Sunday

Oct. 20, 1996

The Latest Decalogue

by Arthur Hugh Clough

SUNDAY 10/20

Today's Reading:"The Latest Decalogue" by Arthur Hugh Clough.

Today in 1944 the U. S. First Army announced that the German city of Aachen was under its control after a week of battle, making it the first major German city to fall to the Allies.

It's the birthday of poet Robert Pinsky, born in Long Branch, New Jersey, 1940.

New York Yankees player Mickey Mantel was born today in Spavinaw, Oklahoma, 1931.

It's the birthday of humorist Art Buchwald, born in Mount Vernon, New York, 1925.

Singer Adelaide Hall, who recorded "Creole Love Call" with Duke Ellington in 1927, was born on this day in New York City, 1901.

It's the birthday of Jelly Roll Morton ("Dead Man Blues"), born in New Orleans in 1890.

Actor Bela Lugosi, known for playing Count Dracula on stage and in the 1931 film, was born today in Lugos, Hungary, 1884.

Composer Charles Ives was born today in Danbury, Connecticut, 1874.

It's the birthday of educator and philosopher John Dewey, born in Burlington, Vermont, 1859.

Poet Arthur Rimbaud, one of the creators of free verse, was born today in France, 1854.

It's the birthday of the attorney who acquired the land for New York's Central Park, Daniel Edgar Sicles, born in New York City, 1825.

It's the birthday of British architect Christophe r Wren, 1632, who planned the rebuilding of London after the fire of 1666.

Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.®

 

«

»

  • “Writers end up writing stories—or rather, stories' shadows—and they're grateful if they can, but it is not enough. Nothing the writer can do is ever enough” —Joy Williams
  • “I want to live other lives. I've never quite believed that one chance is all I get. Writing is my way of making other chances.” —Anne Tyler
  • “Writing is a performance, like singing an aria or dancing a jig” —Stephen Greenblatt
  • “All good writing is swimming under water and holding your breath.” —F. Scott Fitzgerald
  • “Good writing is always about things that are important to you, things that are scary to you, things that eat you up.” —John Edgar Wideman
  • “In certain ways writing is a form of prayer.” —Denise Levertov
  • “Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia.” —E.L. Doctorow
  • “Writing is like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” —E.L. Doctorow
  • “Let's face it, writing is hell.” —William Styron
  • “A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.” —Thomas Mann
  • “Writing is 90 percent procrastination: reading magazines, eating cereal out of the box, watching infomercials.” —Paul Rudnick
  • “Writing is a failure. Writing is not only useless, it's spoiled paper.” —Padget Powell
  • “Writing is very hard work and knowing what you're doing the whole time.” —Shelby Foote
  • “I think all writing is a disease. You can't stop it.” —William Carlos Williams
  • “Writing is like getting married. One should never commit oneself until one is amazed at one's luck.” —Iris Murdoch
  • “The less conscious one is of being ‘a writer,’ the better the writing.” —Pico Iyer
  • “Writing is…that oddest of anomalies: an intimate letter to a stranger.” —Pico Iyer
  • “Writing is my dharma.” —Raja Rao
  • “Writing is a combination of intangible creative fantasy and appallingly hard work.” —Anthony Powell
  • “I think writing is, by definition, an optimistic act.” —Michael Cunningham
Current Faves - Learn more about poets featured frequently on the show