Classic Authors Birthday Almanac

[ConnieAnnKirk]

November 29:

Today is the birthday of Bronson Alcott.  His famous daughter, Louisa May Alcott, shared his birthday.  Strangely, she also died 2 days after her father did in March, 1888. 

Today is also the birthday of C. S. Lewis of Narnia fame.

[Laurel]

For those who might want to get just a taste of C.S. Lewis's writings, there's a great little book called A Year with C. S. Lewis  that gives a short reading for each day of the year. It makes a good Christmas present, too.

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ConnieK wrote:

November 29:

Today is the birthday of Bronson Alcott.  His famous daughter, Louisa May Alcott, shared his birthday.  Strangely, she also died 2 days after her father did in March, 1888. 

Today is also the birthday of C. S. Lewis of Narnia fame.

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[Everyman]

That's a neat idea for a gift.  (Or a self-gift!)  Thanks for the suggestion.

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Laurel wrote:

For those who might want to get just a taste of C.S. Lewis's writings, there's a great little book called A Year with C. S. Lewis  that gives a short reading for each day of the year. It makes a good Christmas present, too.

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ConnieK wrote:

November 29:

Today is the birthday of Bronson Alcott.  His famous daughter, Louisa May Alcott, shared his birthday.  Strangely, she also died 2 days after her father did in March, 1888. 

Today is also the birthday of C. S. Lewis of Narnia fame.

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[ConnieAnnKirk]

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Laurel wrote:

For those who might want to get just a taste of C.S. Lewis's writings, there's a great little book called A Year with C. S. Lewis  that gives a short reading for each day of the year. It makes a good Christmas present, too.

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Hey--thanks, Laurel!

[ConnieAnnKirk]

November 30th:

Today is the birthday of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, otherwise known as Mark Twain.  He was born in 1835.

Today is also the birthday of L. M. (Lucy Maude) Montgomery who wrote Anne of Green Gables.  She was born in 1874.

[Laurel]

If you have never read Punch, Brothers, Punch by Mark Twain, I dare you to read it now. It's very short, and I promise you will never forget it.

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ConnieK wrote:

November 30th:

Today is the birthday of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, otherwise known as Mark Twain.  He was born in 1835.

Today is also the birthday of L. M. (Lucy Maude) Montgomery who wrote Anne of Green Gables.  She was born in 1874.

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Message Edited by Laurel on 11-30-2008 12:54 PM

[ConnieAnnKirk]

December 3:

Today is the birthday of Joseph Conrad, the Polish novelist.  He was born Jozef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski in 1857 in what is now known as the Ukraine.  Heart of Darkness is his most well-known story.  It is the inspiration of many subsequent works, including the film, Apocalypse Now.

Message Edited by ConnieK on 12-03-2008 08:45 AM

[Everyman]

Heart of Darkness is his most well-known story.

More so, you think, than Lord Jim?

[Laurel]

Both are wonderful books. It boggles my mind to think that he did not speak English until he was an adult.

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Everyman wrote:

Heart of Darkness is his most well-known story.

More so, you think, than Lord Jim?

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[dulcinea3]

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Everyman wrote:

Heart of Darkness is his most well-known story.

More so, you think, than Lord Jim?

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It is to me.  I studied Heart of Darkness in high school, but have never read Lord Jim.  Moreover Apocalypse Now is a very famous and important movie, and it is widely known that it is an adaptation of Heart of Darkness.

[ConnieAnnKirk]

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Everyman wrote:

Heart of Darkness is his most well-known story.

More so, you think, than Lord Jim?

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Yes.

[Melissa_W Moderator]

Oh yeah, I'm pretty sure that HoD is the only Conrad on the AP English curriculum (or it was when I was in school) - I also run into a lot of teachers who buy HoD in bulk for classroom use.

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ConnieK wrote:

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Everyman wrote:

Heart of Darkness is his most well-known story.

More so, you think, than Lord Jim?

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Yes.

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[RTA]

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Everyman wrote:

Heart of Darkness is his most well-known story.

More so, you think, than Lord Jim?

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I would also argue yes.  Further, I think it the better book.  Last spring I spent about six weeks reading and rereading Heart of Darkness and discussing it by email, with a small group.  The project totally consumed me towards the end of the exercise.  (At one point, a friend who was not in the discussion, after I told him about my sleepless nights due to my preoccupation with the novel, responded: “I have this image of you squatting in your darkened living room, rocking on the balls of your feet, your arms hugging your legs, whispering ‘the horror, the horror.’”)  In that time, I probably read most of the book 10 times over—and some of the book dozens of times.  And despite pages and pages of shared emails and notes and musings, I never found the end of discovery in that compact story.  It’s truly a remarkable work.  I first read it in high school, and didn’t enjoy it at all.  I put it away on my shelf, because even then I was aware it was my shortcoming and not the story’s.  Ten years later, I’ve only begun to appreciate its significance. 

Though, Lord Jim definitely ranks among Conrad’s top works, of those that I’ve read. 

[Everyman]

Moreover Apocalypse Now is a very famous and important movie, and it is widely known that it is an adaptation of Heart of Darkness.

Perhaps not all that well known; I hadn't known it until it was mentioned here.  

[Everyman]

They are both in the Barnes and Noble Classics library, FWIW.

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pedsphleb wrote:

Oh yeah, I'm pretty sure that HoD is the only Conrad on the AP English curriculum (or it was when I was in school) - I also run into a lot of teachers who buy HoD in bulk for classroom use.

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ConnieK wrote:

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Everyman wrote:

Heart of Darkness is his most well-known story.

More so, you think, than Lord Jim?

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Yes.

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[Everyman]

Could that be HoD is preferred at least in part because it is considerably shorter than Lord Jim, and thus easier to fit into a high school curriculum? 

[Melissa_W Moderator]

What do you think I try and sell them?   I think HoD is a bit over-done sometimes, though - there were a few years where all you had to say was Kurtz, Heart of Darkness, or Apocalypse Now and I'd want to crawl under the carpet.  Now I think I'd be OK.

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Everyman wrote:

They are both in the Barnes and Noble Classics library, FWIW.

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pedsphleb wrote:

Oh yeah, I'm pretty sure that HoD is the only Conrad on the AP English curriculum (or it was when I was in school) - I also run into a lot of teachers who buy HoD in bulk for classroom use.

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ConnieK wrote:

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Everyman wrote:

Heart of Darkness is his most well-known story.

More so, you think, than Lord Jim?

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Yes.

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[ConnieAnnKirk]

December 7:

Today is the birthday of the American writer, Willa Cather.  She was born in Back Creek Valley, Virginia in 1873, but her family moved to Nebraska when she was still little.  Cather wrote several novels, including My Antonia; O, Pioneers!; and Death Comes for the Archbishop.

[Laurel]

Her short story Neighbor Rosicky is one of the finest ever written. I have long admired The Song of the Lark, too, and of course My Antonia. Death Comes for the Archbishop is on the to-be-read list in my head.

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ConnieK wrote:

December 7:

Today is the birthday of the American writer, Willa Cather.  She was born in Back Creek Valley, Virginia in 1873, but her family moved to Nebraska when she was still little.  Cather wrote several novels, including My Antonia; O, Pioneers!; and Death Comes for the Archbishop.

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[ConnieAnnKirk]

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Laurel wrote:
Her short story Neighbor Rosicky is one of the finest ever written. I have long admired The Song of the Lark, too, and of course My Antonia. Death Comes for the Archbishop is on the to-be-read list in my head.

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ConnieK wrote:

December 7:

Today is the birthday of the American writer, Willa Cather.  She was born in Back Creek Valley, Virginia in 1873, but her family moved to Nebraska when she was still little.  Cather wrote several novels, including My Antonia; O, Pioneers!; and Death Comes for the Archbishop.

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Thanks for mentioning these additional titles, Laurel!