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The Writer's Almanac from Tuesday, April 2, 2013
The Writer's Almanac from Tuesday, April 2, 2013"Briefcases" by Stephen Dunn, from New and Selected Poems 1974-1994. © Norton, 1994. ORIGINAL TEXT AND AUDIO - 2013 It's the birthday of the fairy tale writer Hans Christian Andersen, born in Odense, Denmark (1805), the son of an illiterate mother and a poor cobbler. He trained for the ballet, the stage and the opera, but when all of that failed, he settled on becoming a poet. His first novel gained him enough success that he was able to afford to travel, which would become his life-long passion. He left Denmark on thirty different trips, spending twenty years abroad, travelling as far as Constantinople. He was great self-promoter and befriended practically everyone of importance in Europe—artists, musicians, scientists, politicians and royalty. He wrote six novels and several travel books, thirty-five plays and a hundred and seventy-five fairy tales including "The Little Mermaid," "The Princess and the Pea," "The Emperor's New Clothes," "Thumbelina," and "The Ugly Duckling." He remained forever true to his humble background and believed status should be the right of everyone and not the privilege of the aristocracy. Today is the birthday of Giacomo Casanova, born in Venice (1725), the famous libertine. A compulsive gambler and restless man, he never settled into one occupation before tiring of it and moving on to the next thing — he earned a law degree, was a scribe to a Cardinal in Rome, joined the military, played violin in the theater, posed as an alchemist, translated the Iliad, spied for the government, and was a librarian. But he is best remembered for seducing many women, which he wrote about in his 12 volume, 3,500 page autobiography, The Story of My Life. Casanova wrote: "I loved, I was loved, my health was good, I had a great deal of money, and I spent it, I was happy and I confessed it to myself." Today is the birthday of Émile Zola, born in Paris (1840). He was inspired by reading Charles Darwin to try to apply scientific principles of observation to the practice of writing fiction. The result was a 20-novel cycle, a kind of fictional documentary about the influence of heredity and environment on an extended family. It was called Les Rougon-Macquart. Some of the novels of the cycle include The Drunkard (1877), Nana (1880), and Germinal (1885). Zola said, "One forges one's style on the terrible anvil of daily deadlines....The artist is nothing without the gift, but the gift is nothing without work." Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.® Friendship Sonnet Cards - Set #1 (8 horizontal cards)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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