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 Wednesday, October 14, 2020

The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, October 14, 2020

It’s the birthday of poet and playwright e e cummings (1894-1962), about whom a critic once asked, “What is wrong with a man who writes like this?”

Read More
The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, October 13, 2020

The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, October 13, 2020

It’s the birthday of Harlem Renaissance writer Arnaud “Arna” Wendell Bontemps (1902-1973), who also preserved and anthologized African American literature.

Read More
The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, October 12, 2020

The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, October 12, 2020

On this day in 1823, Scottish chemist Charles Macintosh sold the first raincoat. They are still sometimes called “macs” in Great Britain.

Read More
The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, October 11, 2020

The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, October 11, 2020

“Saturday Night Live” premiered on this day in 1975, with George Carlin as host and Andy Kaufman and the Muppets as special guests.

Read More
The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, October 10, 2020

The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, October 10, 2020

It’s the birthday of singer-songwriter John Prine (1946), who died of complications stemming from COVID-19 earlier this year.

Read More
The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, October 9, 2020

The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, October 9, 2020

It’s the birthday of writer Belva Plain (1915-2010), whose first book, “Evergreen,” stayed on the New York Times best-seller list for 61 weeks.

Read More
The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, October 8, 2020

The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, October 8, 2020

100 years ago today, the science fiction author Frank Herbert was born in Tacoma, Washington. He is best known for “Dune” (1965) and its sequels.

Read More
The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, October 7, 2020

The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, October 7, 2020

It’s the birthday of poet and author Diane Ackerman (1948), who is known for her wide-ranging works that blend science and literary art.

Read More
The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, October 6, 2020

The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, October 6, 2020

200 years ago today, Jenny Lind was born in Stockholm, Sweden. She is considered to be one of the most gifted sopranos ever.

Read More
The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, October 5, 2020

The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, October 5, 2020

It’s the birthday of Czech activist-turned-president Václav Havel (1936-2011), who said, “The solution to the situation does not lie in leaving it.”

Read More