The Story of Writing

The first anti-discrimination law in the U.S. goes into effect - in Alaska. It is the birthday of hitmaker Otis Blackwell. And today's reading is from Elizabeth Peratrovich's argument to pass Alaska's anti-discrimination law.

It is the birthday of women's suffragist Susan B. Anthony and the anniversary of Christopher Columbus' letter revealing how little he knew of the places he saw. Also, a reading from Anthony's "On the Campaign for Divorce Law Reform."

The inventor of the typewriter and QWERTY keyboard was born on this day, as was reporter Carl Bernstein. And Voyager 1 took the picture titled "The Pale Blue Dot." Today's reading - about that dot - was written by astronomer and author Carl Bernstein.

Hundreds of the Knights Templar are arrested - inspiring superstition around Friday the 13th, ASCAP forms, the WWII firebombing of Dresden begins, Australia apologizes to the "Lost Generations," and it is the birthday of Eleanor Farjeon - and a reading of Gwendolyn Brooks' poem "We Real Cool."

Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin were born on this day in the same year. This episode looks at their decisions, written and otherwise, with readings from Darwin's "On the Origin of Species" and from Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address.

General Motors inadvertently makes the United Auto Workers a cohesive labor union, the Seabed Arms Control Treaty "opens" for signing, and the birthday club includes Joy Williams and Mo Willems - with a reading from Williams "The Quick and the Dead."

February 10th is the anniversary of the births of Puerto Rican historian Delma Arrigoitia, Russian author Boris Pasternak, and journalist William Allen White. This episode includes a reading from White's apologetic editorial for writing "What's the Matter with Kansas?"

Today marks the birthdays of American revolutionary Thomas Paine, singer-songwriter Carole King, and author Alice Walker. Today's episode includes readings from Paine's "The Rights of Man," and Walker's "The Color Purple."

On the birthdays of Jules Verne and Kate Chopin, a look at their work and how important they have become to the modern world - with a reading from Chopin's "The Awakening."

Today marks the birthdays of Sinclair Lewis and Karen Joy Fowler. And it is the day that the state of Mississippi approved the 13th Amendment - nearly 150 years after the end of the Civil War.

It is the birthday of paleoanthropologist Mary Leakey. This episode also includes Francois Truffaut, Bob Marley, and Michael Pollan - with a reading from Leakey's "Vanishing African Art."

It is William S. Burroughs' birthday and the anniversary of invoking the Asiatic Barred Zone Act - one of the more brazenly bigoted pieces of U.S. legislation. This episode includes a reading from one of Burroughs' letters about love.

It is the birthday of Civil Rights icon Rosa Parks and the birthday of Women's Rights icon Betty Friedan - and we hear a reading from "Rosa Parks: My Story."

Historian E. P. Thompson was born on this day, James Michener, too, and the 15th Amendment grants the right to vote to all men in the U.S.

Ayn Rand was born on this day, the man who served as the role model for Robinson Crusoe was rescued after being stranded on an island for four years, and the serum run delivers its important diphtheria medicine to Nome. All that and a reading from Rand's "Atlas Shrugged."

President Abraham Lincoln signs the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery, the Oxford English Dictionary publishes its first volume ("A to Ant"), Puccini's "La Boheme" premiers, the Voice of America begins broadcasting into Germany, Italy, and Japan, and the sit-ins at Woolworths (and other) lunch counters begin in Jonesboro, North Carolina. It is also the birthday of poet and...

The birthday club includes John O'Hara and Alan Lomax. This episode also includes a reading from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's "We Should All Be Feminists."

It is The Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution. How this came to be is a good story.

The birthday club includes W. C. Fields, Muna Lee, and Edward Abbey - with a reading from Abbey's classic book "The Monkey Wrench Gang."

Jane Austen publishes her masterpiece "Pride and Prejudice," and it is David Lodge's birthday - with a reading from "Pride and Prejudice."

Dante Alighieri is exiled from Florence, the Paris Peace Accords end armed combat in Vietnam, the U.S. National Recording Preservation Board announces the first 50 recordings selected for preservation, and it's the birthday of Lewis Carroll - the pen name of Charles Dodgson. This episode includes a reading from Carroll's classic "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland."

The birthday club includes Angela Davis and Jonathan Carroll - with a reading from Davis' book "Are Prisons Obsolete?"

Scottish poet Robert Burns, the playwright W. Somerset Maugham, and the insightful writer Virginia Woolf were born on this day - and we hear a reading of Burns poem "A Red, Red Rose."

Born on this day: Signe Rink and Edith Wharton - with a reading from Wharton's "The Age of Innocence."

Francois Rabelais publishes the book that became central to Enlightenment thinking, Blaise Pascal writes the first of his "Provincial Letters," and this episode includes a reading from Agatha Christie's "Murder in Mesopotamia."