Jane Hirshfield about cooking.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, November 25, 2020

The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, November 25, 2020

It’s the birthday of physician and essayist Lewis Thomas (1913-1993), who said, “The great secret of doctors…is that most things get better by themselves.”

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The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, November 24, 2020

The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, November 24, 2020

It’s the birthday of Arundhati Roy (1959), who wrote “The God of Small Things” (1997) all at once, no drafts, and it won the Man Booker Prize.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, November 23, 2020

The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, November 23, 2020

“We see you, see ourselves and know / That we must take the utmost care / And kindness in all things.” –Joy Harjo

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