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The Writer's Almanac from Friday, February 9, 2001
The Writer's Almanac from Friday, February 9, 2001"To the Days," by Adrienne Rich, from Dark Fields of the Republic (W.W. Norton). It's the birthday of humorist and playwright George Ade, born in Kentland, Indiana (1866). His daily column for the Chicago Record, "Stories of the Streets and of the Town," evolved into the popular Fables in Slang (1899). The book was a best seller, and he followed with 11 more humorous volumes. He turned to the theater with equal success, and at one point had three plays running simultaneously in New York. He bought a 2,400-acre estate near his home town and entertained lavishly. "My enthusiasms include golf, travel, horse-racing and the spoken drama. My antipathies are social show-offs, bigots on religion, fanatics on total abstinence, and all persons who take themselves seriously." It's the birthday of writer and playwright Brendan Behan, born in Dublin, Ireland (1923), into a working-class family. His father was a Republican activist; his uncle wrote the Irish national anthem. Behan was arrested for activities connected to the IRA, and sentenced to an English borstal, or reform school—an experience he later recounted in his autobiographical novel, Borstal Boy (1958). His first play, The Quare Fellow, is set in a prison. It was rejected by both the Abbey and the Gate theaters before being staged at the experimental Pike Theater, to great acclaim "I've never seen a situation so dismal a policeman couldn't make it worse." It's the birthday of poet Amy Lowell, born in Brookline, Massachusetts (1874), the daughter of a prominent Boston family. One brother became president of Harvard University and another was a distinguished astronomer. She wrote her first serious poem at 28 after seeing a performance by the actress Eleanora Duse. She gave readings and lectures all over the country, telling reticent audiences, "Well, clap or hiss, I don't care which, but for Christ's sake, do something!" She was a large, outspoken woman who liked cigars, dogs and detective stories. She was intrigued by the Imagist movement in poetry—Ezra Pound referred to her followers as "Amygists." When her brother was president of Harvard, he got a call from an auto mechanic saying, "Some big, fat dame whose engine broke down wants to charge the bill to you—claims she's your sister. She's across the road, sittin' on a stone wall, smokin' a cigar." The president of Harvard said, "That's my sister, all right." Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.® Boom Town: A Lake Wobegon Novel AUDIOBOOK (mp3 download)Audiobook of Boom Town in mp3 format, read by Garrison Keillor himself with music composed and performed by Richard Dworsky. If you are a paid subscriber to The Writer's Almanac with Garrison Keillor, thank you! Your financial support is used to maintain these newsletters, websites, and archive. If you’re not yet a paid subscriber and would like to become one, support can be made through our garrisonkeillor.com store, by check to Prairie Home Productions, P.O. Box 2090, Minneapolis, MN 55402, or by clicking the SUBSCRIBE button. This financial support is not tax deductible.
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