The Writer’s Almanac is a gift worth re-gifting
Published 12/13/05
I cannot tell a lie. This Christmas I’m doing a bit of re-gifting. Re-gifting, of course, is a decades-old tradition whereby you re-send a gift once forwarded to you. So, as was once addressed to me, I’m sending readers to writersalmanac.publicradio.org where you can pick up a gift that will give until oil company executives grow a conscience.
After subscribing at the above link, what will arrive in your e-mail inbox stocking each morning is your very own free copy of The Writer’s Almanac.
Now wait a minute, kids. Before you feel like you’ve gotten the short end of the Christmas straw, let me tell you why I believe you are getting an extremely thoughtful gift.
First of all, The Writer’s Almanac is a project of Garrison Keillor, a master storyteller known for warming audiences up with words like, “It’s been a quiet week here in Lake Wobegone.” Keillor is the host of “A Prairie Home Companion,” heard on National Public Radio as are excerpts of The Writer’s Almanac. In fact, each almanac comes with an audio version.
Whether audio or Web page format, The Writer’s Almanac highlights important dates in history, frequently giving them an interesting twist. Like this one: “On this day in 1930, a Swedish newspaper telephoned Sinclair Lewis to tell him that he was the first American to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, for his novel Main Street (1920). Lewis thought the caller was making a practical joke and began to imitate the man’s accent. But it was not a joke. Lewis was, in fact, the first American to win the Nobel Prize for Literature.”
In July, the Almanac marked the birthday of the man of the pond, Henry David Thoreau. The Writer’s Almanac recalled an incident from Henry David’s brief stint as a teacher: “When criticized by the supervisor of the local public school for not using corporal punishment on his students, Thoreau thrashed a random group of his pupils to illustrate the senselessness of it all and resigned from the school.”
Then there was the anniversary of the publishing of the Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. According to the Almanac, Hawthorne more or less test-marketed the book on his wife. “When he finished the last chapter, he read it aloud to his wife. He said the tragic ending broke her heart and sent her to bed with a terrible headache, which he considered a great success,” notes the newsletter, which goes on to say that The Scarlet Letter was indeed a success, selling out its first printing in ten days before eventually being recognized as a masterpiece of American literature.
Another issue celebrated the anniversary of the loss of a major battle by that great French emperor and general Napoleon Bonaparte. The entry noted that Napoleon was an impatient personality even as a young man and that “he once went to see a hot air balloon launch, and when the launch was delayed, he walked up and cut the balloon loose with a penknife because he was tired of waiting around.”
While a historical note may be about a Visigoth victory and the fall of the Roman Empire, on other occasions, it may hit closer to home, as on October 2, 1997, when the Writer’s Almanac reported, “The Riley Festival, celebrating Hoosier poet James Whitcomb Riley, starts today in Greenfield, Ind.”
Sometimes the highlights of the day hit a little too close to home, such as this one: “It’s the birthday of journalist and novelist Robert Ruark, born in Wilmington, North Carolina (1915). He started out as a newspaper columnist who wrote about his travels around the world. He claimed to be able to write a column in 11 minutes. He once finished 16 columns in a single day.”
Frankly, I almost cancelled my subscription to the Writer’s Almanac after that one but hopefully these dates in history won’t hit that close to home for you.
Each edition also includes a short poem or two—the kind you used to enjoy before poetry became a private club.
Wrapped as it will be among your daily servings of spam, your Nigerian fraud letters and other unsolicited junk messages, The Writer’s Almanac will be your breath of fresh morning air.
Each almanac ends with nine words worth repeating and re-gifting, which I will.
“Be well, do good work and keep in touch.”
I cannot tell a lie. This Christmas I’m doing a bit of re-gifting. Re-gifting, of course, is a decades-old tradition whereby you re-send a gift once forwarded to you. So, as was once addressed to me, I’m sending readers to writersalmanac.publicradio.org where you can pick up a gift that will give until oil company executives grow a conscience.
After subscribing at the above link, what will arrive in your e-mail inbox stocking each morning is your very own free copy of The Writer’s Almanac.
Now wait a minute, kids. Before you feel like you’ve gotten the short end of the Christmas straw, let me tell you why I believe you are getting an extremely thoughtful gift.
First of all, The Writer’s Almanac is a project of Garrison Keillor, a master storyteller known for warming audiences up with words like, “It’s been a quiet week here in Lake Wobegone.” Keillor is the host of “A Prairie Home Companion,” heard on National Public Radio as are excerpts of The Writer’s Almanac. In fact, each almanac comes with an audio version.
Whether audio or Web page format, The Writer’s Almanac highlights important dates in history, frequently giving them an interesting twist. Like this one: “On this day in 1930, a Swedish newspaper telephoned Sinclair Lewis to tell him that he was the first American to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, for his novel Main Street (1920). Lewis thought the caller was making a practical joke and began to imitate the man’s accent. But it was not a joke. Lewis was, in fact, the first American to win the Nobel Prize for Literature.”
In July, the Almanac marked the birthday of the man of the pond, Henry David Thoreau. The Writer’s Almanac recalled an incident from Henry David’s brief stint as a teacher: “When criticized by the supervisor of the local public school for not using corporal punishment on his students, Thoreau thrashed a random group of his pupils to illustrate the senselessness of it all and resigned from the school.”
Then there was the anniversary of the publishing of the Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. According to the Almanac, Hawthorne more or less test-marketed the book on his wife. “When he finished the last chapter, he read it aloud to his wife. He said the tragic ending broke her heart and sent her to bed with a terrible headache, which he considered a great success,” notes the newsletter, which goes on to say that The Scarlet Letter was indeed a success, selling out its first printing in ten days before eventually being recognized as a masterpiece of American literature.
Another issue celebrated the anniversary of the loss of a major battle by that great French emperor and general Napoleon Bonaparte. The entry noted that Napoleon was an impatient personality even as a young man and that “he once went to see a hot air balloon launch, and when the launch was delayed, he walked up and cut the balloon loose with a penknife because he was tired of waiting around.”
While a historical note may be about a Visigoth victory and the fall of the Roman Empire, on other occasions, it may hit closer to home, as on October 2, 1997, when the Writer’s Almanac reported, “The Riley Festival, celebrating Hoosier poet James Whitcomb Riley, starts today in Greenfield, Ind.”
Sometimes the highlights of the day hit a little too close to home, such as this one: “It’s the birthday of journalist and novelist Robert Ruark, born in Wilmington, North Carolina (1915). He started out as a newspaper columnist who wrote about his travels around the world. He claimed to be able to write a column in 11 minutes. He once finished 16 columns in a single day.”
Frankly, I almost cancelled my subscription to the Writer’s Almanac after that one but hopefully these dates in history won’t hit that close to home for you.
Each edition also includes a short poem or two—the kind you used to enjoy before poetry became a private club.
Wrapped as it will be among your daily servings of spam, your Nigerian fraud letters and other unsolicited junk messages, The Writer’s Almanac will be your breath of fresh morning air.
Each almanac ends with nine words worth repeating and re-gifting, which I will.
“Be well, do good work and keep in touch.”
posted by Jack W. Williams | 2:33 PM
1 Comments:
Hey Jack, thanks for the re-gifting. It's just what I wanted and it fits, too!
I love the Writer's Almanac, though if I hear it in the morning, I know that I am WAY late for work!
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