NETTLES: A Launch & Showcase
16 Oct, Scottish Poetry Library, Edinburgh – free
Launching NETTLES, Nazaret Renea’s debut poetry collection, plus readings from four of the young poets taking part in Scotland’s Next Generation Young Makars scheme: Mattea Gernentz, Elissa Hunter-Dorans, Ben Mann & Caitlin Sherret.
#OTD in 1755. Samuel Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language is published in London.
Johnson's dictionary was not just a list of words with their meanings; it also included extensive quotations from various literary works to illustrate the usage of each word. It played a significant role in standardizing English spelling and usage, helping to establish a common linguistic framework for communication.
Books by Samuel Johnson at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/297
Spanish poet and man of letters Manuel José Quintana was born #OTD in 1772.
Quintana was known for his eloquent poetry and his active involvement in the political and cultural affairs of his time. One of Quintana's most famous works is his poem "La Pelayo," which celebrates the victory of the Spanish forces led by Pelayo over the Moors in the Battle of Covadonga in 722 AD.
Books by Manuel José Quintana at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=Manuel+Jos%C3%A9+Quintana&submit_search=Go%21
American journalist & writer of fiction & drama Richard Harding Davis died #OTD in 1916.
In addition to his work as a journalist, Davis was also a prolific author of fiction. He wrote numerous novels and short stories, many of which drew on his experiences as a war correspondent and adventurer. Some of his best-known works include "Soldiers of Fortune" (1897), "The Bar Sinister" (1903), and "The Lost Road" (1913).
Books by Richard Harding Davis at PG
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/181
April, the last full fixture of the spring:
“Feet, Scottish, feet!” – they rucked the fear of God
Into Blackheath. Their club was everything…
—“London Scottish”, by Mick Imlah (1956–2009) – born #OTD, 26 September.
Published in THE LOST LEADER (Faber, 2008)
1/5
https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/london-scottish/
#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #warpoetry #WW1 #rugby #LondonScottish
Christine de Pizan: Europe’s First Professional Female Writer
Christine used her pen to make a living at the French court, but even more pointedly, she used it to argue the value of educated women.
By: Emily Zarevich
https://daily.jstor.org/christine-de-pizan-europes-first-professional-female-writer/
Christine de Pizan at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/4613
Italian poet and librettist Pietro Metastasio died #OTD in 1782.
His librettos were characterized by their lyrical quality, emotional depth, and dramatic structure, which made them well-suited for musical adaptation. Some of his most famous works include "La clemenza di Tito," which was later set to music by Mozart, "Didone abbandonata," and "Artaserse."
Books by Pietro Metastasio at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/4069
Samuel Rutherford (S.R.) Crockett (1859–1914) was born #OTD, 24 Sep. A bestselling author in his lifetime of 60+ novels, he fell from fashion after WW1, and his books were dismissed as “kailyard”. But Tolkien cites Crockett as an inspiration, & in VIDA, or THE IRON LORD (1907) he possibly wrote the first car chase in fiction…
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https://1890s.ca/crockett_bio/
#Scottish #literature #19thcentury #20thcentury #Victorian #Edwardian #Tolkien
Brazilian novelist, short story writer and chronicler Raul Pompeia was born #OTD in 1863.
Pompeia was known for his innovative literary style and his exploration of themes such as social issues, psychology, and the complexities of Brazilian society. His most famous work is the novel "O Ateneu", published in 1888, which is considered one of the masterpieces of Brazilian literature.
Books by Raul Pompeia at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=raul+pompeia&submit_search=Go%21
Captain Smollett might be played by a felt frog, but Muppet Treasure Island is the truest movie adaptation because “it embraces the adventure and the spirit of Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel whole-heartedly”
Jim Henson (1936–1990) was born #OTD, 24 September.
https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/muppet-treasure-island-anniversary-best-adaptation
#Scottish #literature #film #movies #adaptation #RobertLouisStevenson #TreasureIsland #Muppets #JimHenson
mar a rachadh sinn, clann na dùthcha,
mach as a bhaile-mhór, air feasgar àrd
samhraidh…
—Aonghas MacNeacail, “feasgar samhraidh (do Dhaibhidh A. MacDhòmhnaill)”
from THE HUNTERIAN POEMS, ed. Alan Riach (Freight, 2015)
Today, 15 April, is World Art Day
https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/landscape-outside-glasgow-138431
#Scottish #literature #Gaidhlig #Gaelic #poem #poetry #art #painting #visualart #WorldArtDay
Aphra Behn, who died #OTD in 1689, was an English dramatist, fiction writer, and poet who was the first Englishwoman known to earn her living by writing.
One of Behn's most famous plays is "The Rover," a Restoration comedy first performed in 1677. In addition to her plays, Behn wrote novels and poetry. Her novel "Oroonoko", is considered one of the earliest English novels and is notable for its exploration of slavery and colonialism.
Aphra Behn at PG
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/2728
Spanish playwright, economist, mathematician, and politician José Echegaray was born #OTD in 1832.
One of his most famous plays is "El gran Galeoto", which explores themes of jealousy, honor, and redemption. Another notable work is "El loco Dios", which delves into the relationship between faith and reason. He won the fourth Nobel Prize for Literature in 1904, making him the first Spaniard to receive this award.
Books by José Echegaray at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/40983
"The mental features discoursed of as the analytical, are, in themselves, but little susceptible of analysis. We appreciate them only in their effects."
#OTD in 1841.
Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" appears in Graham's Magazine (Philadelphia), where he has become editor in February. It will be recognized as the first significant work of detective fiction.
The Murders in the Rue Morgue at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2147
#OTD in 1921.
The Hungarian Ferenc Molnár's play Liliom is first produced on Broadway in English. Liliom was a failure in Hungary when it was staged there in 1909, but not when it was staged on Broadway in an English translation by Benjamin Glazer in 1921. It was well known in its own right during the early to mid-20th century, but is best known today as the basis for the Rodgers and Hammerstein 1945 musical Carousel.
Liliom at PG:
https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/48749
Today, 16 October is World Food Day, & THE BOTTLE IMP invites you to an all-you-can-eat literary feast of Scottish literature – from medieval health food to vegetarianism in contemporary fiction, via gender, folklore, oysters, cocktails & more!
May contain nuts.
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English philosopher, critic of literature and theatre George Henry Lewes was born #OTD in 1817.
His works in philosophy of science, such as "The Biographical History of Philosophy" (1845), reflected his interdisciplinary approach, combining elements of literature, science, and philosophy. Some of his most notable books include Ranthorpe, Rose, Blanche and Violet, Life of Goethe, Comte's Philosophy of the Sciences.
Books by George Henry Lewes at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/3529
#OTD in 1907.
August Strindberg's A Dream Play (Ett drömspel, 1901) receives its first performance six years after it was written, at the Swedish Theatre (Stockholm), with his ex-wife Harriet Bosse in the leading rôle. Critics at the time noted that the demands of the play made it nearly impossible to mount a satisfactory production.
The Dream Play is available at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/45375
Danish author Karen Blixen was born #OTD in 1885. She is also known under her pen names Isak Dinesen, Tania Blixen, Osceola, and Pierre Andrézel.
Blixen is best known for Out of Africa (1937), an account of her life while in Kenya, and for one of her stories, Babette's Feast (1950). She is also noted for her Seven Gothic Tales (1934), Winter's Tales (1942), Last Tales (1957), Anecdotes of Destiny (1958) and Ehrengard (1963).
The Tragedy and Comedy of Don Quixote
How the Kidnapping of Miguel de Cervantes Shaped His Famous Novel
By Ed Simon
Don Quixote at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=don+quixote
From the Caribbean to Caledonia: Two National Bards in Conversation
In this special edition of the Scottish Poetry Library podcast, Scotland’s current Makar, Peter Mackay, & the former Poet Laureate of Jamaica, Lorna Goodison, discuss Robert Burns, Bob Marley, Dante’s Inferno, the Gaelic & Jamaican tongues, & much more
#Scottish #Jamaican #literature #Scotland #Jamaica #poetry #podcast #RobertBurns #BobMarley #Dante #Gaelic #Gaidhlig #language #minoritylanguages
"The Story of an Hour" written by Kate Chopin #OTD in 1894.
It was originally published in Vogue on December 6, 1894, as "The Dream of an Hour". It was later reprinted in St. Louis Life on January 5, 1895, as "The Story of an Hour".
https://anthologydev.lib.virginia.edu/work/Chopin/chopin-hour?view=pageImages
English poet Lord Byron died #OTD 200 years ago.
Some of his most famous works include the epic poem "Don Juan," the narrative poem "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage," and numerous shorter poems such as "She Walks in Beauty" and "When We Two Parted." Byron became involved in various political and social causes, including advocating for Greek independence from the Ottoman Empire.
Books by Lord Byron at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/1708
Lord Byron – “half a Scot by birth, and bred / a whole one” – died 200 years ago #OTD, 19 April 1824
This poem was written in a letter to Thomas Moore from Venice in 1817, when Byron was feeling particularly shagged out after Carnevale…
#Byron #LordByron #Scottish #literature #poetry #18thcentury #19thcentury #romanticism
1/4
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43845/so-well-go-no-more-a-roving
Glasgow, late September and the city I spoke of
in another country (its fierce sandstone
burning, its bombast of finials built on the heads of slaves
the monumental tower blocks of a later order
catching fire from the west as a plane comes in)…
—Gerrie Fellows, “Dream Cities”
published in The Body in Space (Shearsman, 2014)
