'i hope i die warmed by the life i tried to live.'
#art #history: please accept this quick scribbled birthday tribute to preeminent poet, essayist & activist, nikki giovanni (born #otd in 1943). as a member of the black arts movement, she became a leading light amongst the black power poets & at least one of her peers proclaimed her the 'poet of the black revolution'. she's also one of the only people i've seen leave james baldwin utterly tongue-tied.
#nikkiGiovanni #literature #illustration
literature
"When love meets death we know not what to feel.
When death foils love we know not what to know.
Now did his doubt hope, now did his hope doubt;
Now what his wish dreamed the dream's sense did flout
And to a sullen emptiness congeal.
Then again the gods fanned love's darkening glow."
ANTINOUS. English Poems
~Fernando Pessoa (13 June 1888 – 30 November 1935)
"Words are always getting conventionalized to some secondary meaning. It is one of the works of poetry to take the truants in custody and bring them back to their right senses. Poets are the policemen of language; they are always arresting those old reprobates the words."
Letter to Ellen O'Leary (3 February 1889)
~William Butler Yeats (13 June 1865 – 28 January 1939)
#OTD in 1863.
Samuel Butler's dystopian article "Darwin among the Machines" is published (as by "Cellarius") in The Press newspaper in Christchurch, New Zealand; it will be incorporated into his novel Erewhon (1872).
This article suggested that machines might be kind of "mechanistic life," undergoing, the spirit of Darwinian natural selection, a kind of constant evolution, and that machines might eventually supplant humans as the dominant species.
American writer and editor Lucretia Peabody Hale died #OTD in 1900.
Lucretia's most famous work is the series of humorous stories about the Peterkin family, which were originally published in magazines and later collected into books. As part of the broader movement for women's rights in the 19th century, Hale's writings and public activities contributed to the dialogue on women's education and social roles.
Books by Lucretia Peabody Hale at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/1092
"Saying good night to the mountains, the sun throws his most beautiful rays to them, that they may not forget him till the morning."
Heidi (1880)
~Johanna Spyri (12 June 1827 – 7 July 1901)
"The habit of dwelling on the past, has a narrowing as well as a debilitating influence. Behind us, there is a small, — an almost insignificant measure of time; before us, there is an eternity. It is the natural tendency of the mind to magnify the one, and to diminish the other."
Miscellanies (1836)
~Harriet Martineau (12 June 1802 – 27 June 1876)
In December 1926.
Thomas Mann begins writing Die Geschichten Jaakobs in Munich, first of the tetralogy Joseph und seine Brüder, on which he will work until January 1943.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_and_His_Brothers#
The tetralogy consists of:
The Stories of Jacob (written December 1926 to October 1930)
Young Joseph (written January 1931 to June 1932)
Joseph in Egypt (written July 1932 to 23 August 1936)
Joseph the Provider (written 10 August 1940 to 4 January 1943)
American illustrator, author, youth leader Daniel Carter Beard died #OTD in 1941.
In 1905, Beard founded an organization called "The Sons of Daniel Boone," which aimed to teach boys outdoor skills, woodcraft, and self-reliance. This organization was one of the first to emphasize the importance of outdoor education and adventure for youth. The Sons of Daniel Boone was later merged with the Boy Scouts of America.
Books by Daniel Carter Beard at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/8612
"It is the interest one takes in books that makes a library."
The Rest of My Life
American mystery author Carolyn Wells was born #OTD in 1862.
Wells is perhaps best known for her contributions to the mystery genre. She was particularly influential in the early development of American detective fiction. Wells also wrote numerous parodies and humorous pieces, often poking fun at literary conventions and popular culture.
Books by Carolyn Wells at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/1060
In July 1917
Siegfried Sassoon issues a "Soldier's Declaration" against prolonging World War I. He is sent by the military (with assistance from Robert Graves) to Edinburgh's Craiglockhart War Hospital, where Wilfred Owen introduces himself on August 18. At Sassoon's urging, Owen writes his two great war poems, "Anthem for Doomed Youth" and "Dulce et Decorum est", although like almost all his poetry they remain unpublished until after his death in action next year.
Greenlandic-Danish polar explorer and anthropologist Knud Rasmussen was born #OTD in 1879.
He went on his first expedition in 1902–1904, known as The Danish Literary Expedition, with Jørgen Brønlund, Harald Moltke and Ludvig Mylius-Erichsen, to examine Inuit culture and traditions. Rasmussen is best known for leading the Thule Expeditions, a series of seven major expeditions between 1912 and 1933.
Books by Knud Rasmussen at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/33593
"Words, the world so light esteemeth?
Lower yet,
words in poet’s stanza set!
O how frail your power seemeth,
to be fighting
for the truth mankind is slighting."
Norwegian writer, poet, playwright, historian Henrik Wergeland was born #OTD in 1808.
His poetry is often associated with the national romantic movement. He celebrated Norwegian nature, history, and folklore, contributing to the development of a distinct Norwegian cultural identity.
“[Milne’s] cryogenics story, ‘Ten Thousand Years in Ice’, in which a survivor from an ancient advanced civilisation is revived in the present, unintentionally became one of science fiction’s great literary hoaxes”
Robert Duncan Milne (1844–1899) was born #OTD, 7 June, in Cupar, Fife. He emigrated to the USA & became America’s first full-time writer of #sciencefiction
Italian philosopher, poet, essayist, and philologist Giacomo Leopardi died #OTD in 1837.
Around 1816, Leopardi experienced what he called his "literary conversion," shifting his focus from philological studies to poetry and philosophical reflection. His early lyrical poems, or "canti," began to reflect his developing philosophical ideas. In 1816 the idylls Le rimembranze and Inno a Nettuno were published.
Books by Giacomo Leopardi at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/8593
#OTD in 1893.
The Shelley Memorial is inaugurated at University College, Oxford, from which the poet was expelled in 1811. It is designed by Basil Champneys, with a reclining nude marble statue of Percy Bysshe Shelley by Edward Onslow Ford. Although Shelley was expelled from the college, he remains one of its most famous alumni and is now held in high honour there.
Shelley Memorial all washed up?
By Josh Pull via @Cherwell
https://www.cherwell.org/2005/04/22/shelley-memorial-all-washed-up/
“As recordações são os únicos belos astros que adornam a noite da velhice.”
Portuguese writer, poet, translator, and educator António Feliciano de Castilho died #OTD in 1875.
Castilho became a leading figure in the Portuguese Romantic movement. He was a prolific translator and his translations included works by Goethe, Lamartine, and Byron, among others. He also developed a method for teaching reading to the blind.
"Our national epic has yet to be written."
#OTD in 1904.
Irish author James Joyce begins a relationship with Nora Barnacle and subsequently uses the date to set the actions for his novel Ulysses; this date is now traditionally called "Bloomsday" in honour of the novel's main character Leopold Bloom.
Happy Bloomsday Day!
Ulysses is available at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/4300
French novelist, memoirist and journalist George Sand died #OTD in 1876.
Sand's writing combines elements of Romanticism and early Realism, with rich descriptions, strong emotions, and detailed character studies. Her novels often critique societal norms, particularly the limitations placed on women and the injustices faced by the lower classes.
Books by George Sand at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/851
"The most formidable weapon against errors of every kind is Reason."
The Age of Reason (1794)
Thomas Paine died #OTD in 1809.
He had a great influence on the thoughts and ideas which led to the American Revolution and the United States Declaration of Independence. He wrote three of the most influential and controversial works of the 18th Century: Common Sense, Rights of Man, and The Age of Reason.
Books by Thomas Paine at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/91
"Destiny and history are untidy."
Nightwood (1936)
American writer, journalist, and artist Djuna Barnes died #OTD in 1982.
"Ryder" was Barnes's first novel, a semi-autobiographical and highly experimental work. "Nightwood" is widely regarded as Barnes's masterpiece. The novel is a dense, poetic exploration of love, identity, and despair, set in the bohemian world of Paris and Berlin in the 1920s and 1930s.
Books by Djuna Barnes at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/51179
"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.
"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.
Romanian poet Mihai Eminescu died #OTD in 1889.
Eminescu's early poetry was influenced by Romanian folklore and classical literature. He began publishing poems in the late 1860s and quickly gained recognition for his talent. His studies in Vienna and Berlin brought him into contact with German romantic poets and philosophers, such as Goethe, Schiller, and Kant.
Books by Mihai Eminescu at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/37680
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