1493 – Anna Bijns, Flemish writer, poet, teacher, and school administrator; she was the first author in Dutch-language literature who owed her success in part to the recently invented printing press. 1743 – Johann David Wyss, Swiss folklorist and author who is best remembered for the book Swiss Family Robinson. 1819 – Narcyza Zmichowska (alsoContinue reading “March 4 Writer Birthdays”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Pepino Returns
After dealing with several mice in the house, we were finally convinced that we had succeeded in getting rid of them. We hadn’t seen or heard a mouse in weeks. And then, on Saturday night, I walked into the kitchen to see Pepino scurrying across the floor to disappear under the refrigerator. Damn. Bob saidContinue reading “Pepino Returns”
February 3 Writer Birthdays
1612 – Samuel Butler, English poet, satirist, translator, and artist; he is best known for the satirical novel Erewhon and the semi-autobiographical Bildungsroman The Way of All Flesh, published posthumously in 1903, both of which are still in print, but he also examined subjects including Christian philosophy and Italian art, and made prose translations ofContinue reading “February 3 Writer Birthdays”
The Curious Incident of the Bug in the Night-Time
About 2 am, my son’s voice interrupted my drift into sleep. “Mom,” he called from the sofabed outside our room in our weekend rental apartment, “There’s a wasp in here.” Thus began the Curious Incident of the Bug in the Night-Time. A wasp seemed unlikely on a subfreezing night in late January, but we wokeContinue reading “The Curious Incident of the Bug in the Night-Time”
January 31 Writer Birthdays
1624 – Arnold Geulincx, controversial Belgian author and philosopher who tried to work out more detailed versions of a generally Cartesian philosophy. 1735 – J. Hector St. John de Crevecoeur (born Michel Guillaume Jean de Crevecoeur), French-American essayist famous for his book Letters from an American Farmer, which drew on his experience farming in OrangeContinue reading “January 31 Writer Birthdays”
January 2 Writer Birthdays
1814 – Luise Mühlbach, pen name of Clara Mundt, German writer best known for her popular works of historical fiction. 1828 – Elizabeth Rundle Charles, prolific English writer of poems, stories, biography, and religious books, and translator of hymns. 1873 – Saint Thérèse of Lisieux – French Roman Catholic nun best known for her TheContinue reading “January 2 Writer Birthdays”
Best Books of 2020: New Friends
Yesterday I posted to say I’d completed my 2020 Goodreads Reading Challenge by achieving my goal of reading 130 books last year. I’d been asked which was my favorite. I can’t possibly name only one favorite. In fact, I realized I needed separate categories for the old favorites I re-read in 2020 and the bestContinue reading “Best Books of 2020: New Friends”
Friday Five: Old School
I don’t officially participate in Friday Five, a blog prompt that provides a list each week of five questions on one theme. But every now and then I hear about the questions and find them interesting. This is one of those times! These questions were the prompt for a few weeks ago. The topic: ThingsContinue reading “Friday Five: Old School”
October 12 Writer Birthdays
1810 – Dionísia Gonçalves Pinto (pen name Nísia Floresta Brasileira Augusta), Brazilian educator, translator, writer, and poet who is considered the “first Brazilian feminist”; she was one of the first women to publish her work in newspapers in Brazil, and also wrote a book defending the rights of women, Native Americans, and slaves. 1875 –Continue reading “October 12 Writer Birthdays”
October 5 Writer Birthdays
1703 – Jonathan Edwards, American theologian, educator, philosopher, scholar, and journalist whose writings helped shape the course of Protestantism; he is best known for his sermon about “sinners in the hands of an angry God.” 1713 – Denis Diderot, French philosopher, art critic, encyclopedia editor, and Enlightenment Era writer. 1840 – John Addington Symonds, BritishContinue reading “October 5 Writer Birthdays”
