Saturday
Apr. 15, 2000
The Praise of Dancing
Poem: "The Praise of Dancing," by Sir John Davies (1569-1626).
It's the birthday of pioneering obstetrician WALTER CHANNING, born in Newport, Rhode Island (1786). In 1847 he became the first to use an anesthetic during childbirth.
It's the birthday of novelist HENRY JAMES (Jr.), born in New York City (1843). He moved to England, where he wrote about Americans abroad. James was a master of the "psychological novel;" one of his guiding principles was that nothing should enter a story unless it was seen or felt by one of the characters. His novels include Daisy Miller (1879), Portrait of a Lady (1881), The Wings of a Dove (1902), and The Golden Bowl (1904).
It's the birthday of THOMAS HART BENTON, born in Neosho, Missouri (1899), famous for his murals.
It's the birthday of "Empress of the Blues" BESSIE SMITH, born in Chattanooga, Tennessee (1898). She made her first Columbia recording when she was 24. In all, she recorded over 150 blues numbers, backed by such great jazzmen as Louis Armstrong, Fletcher Henderson, and Benny Goodman.
It's the birthday of food writer WAVERLY ROOT, born in Providence, Rhode Island (1903), who wrote The Food of France (1958).
It's the birthday of the "godmother of Italian cooking in America," MARCELLA HAZAN, born in Cesenatico, a seaside town in the Italian province of Emilia-Romagna (1924). When she married and moved to America at the age of 31, she had never cooked; but she learned, and went on to teach others at her School of Classic Italian Cooking. She has published five cookbooks during the past 27 years.
Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.®