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The Writer's Almanac from Thursday, January 25, 2001
The Writer's Almanac from Thursday, January 25, 2001"Green Grow the Rashes," by Robert Burns. On this day in 1890, the United Mine Workers of America, a labor union of coal miners and coal-mine construction workers, was formed in Columbus, Ohio. Their demands included wages paid in U.S. currency instead of company scrip, the end of child labor, and "a plentiful supply of suitable timber" to stabilize the roofs of mines. It's the birthday of Virginia Woolf, born Adeline Virginia Stephens in London (1882), best-known for her novels To the Lighthouse (1927), and Mrs. Dalloway (1925) and for her essay, A Room of One's Own (1929).Her home at 46 Gordon Square, in the Bloomsbury section of London, became the regular meeting place of the writers and intellectuals that became known as the Bloomsbury Group. In 1941, she drowned herself in the River Ouse, leaving behind a note for her husband, Leonard: "I have a feeling I shall go mad.I cannot go on longer in these terrible times.I hear voices and cannot concentrate on my work.I have fought against it, but cannot fight any longer.I owe all my happiness to you but cannot go on and spoil your life." It's the birthday of writer and dramatist W. Somerset Maugham, born at the British Embassy in Paris (1874), where his father worked as an attorney. His best known novel is a thinly disguised autobiography, Of Human Bondage (1915). Despite his worldly success and great popularity, Maugham was conscious that he was not a great writer, and wrote in his autobiography that he "stood in the very first row of the second-raters." It's the birthday of poet Robert Burns, born in Alloway, Scotland (1759). He was the son of a poor farmer, the oldest of seven children; when his father died, he inherited the farm, but soon lost it. In his 37 years, Burns managed a fierce amount of both work and carousing. He's best known for the hundreds of songs he wrote or adapted—though he was tone deaf, and couldn't sing very well himself. Had we never lov'd sae kindly, Tonight is celebrated as Burns Night in Scotland, celebrating the birthday of Robert Burns (1759). "Burns suppers" are held across the Scotland; participants will rise to read Burns' poetry and to toast the queen, the laddies, and the lassies.The main dish is haggis, the traditional Scottish dish, and at some point during the evening, a single bagpiper will play "Pipin' in o' the Haggis" and someone will read Burns' poem, "Address to the Haggis," which ends: "Ye Pow'rs, wha mak mankind your care Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.® Share The Writer's Almanac with Garrison Keillor If you are a paid subscriber to The Writer's Almanac with Garrison Keillor, thank you! Your financial support is used to maintain these newsletters, websites, and archive. If you’re not yet a paid subscriber and would like to become one, support can be made through our garrisonkeillor.com store, by check to Prairie Home Productions, P.O. Box 2090, Minneapolis, MN 55402, or by clicking the SUBSCRIBE button. This financial support is not tax deductible.
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