“A Conflicted, Imperfect Love.” Jesmyn Ward on William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying
“I realized he was kin in telling this complicated, complex story that is Mississippi.” (from the archives)
Mississippi at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subjects/search/?query=mississippi
In Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein,’ the Titular Scientist Laments His Nightmarish Creation. But the Real World Can’t Get Enough of His Monster
by Kayla Randall
Frankenstein at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/84
"The strongest of all psychic forces in the world is unsatisfied desire."
A Glastonbury Romance
English novelist John Cowper Powys died #OTD in 1963.
He appeared with a volume of verse in 1896 and a first novel in 1915, but gained success only with his novel Wolf Solent in 1929. He has been seen as a successor to Thomas Hardy, and Wolf Solent, A Glastonbury Romance, Weymouth Sands, and Maiden Castle have been called his Wessex novels.
With My Own Hand: Ashley Douglas on Scotland’s 16th-century Sappho
22 July, Lighthouse Bookshop, Edinburgh – £0/£4/£22 (with book)
Ashley Douglas tells the story of Marie Maitland (c1550–1596), the Maitland manuscript, & Marie’s secret lesbian love poetry
#Scottish #literature #earlymodern #poetry #16thcentury #lesbian #queerlit #womenwriters #sapphic
"To dwellers in a wood almost every species of tree has its voice as well as its feature."
Opening line.
#OTD in 1872.
Thomas Hardy's second novel (and the first set in Wessex), Under the Greenwood Tree: A Rural Painting of the Dutch School, is published in London (as "by the author of Desperate Remedies").
A movie (1929) was made based on this book, directed by Harry Lachman and starring Marguerite Allan, Nigel Barrie and Wilfred Shine.
Somhairle MacGill-Eain (Sorley MacLean, 1911–1996), one of the greatest European poets of the 20th century, was born #OTD, 26 Oct. A 🎂 🧵
Watch “Sorley MacLean’s Island” via the National Library of Scotland – Sorley MacLean in conversation with fellow writer Iain Crichton Smith
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https://movingimage.nls.uk/film/3141
#Scottish #literature #Hebrides #Skye #Raasay #Gaelic #Gaidhlig #poetry #20thcentury #modernism
#OTD "in 1917, Virginia Woolf and Leonard Woolf purchase a used handpress. A month later, Hogarth Press is born."
https://lithub.com/lit-hub-daily-march-23-2026/
Books by Woolf at PG:
In Gránada, in Gránada,
They dumbed the mou o a makar,
In Gránada, in Gránada,
They strak doun Garcia Lorca…
—“In Gránada, in Gránada (Llanto por Federico Garcia Lorca)”, by Syndey Goodsir Smith (1915–1975) – a major figure in the 20th-century Scottish renaissance, born #OTD, 26 Oct
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https://asls.org.uk/publications/books/volumes/a-kist-o-skinlan-things/
#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #Scots #Scotslanguage #20thcentury #Lorca
To Haunt and Be Haunted: On the Exhumation of Edgar Allan Poe
Ed Simon Explores the Terror of Being Buried Alive and Americanism in Poe’s Work
https://lithub.com/to-haunt-and-be-haunted-on-the-exhumation-of-edgar-allan-poe/
Edgar Allan Poe at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/481
What Is the Symbolism of the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland?
"Many of Lewis Carroll’s characters have been analyzed as symbolic, and one of the most captivating is the time-obsessed White Rabbit, whose sudden appearance in Alice’s world serves as the catalyst for her extraordinary adventures."
https://www.thecollector.com/symbolism-white-rabbit-alice-in-wonderland/
Alice in Wonderland at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=alice+in+wonderland
Scottish poet and writer Thomas Campbell died #OTD in 1844.
In 1799 he wrote Pleasures of Hope, a traditional 18th-century didactic poem in heroic couplets. He also produced several patriotic war songs— "Ye Mariners of England", "The Soldier's Dream", "Hohenlinden" and, in 1801, The Battle of the Baltic, but was no less at home in delicate lyrics such as "At Love's Beginning".
Books by Thomas Campbell at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/7520
"Remember, to the last, that while there is life there is hope."
English novelist and social critic Charles Dickens died #OTD in 1870.
Dickens edited a weekly journal for 20 years; wrote 15 novels, five novellas, hundreds of short stories and nonfiction articles; lectured and performed readings extensively; was an indefatigable letter writer; and campaigned vigorously for children's rights, education, and other social reforms.
Charles Dickens at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/37
French poet and novelist Marceline Desbordes-Valmore was born #OTD in 1786.
Marceline Desbordes-Valmore published her first book of poetry, "Élégies et romances," in 1819. She was highly regarded by her contemporaries, including Victor Hugo and Alphonse de Lamartine. Her work influenced later poets, including Paul Verlaine and the Symbolists, who admired her emotional expressiveness and musicality.
Books by Marceline Desbordes-Valmore at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/5436
#OTD in 1915.
P. G. Wodehouse's novel Something Fresh (first published as "Something New" in the United States) is serialized in The Saturday Evening Post (U.S.), introducing the character of Lord Emsworth of Blandings Castle. It first appears in book form on September 3 in New York, from D. Appleton & Company, and on September 16 in London, from Methuen.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Something_Fresh
Something New at PG:
https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/2042
Fallout 4 meets Project Gutenberg in this ‘classic literature’ mod
Pride & Prejudice & Radroaches.
By Andrew Heaton
https://www.destructoid.com/fallout-4-meets-project-gutenberg-in-this-classic-literature-mod/
#OTD in 1948.
Shirley Jackson's short story "The Lottery" is published in The New Yorker magazine.
The story describes a fictional small American community that observes an annual tradition known as "the lottery", which is intended to ensure a good harvest and purge the town of bad omens. Jackson and The New Yorker were both surprised by the initial negative response from readers.
“Funes the Memorious" and Other Cases of Extraordinary Memory
In Jorge Luis Borges's story of barely 12 pages, the celebrated writer plays with the infinite in a context of vast labyrinths of memory and the consequences of having an unlimited capacity to remember.
https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/borges-memory-funes-the-memorious/
Books by Pliny, the Elder at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/50041
Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer Jean-Jacques Rousseau was born #OTD in 1712.
In the literary sphere, Rousseau enjoyed great success with his epistolary novel Julie ou la nouvelle Héloïse, one of the best-selling works of the 18th century. In Les Confessions and Les Rêveries du promeneur solitaire, he delves deeply into his innermost feelings.
Books by Jean-Jacques Rousseau at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/1286
The Enduring Legacy of Suetonius, Rome’s Most Controversial Biographer
"The imperial biographer Suetonius is an important source for the lives of the Caesars, but how reliable are his accounts based on gossip and sensationalism?"
https://www.thecollector.com/suetonius-roman-imperial-biographer/
Suetonius at PG
German philosopher and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt was born #OTD in 1767.
In 1810, Humboldt founded the University of Berlin. He made significant contributions to the field of linguistics and he is considered one of the early proponents of the idea of a universal grammar, suggesting that underlying structures are common to all languages. His philosophical work often intersected with his ideas on language and education.
Wilhelm von Humboldt at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/1995
English poet & novelist Walter de la Mare died #OTD in 1956.
He is best remembered for his works for children, for his poem The Listeners, & for his psychological horror short fiction, including Seaton's Aunt & All Hallows. In 1921, his novel Memoirs of a Midget won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction, & his post-war Collected Stories for Children won the 1947 Carnegie Medal for British children's books.
Books by Walter de la Mare at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/1108
Swedish poet and writer Hedvig Charlotta Nordenflycht died #OTD in 1763.
Nordenflycht's literary debut came with the publication of "Den sörgande turturduvan" (The Mourning Turtle-Dove) in 1743, a collection of elegies mourning her husband's death. Nordenflycht's contributions to Swedish literature and her pioneering role in advocating for women's intellectual rights have been recognized posthumously.
In to thir dirk and drublie dayis,
Quhone sabill all the hewin arrayis
With mystie vapouris, cluddis and skyis,
Nature all curage me denyis
Off sangis, ballattis, and of playis…
—William Dunbar (c.1459–1530), “Meditatioun in Wyntir”
Full text with glosses available online (poem no. 15)
https://metseditions.org/read/Kk2rqEDflvYQH57qHG5EqhWNP2p8v3y
#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #winter #15thcentury #medieval #Scots #Scotslanguage
“Hogg defied categorisation. A prolific poet, songwriter, playwright, novelist, short story writer & parodist, he wrote with equal skill in Scots & English”
James Hogg, AKA “the Ettrick Shepherd” (1770–1835, DOB unknown) was baptised #OTD, 9 Dec
🧵
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#Scottish #literature #JamesHogg #romanticism #gothic #18thcentury #19thcentury
"The most violent element in society is ignorance..."
Anarchism and Other Essays
Lithuanian-born anarchist revolutionary, political activist, and writer Emma Goldman was born #OTD in 1869.
In 1906, she founded the anarchist journal "Mother Earth," which became a key platform for anarchist ideas and social critique. In 1919, due to her anti-war stance and anarchist activities, Goldman was deported to Russia during the Red Scare.
Emma Goldman at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/840
![Something Fresh is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published as "Something New" in the United States, by D. Appleton & Company on 3 September 1915.[1] It was published in the United Kingdom as "Something Fresh" by Methuen & Co. on 16 September 1915. There are a number of differences between the American and British versions, but essentially, it is the same book. The novel introduces Lord Emsworth of Blandings Castle, whose home and family reappear in many of Wodehouse's later short stories and novels.](/proxy/post_attachment/276251/09248cb016cb22276ec4a080cb4c26ce.jpg "Something Fresh is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published as \"Something New\" in the United States, by D. Appleton & Company on 3 September 1915.[1] It was published in the United Kingdom as \"Something Fresh\" by Methuen & Co. on 16 September 1915. There are a number of differences between the American and British versions, but essentially, it is the same book. The novel introduces Lord Emsworth of Blandings Castle, whose home and family reappear in many of Wodehouse's later short stories and novels.")
