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Writer's Almanac

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The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, May 15, 2020

The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, May 15, 2020

Emily Dickinson died in Amherst, Massachusetts, on this date in 1886 at the age of 56. The first volume of her poems was published 4 years later.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, May 14, 2020

The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, May 14, 2020

On this day in 1796, Dr. Edward Jenner inoculated a child with a smallpox vaccine, developed from cowpox. It was the first safe vaccine.

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Pandemic Poetry: Jeff Coomer & Barbara Crooker

Join Garrison in conversation with Jeff Coomer and Barbara Crooker, who have contributed poems to The Writer’s Almanac in the past. They discuss gardening, the craft of writing, and of course their winning Pandemic Poems.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, May 13, 2020

The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, May 13, 2020

“You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: It is victory… for without victory, there is no survival.” – Winston Churchill to the House of Commons, May 13, 1940.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, May 12, 2020

The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, May 12, 2020

It’s the 200th birthday of Florence Nightingale, possibly the most famous nurse of all time and a tireless advocate for the rights and improved care of patients.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, May 11, 2020

The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, May 11, 2020

Today Glacier National Park celebrates its 110th birthday. When founded in 1910, there were at least 150 glaciers in that area of Montana. Today there are 25.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, May 10, 2020

The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, May 10, 2020

Today is Mother’s Day, and also the birthday of “Mother” Maybelle Carter (1909), who made her name in country music as part of The Carter Family.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, May 9, 2020

The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, May 9, 2020

It’s the birthday of poet Ellen Bryant Voigt (1943), who said, “Resist any temptation to use the poem to make its readers like you, or admire you, or forgive you.”

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The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, May 8, 2020

The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, May 8, 2020

Today is believed to be the birthday of former slave Phillis Wheatley (1753), the first African-American woman to publish a book of poetry.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, May 7, 2020

The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, May 7, 2020

“Woman has the right to mount the scaffold; she must equally have the right to mount the rostrum.” —Olympe de Gouges (born this day 1748), who died by the guillotine

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