Saturday

Sep. 18, 1999

The Steeple-Jack

by Marianne Moore

Broadcast Date: SATURDAY: September 18, 1999

Poem: "The Steeple-Jack" by Marianne Moore, from The Complete Poems of Marianne Moore, Viking, 1987.

Today and tomorrow, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Festival takes place in Lake Pepin, Wisconsin—with demonstrations of crafts and games mentioned in the "Little House" books.

It's the birthday of rural essayist Noel Perrin, born in New York City (1927). He moved to the Vermont countryside at 30 and wrote essays, starting with First Person Rural: Essays of a Sometime Farmer (1978).

It's the birthday of choreographer Agnes (George) de Mille, born in New York City (1905), a dance visionary who shook up both the classical dance world—in the ballet Rodeo (1942; music by Aaron Copland)—and Broadway, with her choreography for Oklahoma! (1943).

It's the birthday of screen icon Greta Garbo (Greta Lovisa Gustafsson), born in Stockholm (1905). She grew up in a shabby neighborhood and at 13 dropped out of school to care for her ailing father. Her films include Flesh and the Devil (1927), Anna Christie (1930), Grand Hotel (1932), Anna Karenina (1935), Ninotchka (1939).

It's the birthday of drama critic and author Harold Clurman, born in New York City (1901). Also a director, he founded the Group Theater (1931).

It's the birthday of lexicographer Samuel Johnson, born in Lichfield, Staffordshire (1709). From his Dictionary of the English Language (1755): Lexicographer. A writer of dictionaries, a harmless drudge.

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

 

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