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The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, March 23, 2024

Posted on March 23, 2024 - Writer's Almanac

It was on this day in 1775 that Patrick Henry gave a famous speech which probably included the line, “Give me liberty or give me death!” Henry spoke at the Second Virginia Convention, a meeting of American colonial leaders held at St. John’s Church in Richmond, Virginia. There were 120 delegates, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Patrick Henry.

The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, March 22, 2024

Posted on March 22, 2024 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of the poet Billy Collins, born in New York City (1941). He wrote his first poem at the age of seven when he was driving with his parents and looked out the river and saw a sailboat on the East River.

The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, March 21, 2024

Posted on March 21, 2024 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of poet Nizar Qabbani, born in Damascus, Syria (1923). His mother, who was illiterate, sold her jewelry to raise money to publish his first anthology, Childhood of a Bosom (1948), and he went on to become the most popular Arab poet and to publish more than 20 books of poetry. Much of his poetry was influenced by the tragic deaths of two women he loved.

The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Posted on March 20, 2024 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of dime novelist Ned Buntline, born Edward Zane Carroll Judson in Stamford, New York (1813) — probably, but not certainly, on this day. As a boy, he got in a fight with his father and ran away to sea. He started out as a cabin boy, but as a teenager he rescued the drowning crew of a boat, and President Van Buren was so impressed that he appointed the young man a midshipman, a low rank of officer.

The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Posted on March 19, 2024 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of Russian writer Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol, born in Great Sorochintsy, Ukraine in 1809 (March 31st according to the Old Calendar). His mother was extremely devout, and his father was a bureaucrat who owned a vodka distillery on 3,000 acres and had more than 300 serfs working for him.

The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, March 18, 2024

Posted on March 18, 2024 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of novelist John Updike, born in Reading, Pennsylvania (1932). He went to Harvard and got married while he was still a student. His ambition was to be published in The New Yorker, and the year that he graduated from Harvard, he sold the magazine a poem and a short story.

The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, March 17, 2024

Posted on March 17, 2024 - Writer's Almanac

Today is St. Patrick’s Day, a day to celebrate all things Irish. The famous American director John Ford was of Irish heritage, and he also perpetuated Irish stereotypes in his films. He directed The Grapes of Wrath (1940) and American Westerns like Stagecoach (1939) and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). Most of his films featured Irish or Irish-American characters, and his film The Quiet Man (1952) was set in Ireland.

The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, March 16, 2024

Posted on March 16, 2024 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of Alice Hoffman, born in New York City (1952). Growing up, she thought that her brother was the smart one, and that as a girl she couldn’t be a veterinarian or a writer, the two things she was most interested in, but should settle for life as a hairdresser. But she read a lot, and she said: “When I wasn’t reading science fiction, I read a lot of fairy tales and anything to do with magic.

The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, March 15, 2024

Posted on March 15, 2024 - Writer's Almanac

It was on this day in 1956 that the musical My Fair Lady opened on Broadway, starring Julie Andrews and Rex Harrison. The musical was based on the play Pygmalion by the Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw. Pygmalion is the story of Henry Higgins, a professor of phonetics living in London.

The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, March 14, 2024

Posted on March 14, 2024 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of the man who said: “I’m not much with people, and I’m not a family man. I want my peace. I want to know how God created this world. I am not interested in this or that phenomenon, in the spectrum of this or that element. I want to know His thoughts, the rest are details.” That’s the physicist Albert Einstein, born on this day in Ulm, Germany (1879).

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