Wednesday

Apr. 21, 1999

Topography

by Sharon Olds

Broadcast Date: WEDNESDAY: April 21, 1999

Poem: "Topography," by Sharon Olds, from The Gold Cell (Alfred A. Knopf).

It's QUEEN ELIZABETH's birthday, born in London, 1926, her full name Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor. She was crowned queen in February, 1952 at the age of 25, after her father's death.

It was on this day in 1865 that ABRAHAM LINCOLN's funeral train pulled out of Washington, D.C. to begin the 1,600-mile trip to Springfield, Illinois where Lincoln was laid to rest.

It's naturalist JOHN MUIR's birthday in Dunbar, Scotland, 1838, who helped create Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks.

It's the birthday in Yorkshire, England, 1816, of CHARLOTTE BRONTE, author of Jane Eyre, The Professor, and Shirley.

It's the birthday of the man who founded the first kindergarten, FRIEDICH FROEBEL, born in 1782 in Germany.

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

 

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  • “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
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