Friday

Feb. 28, 1997

Climbing Along the River

by William Stafford

FRIDAY 2/28

Today's Reading:"Climbing Along the River" by William Stafford from PASSWORDS, published by HarperPerennial (1991).

The Lost Dutchman Days begin today in Apache Junction, Arizona, celebrating the legend of the Lost Dutchman Mine.

The Texas Cowboy Poetry Gathering starts today in Alpine, Texas.

In Red Lodge, Montana, the two-day Winter Carnival begins today.

The Yuma Square-and-Round-Dance Festival begins today in Yuma, Arizona.

It's the birthday of medical researcher Dr. Denis Burkitt, who theorized that a high-fiber diet provides protection from colon cancer and other diseases, born in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, 1911.

It's the birthday of poet and critic Stephen Spender, born on this day in London, 1909.

Writer Ben Hecht, who with Charles MacArthur wrote THE FRONT PAGE, was born on this day in New York City, 1894.

Legendary tight-rope walker Charles Blondin, who made numerous crossings over Niagara Falls, was born on this day in Saint-Omer, France, 1824.

John Tenniel, illustrator of ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND and THROUGH THE LOOKING-GLASS, was born on this day in London, 1820.

French essayist Michel de Montaigne, was born near Bordeaux, France, in 1533. He wrote, "Live as long as you please, you will strike nothing off the time you will have to spend dead."

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