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Writer's Almanac

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The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, November 12, 2020

The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, November 12, 2020

It’s the birthday of Roland Barthes (1915-1980), who applied sophisticated literary theory to things like movies, stripteases, toys, and wrestling matches.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, November 11, 2020

The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, November 11, 2020

It’s the birthday of stand-up comedian Jonathan Winters (1925-2013), who said, “I couldn’t wait for success, so I went ahead without it.”

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The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, November 10, 2020

The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, November 10, 2020

It was on this day in 1855 that Henry Wadsworth Longfellow published his poem “The Song of Hiawatha,” which sold 30,000 copies in its first six months.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, November 9, 2020

The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, November 9, 2020

It’s the anniversary of Kristallnacht (1938), which erupted after German Nazi Joseph Goebbels made a speech implicitly endorsing anti-Semitic violence.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, November 8, 2020

The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, November 8, 2020

It’s the birthday of Kazuo Ishiguro (1954), whose novels include “An Artist of the Floating World” and “The Buried Giant.”

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The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, November 7, 2020

The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, November 7, 2020

“Be less curious about people and more curious about ideas.” –Marie Curie, born this day in Warsaw in 1867

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The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, November 6, 2020

The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, November 6, 2020

In 1860 on this day, Abraham Lincoln was elected president with less than 40 percent of the popular ballot, and not one single vote from 10 of the Southern states.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, November 5, 2020

The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, November 5, 2020

It’s the birthday of one of the original muckrakers, Ida Tarbell (1857-1944), whose investigatory reporting brought down Standard Oil.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, November 4, 2020

The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, November 4, 2020

The Erie Canal was completed on this date in 1825. It was an engineering marvel that was once called the Eighth Wonder of the World.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, November 3, 2020

The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, November 3, 2020

“Without general elections, without unrestrained freedom of the press and assembly…life dies out in every public institution.” –Marxist activist Rosa Luxemburg

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