Monday

Nov. 4, 1996

Bright After Dark

by Pearse Hutchinson

MONDAY 11/4

Today's Reading:"Bright After Dark" by Pearse Hutchinson from SELECTED POEMS, published by The Gallery Press.

It was on this day in 1979 when Iranian militants seized the U.S. Embassy in Teheran, Iran, taking about 90 hostages, 52 of whom were Americans who were held in captivity for 444 days.

It's the birthday of controversial photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, born in Floral Park, New York, 1946.

The first air-conditioned automobile, a Packard, went on exhibition at the Chicago Automobile Show on this day in 1939.

Poet C. K. Williams was born on this day in Newark, New Jersey, 1936.

Actor Art(hur) (William) (Matthew) Carney, Ralph Cramden's neighbor on THE HONEYMOONERS, was born on this day in Mount Vernon, New York, 1919.

Journalist Walter (Leland) Cronkite (Jr.) was born on this day in Joseph, Missouri, 1916.

It's the birthday of the designer and industrialist who developed the Ferguson tractor, Harry George Ferguson, born in County Down, Ireland, 1884.

Humorist Will(iam) (Penn) (Adair) Rogers, the "cowboy philosopher," was born on this day near Oologah, in Indian territory that is now Oklahoma, in 1879.

Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd were married on this day in 1842 in Springfield, Illinois.

The first wagon train of settlers reached California on this day in 1841. It had left Independence, Missouri, on May 1 that year.

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