The Writer's AlmanacĀ is a daily podcast of poetry and historical interest pieces, usually of literary significance. Each day's offering is five minutes long and contains "on this day in history" information as well as an accessible poem.
Today is the birthday of President John F. Kennedy, born in 1917. He said to his fellow Americans ?ask not what your country can do for you ? ask what you can do for your country."
It?s the birthday of the American poet who once said, ?The public needs poetry; I need poetry, to help celebrate and console.? Linda Pastan, born in 1932.
It is the birthday of Harvey Milk (1930), the first openly gay man elected to public office. He was assassinated in 1978 about a year after his election to City Supervisor.
On this day in 1881, Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross. Clara Barton said, "I may be compelled to face danger, but never fear it, and while our soldiers can stand and fight, I can stand and feed and nurse them."
On this day in 1946 English-born poet, W.H. Auden became a U.S. citizen. "It's a sad fact about our culture that a poet can earn much more money writing or talking about his art than he can by practicing it."
Author Daphne du Maurier was born on this day in London (1907). Her blockbuster novel ?Rebecca? (1938) was turned into a film of the same name by Alfred Hitchcock.
It's the anniversary of the printing of the first known book, the Diamond Sutra. In the year 868, Wang Chieh printed a Buddhist scripture on a 16-foot scroll using wood blocks.
?I write to annoy God, to make Death laugh. I write because I can?t get it right. I write because I want every woman in the world to fall in love with me.? ?Charles Simic, born on this day in 1938.
It's the birthday of French playwright, activist, and feminist Olympe de Gouges (1748) who said that if "Woman has the right to mount the scaffold; she must equally have the right to mount the rostrum."
It?s the birthday of the journalist Nellie Bly, born Elizabeth Jane Cochran in 1864. She became famous for feigning mental illness and exposing conditions in an asylum.
On this date in 1840, the first official adhesive postage stamp was issued in Great Britain. Called the Penny Black, it was an engraved profile of Queen Victoria on a black background.
The Writer's Almanac for Wednesday, April 27, 2022
It?s the birthday of Mary Wollstonecraft, born in 1759. Her book ?A Vindication of the Rights of Woman? is one of the earliest books of feminist philosophy.
Ornithologist John James Audubon was born on this day in 1785, his masterpiece ?Birds of America? contained 435 life-sized hand-colored plates of birds.
On this day in 1916, the Easter Rising began in Dublin. While it failed as a rebellion, it galvanized a movement. Five years later the Republic of Ireland achieved independence.
It?s the birthday of the American writer Barry Hannah (1942). He said, ?I loved the life, the secret life, of the typewriter when the house was quiet.?
"Two things fill the mind with ever-increasing wonder and awe ... the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me." ? Immanuel Kant, born on this day in 1724.
Naturalist John Muir was born in Dunbar, Scotland, on this day in 1838. The founder of the Sierra Club was essential in protecting American wilderness areas.
?Southern trees bear a strange fruit/Blood on the leaves and blood at the root??The song ?Strange Fruit? was recorded on this day in 1939 by Billie Holiday.
"There are no good girls gone wrong, just bad girls found out."?author and Actress Mae West, who was jailed on this day in 1927 for her performance in ?Sex? on broadway.
"The sentence is my primary element, my tool, goal, bliss. Each new sentence is a heart-in-the mouth experiment." -- novelist and essayist Cynthia Ozick, was born on this day in 1928.
It's the 70th birthday of author Gary Soto. His most recent work is a collection of poetry ?Meatballs for the People: Proverbs to Chew On? published in 2017.