Wednesday

Jan. 22, 1997

Who Loves the Rain

by Frances Shaw

WEDNESDAY 1/22

Today's Reading:"Who Loves the Rain" by Frances Shaw from SILVER PENNIES, published by MacMillan (1961).

Today is historically the coldest day during the year in the United States.

Today is the feast day of St. Vincent, patron saint of wine growers.

It's the anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling in 1973 of Roe V. Wade, when the court struck down state laws restricting abortions.

Thornton Wilder's play OUR TOWN opened on this evening at the McCarter Theater in Princeton, New Jersey, in 1938.

It's the birthday of jazz trombonist J. J. Johnson, born in Indianapolis, Indiana, 1924.

Poet and NEW YORKER magazine poetry editor Howard Moss was born on this day in New York City, 1922.

Choreographer George Balanchine was born on this day in St. Petersburg, Russia, 1904.

It's the birthday of soprano Rosa Ponselle, who sang with the Met for 19 seasons. She was born in Meriden, Connecticut, 1897.

Filmmaker D.W. Griffith, who introduced the close-up, the scenic long shot, cross-cutting, and fade-outs, was born on this day in Floydsfork, Kentucky, 1875.

It's the birthday of Swedish playwright August Stringberg, born in Stockholm, 1849.

Poet George Gordon, Lord Byron, was born on this day in London, 1788.

English politician and philosopher Francis Bacon was born on this day in London, 1561.

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