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Writer's Almanac

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The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, December 16, 2019

The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, December 16, 2019

Today is the birthday of Jane Austen (1775), author of “Pride and Prejudice,” “Sense and Sensibility,” and “Emma.”

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The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, December 15, 2019

The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, December 15, 2019

Today is the birthday of Irish author Edna O’Brien (1930). Six of her novels were banned in Catholic Ireland for content about the sex lives and subjugation of women.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, December 14, 2019

The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, December 14, 2019

On this date in 1542, six-day-old Mary Stuart ascended the throne of Scotland. She spent her childhood in France and returned to rule Scotland when she was 18.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, December 13, 2019

The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, December 13, 2019

Today is the birthday of Tamora Pierce (1954), who writes young adult fantasies featuring strong female protagonists.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, December 12, 2019

The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, December 12, 2019

Today is the birthday of novelist Gustav Flaubert (1821) and of physician and poet Erasmus Darwin (1731), grandfather of Charles Darwin.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, December 11, 2019

The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Today is the shared birthday of notable authors and friends Thomas McGuane (1939) and Jim Harrison (1937).

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The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, December 10, 2019

The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Emily Dickinson was born on this day in 1830. When a book of her poems was first published posthumously, it went through 11 editions in one year.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, December 9, 2019

The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, December 9, 2019

On this date in 1979, the smallpox virus was declared eradicated. It remains the only disease eliminated by science.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, December 8, 2019

The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, December 8, 2019

Today is the birthday of the humorist and cartoonist James Thurber, who said, “Humor is emotional chaos remembered in tranquility.”

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The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, December 7, 2019

The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, December 7, 2019

Today is the birthday of novelist Susan Minot (1956), who said, “Every family, like every person, is imperfect…The idea that there is a Family somewhere who functions is an odd concept.”

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