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The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, February 2, 2024

Posted on February 2, 2024 - Writer's Almanac

It is the birthday of novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand, born Alissa Rosenbaum in St. Petersburg, Russia (1905). In 1917, she witnessed the first shots of the Russian Revolution from her balcony. A communist gang took over her father’s shop, and her family was immediately reduced to poverty.

The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, February 1, 2024

Posted on February 1, 2024 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of poet and novelist Langston Hughes, born in Joplin, Missouri (1902). He was a member of the Harlem Renaissance, and he was one of the first African-American poets to embrace the language of lower-class black Americans.

The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Posted on January 31, 2024 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of one of the most important folklorists in American history, Alan Lomax, born in Austin, Texas (1915). (Some sources give his birthday as January 15.) His father, John Lomax, was one of the first people ever to travel around the American South to write down the lyrics of folk songs sung by ordinary people in saloons and on back porches. It was John Lomax who discovered a folksong that became known as “Home on the Range.”

The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, January 30, 2024

Posted on January 30, 2024 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, born in Hyde Park, New York (1882). He was the first president to set up a presidential library, in part because he was a lifelong collector, and he didn’t want to break his collection up. He had a collection of more than a million stamps in 150 matching albums; he collected coins; medals; 1,200 naval prints and paintings, and more than 200 model ships; armies of miniature donkeys, elephants, pigs; and political cartoons.

The Writer’s Almanac for Monday January 29, 2024

Posted on January 29, 2024 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of writer Anton Chekhov, born in Taganrog, Russia (1860). His father came from a long line of serfs, but his grandfather had bought the family’s freedom before he was born. When Chekhov was 16, his father’s grocery store went out of business.

The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, January 28, 2024

Posted on January 28, 2024 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of French novelist Colette, born in the village of Saint-Sauveur-en-Puisaye, Burgundy (1873).When Colette was 17 she met Henri Gauthier-Villars, fifteen years her senior, who went by the name “Willy.” Willy was well-known in the Paris publishing world—he used ghost writers to turn out cheap novels which he published under his own name. He married Colette when she was 20, and introduced her to the Parisian nightlife.

The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, January 27, 2024

Posted on January 27, 2024 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, better known as Lewis Carroll, born in Cheshire, England (1832). He was a painfully shy mathematician and church deacon who kept fastidious charts showing what his guests had eaten when they’d dined with him and what chair they’d sat in. He even summarized and filed all of his correspondence in a catalogue system containing 98,000 cross references.

The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, January 26, 2024

Posted on January 26, 2024 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of painter Kees van Dongen, born in Holland (1877). He was a key member of the Fauves, the art movement called “Wild Beasts” because they distorted forms and used wild, exuberant color. Van Dongen used emerald green and intense pure reds and oranges; he painted skin tones of mauve and shadows of apple green while creating his portraits of down and out characters.

The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, January 25, 2024

Posted on January 25, 2024 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of poet Robert Burns, born in Alloway, Scotland (1759). He was the son of a poor farmer, the oldest of seven children; when his father died, he inherited the farm, but soon lost it. In his 37 years, Burns managed a fierce amount of both work and carousing. He’s best known for the hundreds of songs he wrote or adapted—though he was tone deaf, and couldn’t sing very well himself.

The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, January 24, 2024

Posted on January 24, 2024 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of Edith Wharton, born Edith Newbold Jones, in New York City (1862), author of Ethan Fromme (1911), The Age of Innocence (1920), and an autobiography, A Backward Glance.

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