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The Writer's Almanac from Tuesday, January 23, 2001
The Writer's Almanac from Tuesday, January 23, 2001"As I Walked Out in the Streets of Laredo," anonymous. It's the birthday of poet and dramatist Derek Walcott, born on the island of St. Lucia in the West Indies (1930).He's the author of the epic poem Omeros (1990) and dozens of plays, including the Obie Award-winning Dream on Monkey Mountain.He was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1992. It's the birthday of jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, born Jean Baptiste Reinhardt, in Liberchies, Belgium (1910). It's the birthday of painter Edouard Manet, born on the Left Bank of Paris (1832). He's known for his scenes of Parisian cafes and bars, paintings which were controversial for their time: for example, "Luncheon on the Grass" depicted two clothed men and a nude women seated in a field. On this day in 1812, a massive earthquake measuring nearly 8 points on the Richter scale shook New Madrid, Missouri. It was the second of three major tremors that hit the area during an eight-week span that winter; the series of quakes and their powerful aftershocks shook the entire country. The area was sparsely populated—only 100 people lost their lives—but the earthquakes created landslides and cracks in the earth, put waterfalls in the Mississippi River and caused the river to flow in reverse for two or three hours. Farmland was unfit for planting for a couple of years because of all the sand that had worked its way up from underground. It's the birthday of French novelist Stendhal, born Marie-Henri Beyle in Grenoble, France (1783).He was a soldier in Napoleon's army and took part the invasion of Italy (1800), which he wrote about in The Charterhouse of Parma (1839). After Napoleon abdicated in 1814, Stendhal devoted all of his time to writing, turning out biographies, opera reviews, travel guides, art critiques, and works of fiction, including The Red and the Black (Le Rouge et le Noir, 1831). It's the birthday of John Hancock, born in Braintree, Massachusetts (1737). He was one of the richest men in the Colonies when he signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.His signature is known for its size—nearly five inches in length—so "John Hancock" became a synonym for signature. Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.® Join us to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of A Prairie Home Companion! CLICK HERE for our full schedule and ticket information. 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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