Thursday

Jan. 13, 2000

A Vote For the Gentle Light

by Charles Bukowski

Broadcast Date: THURSDAY: January 13, 2000

Poem: "A Vote For the Gentle Light" by Charles Bukowski from What Matters Most is How Well You Walk Through the Fire published by Black Sparrow Press.

It's the birthday of novelist Jay McInerney, born in Hartford, Connecticut (1955). The son of an international sales executive who was transferred at least once a year, he attended 18 schools before starting high school in Massachusetts. At Williams College he majored in philosophy. After graduation he rambled around the U.S.A, went to Japan, took courses, taught English, and studied martial arts. He returned to America and spent a few months as a fact-checker for The New Yorker, then entered the creative writing program at Syracuse, where he met his wife, of whom he later said, "All my serious writing dates from the time I met my wife." His first novel was Bright Lights, Big City (1984).

On this day in 1941, Irish novelist James Joyce died in Zurich, Switzerland, following stomach surgery for an ulcerated duodenum. Many factors contributed to his ulcer: his beloved daughter Lucia's failing mental health; the mocking reception his mammoth novel Finnegans Wake was drawing; and his own encroaching blindness. While working on the final galley proofs of Finnegans Wake, he had used different-colored crayons and a large magnifying glass to read his notes. He was 58 years old.

It's the birthday of children's writer (Thomas) Michael Bond, born in Newbury, Berkshire, England (1926)—who created the 'Paddington Bear' series of books after coming upon a small stuffed bear on a shelf in a store the night before Christmas. Bond bought the bear, took him home, named him Paddington—the store was near Paddington Station—and began to write about him. Some of the Paddington titles are: Paddington Helps Out (1960), Paddington Takes the Air (1970), and Paddington Takes the Test (1979).

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

 

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