Euripides, born near Athens in 480 B.C.E. Of the three poets of Greek tragedy whose plays survive, Euripides’ plays survive in the greatest number. He probably wrote 92 plays, and 19 of them have been preserved. Compared to other tragedians, Euripides portrayed the gods as much more petty and uncaring, and he made his characters […]
J.D. McClatchy, born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania (1945). He said: “I prefer formal techniques, and use sonnets and rhyme, any manner of scheme to give a shape and order — of feeling as well as argument — to a poem.” His books include Scenes from Another Life (1981), Hazmat (2003), and Mercury Dressing (2009). He died last April.
Heather McHugh, born in San Diego, California (1948). She said: “I have always lived on waterfronts. If you live on the edge of an enormous mountain or an enormous body of water, it’s harder to think of yourself as being so important. That seems useful to me, spiritually.” She went to Harvard when she was […]
It’s the birthday of scholar and critic Henry Louis Gates, Jr., born in Keyser, West Virginia (1950). He is known for his books on literary history, and he wrote about the life and work of Phillis Wheatley, the first published black poet in the United States. In the winter of 2001, Gates was looking through a New York auction […]
It’s the birthday of the youngest woman ever to receive the Booker Prize: Kiran Desai, born in New Delhi, India (1971) Kiran Desai said: «Writing, for me, means humility. It’s a process that involves fear and doubt, especially if you’re writing honestly.»
Great minds that are healthy are never concidered geniuses, while this sublime qualification is lavished on brains that are often inferior but are slightly touched by madness.-G de Maupassant.
The ideals wich have lighted my way, and time after time have given me new courage to face life cheerfully, have been Kindness, Beauty and Truth.-Albert Einstein