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Writer's Almanac

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The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, May 6, 2020

The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, May 6, 2020

It was on this day in 1994 that the Channel Tunnel (or the “Chunnel”) opened, making it possible to travel from London to Paris in less than three hours.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, May 5, 2020

The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Today is Cinco de Mayo, which commemorates the Mexican victory over the French in the Battle of Puebla in 1862.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, May 4, 2020

The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, May 4, 2020

“May the Fourth be with you!” Today is known as Star Wars Day, even though the anniversary of the first film’s release is actually May 25th.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, May 3, 2020

The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, May 3, 2020

“One must think like a hero to behave like a merely decent human being.” –the late poet May Sarton, born this day in 1912

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The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, May 2, 2020

The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, May 2, 2020

It’s the birthday of Dr. Benjamin Spock (New Haven, 1903), who wrote the parenting bible for all the post-war moms and dads raising the baby boomer generation.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, May 1, 2020

The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, May 1, 2020

“I’m out of it, but not too far out. I figure somewhere between 12 to 18 inches.” –Louis Jenkins (1942-2019), from today’s featured poem

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The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, April 30, 2020

The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, April 30, 2020

Charles Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cities” was first published in serial form on this date in 1859. The weekly journal it appeared in sold 125,000 copies.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, April 29, 2020

The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, April 29, 2020

It’s the birthday of William Randolph Hearst (1863), whose newspapers’ sensational reporting actually helped cause the Spanish-American War of 1898.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, April 28, 2020

The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, April 28, 2020

It’s the birthday of poet Carolyn Forché (1950), whose first collection won the Yale Younger Poets Award and whose latest collection came out just last month.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, April 27, 2020

The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, April 27, 2020

It’s the birthday of the author of the “Madeline” books, Ludwig Bemelmans, born in Austria in 1898.

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