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The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, March 31, 2025

Posted on March 31, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It is the birthday of Ukrainian-born Russian humorist, novelist, and dramatist Nikolai Gogol, born in the Cossack village of Sorochintsy in 1809. His mother was a descendant of Polish nobility, and his father was a poet and playwright. As a boy, Gogol helped his uncle stage Ukrainian plays in his home theatre, and he also discovered he had a gift for mimicry, so he considered becoming an actor, but his audition was unsuccessful.

The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, March 30, 2025

Posted on March 30, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of Vincent Van Gogh, born in Zundert, Holland (1853). He’s the painter of sunflowers and starry nights whose work was just beginning to be acknowledged when he committed suicide at the age of 37. His brother Theo was an art dealer, and for years he had supplied Van Gogh with a small monthly stipend; in return, Van Gogh gave his brother every canvas he painted.

The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, March 29, 2025

Posted on March 29, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

On this day in 1912, Captain Robert Falcon Scott wrote the last entry in his diary. Scott is remembered for his bravery in losing the race to the South Pole. His first expedition on the Discovery (1901-04) took him within 450 miles of the South Pole before he had to turn back. He later led the Terra Nova expedition, which reached the pole in January 1912 — only to discover that Norwegian Roald Amundsen had been there a month earlier.

The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, March 28, 2025

Posted on March 28, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s is the birthday of Nelson Algren, born Nelson Algren Abraham in Detroit (1909). He grew up in Chicago’s immigrant neighborhoods. He became known as a writer of Chicago. “People ask me why I don’t write about nature or the suburbs,” he once said. “If a writer could write the truth about one Chicago street, that would be a good life’s work.”

The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, March 27, 2025

Posted on March 27, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

On this date in 1915, the woman known as “Typhoid Mary” was put into quarantine in a cottage in the Bronx. Her name was Mary Mallon, and she worked as a cook in various wealthy households around New York City. Every household she worked in seemed to suffer an outbreak of typhoid fever. A doctor named George Soper noticed this strange pattern of outbreaks among the wealthy.

The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, March 26, 2025

Posted on March 26, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of the poet who said: “The ear is the only true writer and the only true reader.” That’s Robert Frost, born in San Francisco (1874). After his father died of tuberculosis, Frost’s mother moved the family to Lawrence, Massachusetts, where Robert’s paternal grandparents lived. Frost went to Dartmouth, but left after a couple of months. He returned home and worked odd jobs, but he resented them all, believing that his true calling was to be a poet.

The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, March 25, 2025

Posted on March 25, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of the feminist writer and activist who said, “A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle”: Gloria Steinem, born in Toledo, Ohio (1934). Her father was an antique dealer and a summer resort operator who traveled all over the country in a trailer, looking for new business ventures. Steinem said, “He was always going to make a movie, or cut a record, or start a new hotel, or come up with a new orange drink.”

The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, March 24, 2025

Posted on March 24, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of the poet, publisher, and bookstore owner Lawrence Ferlinghetti, born in Yonkers, New York (1919). His father died five months before Ferlinghetti was born, and his mother was so devastated by the loss that she had to be committed to the state mental hospital. Young Lawrence was sent to live with his aunt in France.

The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, March 23, 2025

Posted on March 23, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of Fannie Merritt Farmer, born in Boston (1857). She published the first cookbook in American history that used precise cooking instructions and level measurements. Her cookbook was filled with recipes and also advice on how to set a table, scald milk, cream butter, and remove stains.

The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, March 22, 2025

Posted on March 22, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of the man who said, “My poetry is suburban, it’s domestic, it’s middle class, and it’s sort of unashamedly that, but I hope there’s enough imaginative play in there that it’s not simply poems about barbecuing.” That’s the poet Billy Collins, born in New York City (1941). He was an only child. Before he even knew how to read, he would page through books and pretend that he was reading whenever his parents had company.

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