On This Day in Literary History [ Edited ]

[Paul_Hochman]

February 3, 1874

Gertrude Stein was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. Among Stein's famous quotes are "You are all a lost generation" and "There is no there there."

February 3, 1907

James Michener is born, although he would never know his parents or his exact place of birth. His Tales of the South Pacific laid the groundwork for Rogers and Hammerstein's South Pacific.

February 3, 1947

Paul Auster is born in Newark, New Jersey. Watch our exclusive inteview with Paul Auster and his daughter, Sophie.

February 3, 1948

Henning Mankell is born in Stockholm, Sweden. Mankell is not only the creator of the Kurt Wallander Series, he is married to film director Eva Bergman, daughter of Ingmar Bergman.

Message Edited by PaulH on 02-03-2009 10:58 AM

Message Edited by PaulH on 02-03-2009 10:58 AM

[kiakar]

Thanks Paul for this, I love trivia about books!

[Jon_B]

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PaulH wrote:

February 3, 1874

Gertrude Stein was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. Among Stein's famous quotes are "You are all a lost generation" and "There is no there there."

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I hate that "There is no there there" quote, because it has often been misinterpreted as an insulting remark about Oakland, California (where I once lived).  Many people from other parts of the Bay Area would reference it, thinking that she was saying Oakland barely qualified as a place, or something along those lines.  But all it really means is that she couldn't find her childhood home.

[Paul_Hochman]

February 4th, 1961

Stewart O'Nan is born. Read our interview with O'Nan.

February 4, 1968

Neal Cassady, Beat Generation icon, dies in Mexico. The Grateful Dead song "That's it for the Other One" remembers Cassady as "Cowboy Neal at the wheel of a bus to never-ever land" -- a direct reference to him being the wheelman of Ken Kesey's bus, Further.

February 4, 1995

Patricia Highsmith, creator of the evil Ripley, dies in Locarno, Switzerland. Highsmith was known for being cantankerous and was described by Otto Penzler as "a mean, hard, cruel, unlovable, unloving person".

[Paul_Hochman]

February 5, 1941

Andrew "Banjo" Paterson, Australian poet, dies in Sydney. "Banjo" is best known for his poem, Waltzing Matilda, which was later set to music becoming the "unoffical national anthem of Australia".

February 5, 1972

Marianne Moore, Amercian Poet, dies. Moore won the Pulitzer Prize in 1951 and threw out the first pitch of the Yankee's 1968 season.

[Vermontcozy]

Thank you for the Neal Cassady referance.one of my favorites.."Thats it for the other one" you Rock Paul .Will play the Dead today,.....vtc What band is your favorite from the 60's-early 70's..

[Paul_Hochman]

I'm a Deadhead through and through; my focus being the Pigpen years. I also love the Airplane, the Allmans, Janis, Jimi, etc.

On this Day in GD History

February 5, 1969

The Grateful Dead play Soldier's and Sailors Memorial Hall in Kansas City, KS. They actually opened for Iron Butterfly, one of the very rare bands that had a song (In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida) that was as long as Dark Star

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Vermontcozy wrote:
Thank you for the Neal Cassady referance.one of my favorites.."Thats it for the other one" you Rock Paul .Will play the Dead today,.....vtc What band is your favorite from the 60's-early 70's..

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[Paul_Hochman]

February 6, 1931

Rip Torn is born in Temple, Texas. In 1970, Torn attacked Norman Mailer with a hammer on the set of the film, Maidstone. Mailer retaliated by biting off a portion of Torn's ear.

February 6, 1995

James Merrill, American poet, dies in Arizona. Merrill's Black Swan and Other Poems was printed in 1946 in a limited edition run of just 100 copies and now fetches upward of $5000.

[Vermontcozy]

So many great ones,Jimi has always held a special place in my heart...The eagles as well...I read the Jimi Hendrix Storyy(not sure if its the right title) a friend lent it to me.. Have a good weekend VTC  

[Paul_Hochman]

February 7, 1812

Charles Dickens is born in Hampshire. For a truly fascinating look at the seamier side of Dickens’ life, don’t miss Dan Simmons’ latest novel, Drood, which tells the imagined tale from horror-master, Wilkie Collins’ point of view

 

February 7, 1885

Sinclair Lewis is born in Minnesota and is the first American writer to win the Nobel Prize.