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Writer's Almanac

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The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, December 26, 2019

The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, December 26, 2019

Today is the birthday of David Sedaris (1956), who said, “Write every day and read everything you can get your hands on. Write every day with a pen that’s shaped like a candy cane.”

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The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, December 25, 2019

The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, December 25, 2019

On this day in 1956, Harper Lee’s friends gave her a large sum of money with the instruction to take a year off from working at an airline, and to start writing instead.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, December 24, 2019

The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Today on Christmas Eve, we feature a story called “Dancing Dan’s Christmas” by Damon Runyon and the poem “A Christmas Carol” by G.K. Chesterton.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, December 23, 2019

The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, December 23, 2019

Today is the birthday of Norman Maclean (1902), a fisherman, firefighter, scholar, teacher, and author of the novel “A River Runs Through It.”

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The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, December 22, 2019

The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, December 22, 2019

It was on this day in 1946 that George Bernard Shaw wrote to the Reynolds News: “Christmas is for me simply a nuisance…of mendacity, gluttony, and drunkenness”

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The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, December 21, 2019

The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, December 21, 2019

Today is the Winter Solstice. It is also the 140th anniversary of the world premiere of Henrik Ibsen’s play “A Doll’s House” at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, December 20, 2019

The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, December 20, 2019

Today is the birthday of the author Elizabeth Benedict (1954). Her most recent book is “Me, My Hair, and I: 27 Women Untangle an Obsession.”

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The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, December 19, 2019

The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, December 19, 2019

On this day in 1843 “A Christmas Carol” was published by Charles Dickens, introducing the world to the characters of Scrooge and Tiny Tim.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, December 18, 2019

The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Today is the birthday Charles Wesley (1708), cofounder of Methodism and writer of the Christmas hymn “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.”

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The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, December 17, 2019

The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Today is the birthday of Penelope Fitzgerald (1916), who wrote, “I believe that people should write biographies only about people they love, or understand, or both”

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