otd

1y

"There is not past, no future; everything flows in an eternal present."

James Joyce was born #OTD in 1882.

Together with Virginia Woolf and Dorothy Richardson, he is credited with the development of the stream of consciousness technique in which the same weight is given to both the internal world of the mind and the external world of events and circumstances as factors shaping the actions and views of fictional characters.

James Joyce at PG:
https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/1039

#books #literature

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1y

#OTD in 1920.

Beyond the Horizon, Eugene O'Neill's second full-length play, opens with a Morosco Theatre matinée in New York City, partly as a producer's experiment and partly to quiet the actor Richard Bennett, who sought to play the lead. Reviewers hail the play and O'Neill gains fame. It won the 1920 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyond_the_Horizon_(play)

Beyond the Horizon at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/58569

#books #literature #theatre

First edition cover of Beyond The Horizon.

The book has a simple yet classic design, with an orange dust jacket and black text. The title, Beyond The Horizon, is prominently displayed at the top in bold font.

Below the title, there is a quote that reads, "Can You Recall More Enthusiastic Comment Than This?" followed by a passage praising the significance and dramatic power of the play.

The book cover contains additional text describing the play as an "absorbing, significant, and memorable tragedy" and highlights Eugene O'Neill’s dramatic skill.

Towards the bottom, the author’s name, Eugene O'Neill, is displayed along with a mention of his previous work, The Moon of the Caribbees.

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1y

#OTD in 1852.

Alexandre Dumas, fils's stage adaptation of his 1848 novel La Dame aux caméllias is premièred at the Théâtre du Vaudeville in Paris.

Shortly thereafter, Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi set about putting the story to music in the 1853 opera La traviata, with female protagonist Marguerite Gautier renamed Violetta Valéry.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lady_of_the_Camellias

La dame aux camélias at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2419
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1608

#books #literature

Alphonse Mucha's poster for a performance of the theatrical version, with Sarah Bernhardt (1896).

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1y

#OTD in 1886.

The first performance of William Gillette's American Civil War drama Held by the Enemy is held at the Criterion Theater, Brooklyn, New York.

The play was a major step toward modern theater, in that it abandoned many of the crude devices of 19th-century melodrama and introduced realism into the sets, costumes, props, and sound effects.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Gillette

William Gillette at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/38243

#books #literature #theatre

Portrait of William Gillette, stage actor

Warner, Hartford - Storms, A. D. , ed. (1901) The Players Blue Book, Worcester, Mass: Sutherland & Storms

He is dressed in formal 19th-century theatrical or gentleman’s attire, possibly including a high-collared coat, waistcoat, and cravat.

Given the style of actor portraits of that era, he have a composed, dignified expression, gazing slightly away from the camera to convey a sense of character and gravitas.

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294d

But I am half a Scot by birth, and bred
A whole one, and my heart flies to my head,—

—from “Don Juan”, Canto X, by George Gordon, Lord Byron

The great Romantic poet George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron – Lord Byron – was born #OTD, 22 Jan, 1788

A 🎂 🧵

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#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #Byron #LordByron #romantic #romanticism #18thcentury #19thcentury

from “Don Juan”, Canto X
George Gordon Byron

And all our little feuds, at least all mine,
Dear Jefferson, once my most redoubted foe
(As far as rhyme and criticism combine
To make such puppets of us things below),
Are over: Here's a health to 'Auld Lang Syne!'
I do not know you, and may never know
Your face—but you have acted on the whole
Most nobly, and I own it from my soul.

And when I use the phrase of 'Auld Lang Syne!'
'Tis not address'd to you—the more's the pity
For me, for I would rather take my wine
With you, than aught (save Scott) in your proud city.
But somehow,—it may seem a schoolboy's whine,
And yet I seek not to be grand nor witty,
But I am half a Scot by birth, and bred
A whole one, and my heart flies to my head,—

As 'Auld Lang Syne' brings Scotland, one and all,
Scotch plaids, Scotch snoods, the blue hills, and clear streams,
The Dee, the Don, Balgounie's brig's black wall,
All my boy feelings, all my gentler dreams
Of what I then dreamt, clothed in their own pall,
Like Banquo's offspring;—floating past me seems
My childhood in this childishness of mine:
I care not—'t is a glimpse of 'Auld Lang Syne.'

And though, as you remember, in a fit
Of wrath and rhyme, when juvenile and curly,
I rail'd at Scots to show my wrath and wit,
Which must be own'd was sensitive and surly,
Yet 'tis in vain such sallies to permit,
They cannot quench young feelings fresh and early:
I 'scotch'd not kill'd' the Scotchman in my blood,
And love the land of 'mountain and of flood.'

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1y

#OTD in 1869.

Booth's Theatre opens on Manhattan with the owner, Edwin Booth, playing the male lead in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

Some reports said it was one of the most elaborate productions of Romeo and Juliet ever seen in America; it was certainly the most popular, running for over six weeks and earning over $60,000 (equivalent to $1,000,000 in 2023).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romeo_and_Juliet

Romeo and Juliet at PG:
https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/1513

#books #literature #theatre

An 1870 oil painting of Romeo and Juliet by Ford Madox Brown depicting the play's balcony scene.

In the painting, Juliet leans over a stone balcony, dressed in a flowing, golden-yellow gown, her expression a mix of longing and affection.

Romeo, clad in a deep red tunic, clings to the balcony’s edge, gazing up at her with passionate devotion.

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1y

#OTD in 1920.

Federico García Lorca's first play, The Butterfly's Evil Spell (El maleficio de la mariposa) is poorly received at its première in Madrid.

With only four performances, very poorly received by the public, including booing, it was a total failure for its author. The text, written in verse, is a parable about frustration, love and death; recurring themes in Lorca's work.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Butterfly%27s_Evil_Spell

Garcia Lorca at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/56772

#books #literature #theatre

Federico García Lorca. Huerta de San Vicente, Granada

Anónimo - https://www.museoreinasofia.es/coleccion/obra/federico-garcia-lorca-huerta-san-vicente-granada

He is shown smiling warmly, creating an inviting and expressive presence. His hair is neatly combed back, and he is wearing a dark shirt or jacket with an open collar.

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293d

One drops
in a bunker,
another on his doorstep,
Christmas morning, shovelling snow…

—Andrew Greig, “Norman’s Goodnight”
from This Life, This Life: New & Selected Poems 1976–2006 (Bloodaxe Books, 2006

Norman MacCaig (1910–1996) died #OTD, 23 Jan

https://poetryarchive.org/poem/normans-goodnight/

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #NormanMacCaig

Norman’s Goodnight
by Andrew Greig

One drops
in a bunker,
another on his doorstep,
Christmas morning, shovelling snow.

When I go
may it be like that,
a short fall down and out
while busy in open air –

like a pigeon, say,
winging it across clear sky,
sways then plummets,
brought down by stray buckshot.

And may there be time
to murmur as I fold
some word of thanks
and letting go –

like the last time I saw MacCaig
standing at his door;
as I turned the stair
his hand came up, waved:

Ta-ta. Ta-ta.
Masterly concision –
‘Thank you’ and
‘Goodnight’ in one.

I hope to be
even briefer as I fall:

Ta –

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1y

#OTD in 1455.

Traditionally the date of publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western book printed with movable type.

The Gutenberg Bible is an edition of the Latin Vulgate printed in the 1450s by Johannes Gutenberg in Mainz (Holy Roman Empire), in present-day Germany.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gutenberg_Bible

#gutenberg #movable_printing

The Gutenberg Bible, digitised by the HUMI Project, Keio University, July 2005; © National Library of Scotland

The Gutenberg Bible was the first book printed with moveable type. Printed in Mainz, Germany, around 1455 by Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of printing, and Johannes Fust.

One of around only 20 complete copies to survive out of the original 180. Two volumes. Also known as The 42-line Bible or The Mazarine Bible.

Page from the New Testament - Gospel according to Mark, contains handwritten red rubrics. Decorated initial M; historiated initial I depicting the evangelist St Mark writing the Gospel of Mark; St Mark's symbol is a lion.

Marginalia visible but faded through washing. https://digital.nls.uk/74624006

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1y

#OTD in 1898.

Émile Zola is imprisoned in France after writing J'Accuse…!, a letter accusing the French government of antisemitism and wrongfully imprisoning Captain Alfred Dreyfus.

He was sentenced to jail and was removed from the Legion of Honour. To avoid jail time, Zola fled to England. He stayed there until the cabinet fell; he continued to defend Dreyfus.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%27Accuse...!

J'Accuse at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/20974

#books #literature

Emile Zola photographié par Nadar en 1898.

The image is in black and white and shows Zola with a beard and round glasses, wearing a formal suit with tie.

His expression is serious and his gaze determined. His hands are crossed in a distinctive manner, highlighting a ring and bracelet visible on his fingers.

Front page cover of the newspaper L’Aurore of Thursday 13 January 1898, with J’accuse...!, the open letter written by Émile Zola to president Félix Faure about the Dreyfus affair. The headline reads "I accuse...! Letter to the President of the Republic".

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1y

#OTD in 1826.

In the Mexican Republic, lithographer Claudio Linati inaugurates El Iris, a "pocket sized" bi-weekly. It is in print until August 2, when its popularization of liberal ideas prompts the intervention of state censors.

It was founded as an illustrated literary review, with topics of interest to women. It included articles on poetry, theater and fashion, as well as portraits and biographies of heroes of the recent war of independence.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Iris

#books #literature

Cover of the Mexican journal El Iris from 3 May 1826.

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1y

#OTD in 1859.

German scholar Constantin von Tischendorf identifies portions of the mid-4th century Codex Sinaiticus (an uncial manuscript of the Greek Bible) at Saint Catherine's Monastery on Mount Sinai in the Khedivate of Egypt and arranges for its presentation to his patron, Tsar Alexander II of Russia at Saint Petersburg.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Sinaiticus

Tischendorf.IV.Monumenta Sacra Inedita. 1857-1870 at TIA:
https://archive.org/details/Tischendorf.iv.monumentaSacraInedita.newcollection.subscript.6vols.1857-1870/01.MonumentaSacraInedita.NCVA.FragEvangLucLibGen.v1.Tischendorf.Subsc.1857./mode/1up

#books #oldmanuscript

New Testament manuscript.

Book of Esther.

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97d

#OTD, 7 Aug, 1879, Robert Louis Stevenson boarded the SS Devonia to make the ten-day passage from Greenock to New York to pursue his thwarted relationship with Fanny Osbourne. In THE AMATEUR EMIGRANT he gives a vivid, sharp, & engaging account of his (impoverished) travels to & in America – read the first 5 chapters free 👇️

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#Scottish #literature #19thcentury #Victorian #travelwriting #RobertLouisStevenson #emigration

Book cover

Robert Louis Stevenson
The Amateur Emigrant
From the Clyde to Sandy Hook
Chapters I to V

On a blue-grey background, fading from dark to light from bottom to top, horizontal lines of blue-green spirals representing waves cover the bottom half of the page. The top line of spirals are coloured white.

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1y

#OTD in 1856.

Lewis Carroll chooses his pseudonym; on May 1 he takes up photography as a hobby. A romantic poem called "Solitude" appeared in The Train under the authorship of "Lewis Carroll". This pseudonym was a play on his real name: Lewis was the anglicised form of Ludovicus, which was the Latin for Lutwidge, and Carroll an Irish surname similar to the Latin name Carolus, from which comes the name Charles.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Carroll

At PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/7

#books #literature

Lewis Carroll self-portrait c. 1856, aged 24 at that time.

In the image, Carroll (whose real name was Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) appears as a young man with wavy, slightly unkempt hair.

His expression is serious and contemplative, with deep-set eyes and a focused gaze, reading a book.

He is dressed in formal Victorian attire, including a dark jacket, waistcoat, and a high-collared shirt.

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1y

#OTD in 1616.

Galileo Galilei is formally banned by the Roman Catholic Church from teaching or defending the view that the earth orbits the sun.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_affair#Inquisition_and_first_judgment,_1616

Galileo Galilei at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=galileo+galilei&submit_search=Search

#books #science #astronomy

Galileo before the Holy Office, a 19th-century painting by Joseph-Nicolas Robert-Fleury

Joseph-Nicolas Robert-Fleury - https://respvblica.com/galileo-galilei-before-the-holy-office-in-the-vatican-by-robert-fleury/

The artwork depicts the famous moment when the Italian astronomer and physicist Galileo Galilei stands before the Roman Catholic Inquisition, facing trial for his support of the heliocentric theory, which proposed that the Earth orbits the Sun.

The scene is rendered with dramatic realism, characteristic of 19th-century historical painting.

Galileo, an elderly man with a long white beard, appears dignified yet weary as he stands before a panel of stern-faced inquisitors. He is dressed in dark robes, a symbol of his scholarly status, while the members of the tribunal, seated in a semicircle, wear elaborate garments reflecting their authority.

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1y

American philosopher and psychologist Mary Whiton Calkins died #OTD in 1930.

Calkins' work informed theory and research of memory, dreams and the self. In 1903, Calkins was the twelfth in a listing of fifty psychologists with the most merit, chosen by her peers. Calkins was refused a Ph.D. by Harvard University because of her gender.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Whiton_Calkins

#psychology #philosophy #womeninStem

Mary Whiton Calkins (1863–1930)

Notman studio, Boston - http://www.feministvoices.com/mary-whiton-calkins/

Calkins is depicted as a dignified and composed woman, reflecting the professionalism and intellectual strength that defined her career.

She is dressed in late 19th- or early 20th-century attire, with a high-collared dress. Her hair is neatly styled, pulled back in a manner that emphasizes her serious and contemplative expression.

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1y

#OtD 4 Feb 1913 Rosa Parks was born. Often wrongly described as "quiet", she was actually a lifelong activist who supported Black power, Malcolm X and worked alongside the League of Revolutionary Black Workers in Detroit. More about the LRBW in our pod: https://workingclasshistory.com/2018/08/28/e12-the-league-of-revolutionary-black-workers-in-detroit/

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207d

Quintessential Romantic Lord Byron – “half a Scot by birth, and bred / a whole one” – died #OTD, 19 April, 1824

Byron included this #poem in a letter to Thomas Moore from Venice in 1817, when Byron was feeling particularly shagged out after Carnevale…

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https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43845/so-well-go-no-more-a-roving

#Scottish #literature #Byron #LordByron #romanticism #poem #poetry #19thCentury

So we’ll go no more a-roving
George Gordon, Lord Byron

So we’ll go no more a-roving
So late into the night,
Though the heart be still as loving,
And the moon be still as bright.

For the sword outwears its sheath,
And the soul wears out the breast,
And the heart must pause to breathe,
And Love itself have rest.

Though the night was made for loving,
And the day returns too soon,
Yet we’ll go no more a-roving
By the light of the moon.

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1y

Finnish priest, lyric and epic poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg was born #OTD in 1804 (Runeberg Day).

He is the author of the lyrics to Vårt land (Our Land, Maamme in Finnish) which became the Finnish national anthem. Runeberg was also involved in the modernization of the Finnish Lutheran hymnal and produced many texts for the new edition.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johan_Ludvig_Runeberg

Books by Johan Ludvig Runeberg at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/2842

#books #literature #poetry

Finnish poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg, 1804-1877. Portrait by Albert Edelfelt (1893).

This portrait of Runeberg depicts him as a dignified and intellectual figure, reflecting his literary influence and patriotic spirit. A well-known painting typically present him in formal 19th-century attire, with a contemplative expression, emphasizing his role as a writer and thinker.

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1y

#OTD in 1913.

Claudio Monteverdi's last opera L'incoronazione di Poppea was performed theatrically for the first time in more than 250 years.

Two versions of the musical score of L'incoronazione exist, both from the 1650s. The first was rediscovered in Venice in 1888, the second in Naples in 1930. The Naples score is linked to the revival of the opera in that city in 1651.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%27incoronazione_di_Poppea

Books about Monteverdi at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=monteverdi&submit_search=Search

#books #music #opera

Title page of the 1656 libretto of L'incoronazione di Poppea by Claudio Monteverdi and Giovanni Francesco Busenello.

The large "1642" is the year the opera premièred, not the year of publication of the libretto.

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290d

George Douglas Brown (1869–1902) was born #OTD, 26 January – best known for his 1901 novel THE HOUSE WITH THE GREEN SHUTTERS:

“…the TRAINSPOTTING of its day… an angry young man’s response to the misrepresentation of contemporary Scottish life”

A 🎂 🧵

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https://list.co.uk/news/39535/george-douglas-brown-the-house-with-the-green-shutters-1901

#Scottish #literature #20thcentury #modernism #postmodernism

Book cover

THE HOUSE WITH THE GREEN SHUTTERS

Cover image: A small window in a pale cream-coloured wall, with green shutters. One is half open, but we can only see darkness inside. In the foreground, a red-headed postman in a blue uniform, his eyes and mouth wide open in shock and horror, whirls away from the window, his body twisting as he turns and flees from what he has seen within.

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1y

#OTD in 1920.

An inaugural meeting of the Bloomsbury Group's Memoir Club is arranged by Mary MacCarthy in London.

Among the people involved in the group were Virginia Woolf, John Maynard Keynes, E. M. Forster, Vanessa Bell, and Lytton Strachey.

Virginia Woolf at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/89
John Maynard Keynes:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/6280
E. M. Forster:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/975
Lytton Strachey:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/576

#books #bloomsbury #literature

Left to right: Lady Ottoline Morrell, Maria Nys (neither members of Bloomsbury), Lytton Strachey, Duncan Grant, and Vanessa Bell.

Lady Ottoline Morrell – A patron of the arts and literature, she was known for her connections with the Bloomsbury Group but was not a formal member. She is elegantly dressed, reflecting her aristocratic background.

Maria Nys – A Belgian woman who later married Aldous Huxley, she was also not a member of the Bloomsbury Group but was part of their social circle.

Lytton Strachey – A writer and critic, famous for his ironic biographies and a key member of Bloomsbury. He is typically depicted with his distinctive beard and lean, intellectual look.

Duncan Grant – A prominent painter and designer, he was deeply associated with Bloomsbury and had a long relationship with fellow member Vanessa Bell.

Vanessa Bell – A painter and interior designer, sister of Virginia Woolf, and a central figure in the Bloomsbury Group. She is likely dressed in an artistic, bohemian style.

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207d

Marion Cleland Lochhead (1902–1985) was born #OTD, 19 April, in Wishaw. A founding member of Scottish PEN, Lochhead was a versatile figure of the 20th-century Scottish literary scene.

👇“Painted Things”, by Marion Lochhead – published in Painted Things & Other Poems (Gowans & Grey, 1929)

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #womenwriters #20thcentury

Painted Things
Marion Lochhead

I love painted things –
Bright wooden toys and boxes, coloured beads,
Shawls like a peacock's plumage, scarves like wings
Of birds that flaunt and flutter: all that breeds
Delight and thoughts fantastic. I love glass,
Deep-tinted, amethystine, fire-red, gold,
That throws dim, changing luminance as I pass,
And shifts, deploys like tapestries unrolled –
I love all these
Gay fantasies; but more I love the grey
Austere walls of cathedrals, the bare trees
That stand unmoved, with light and wing away.

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1y

"Thus the wise and worthy singer
Sings not all his garnered wisdom;
Better leave unsung some sayings
Than to sing them out of season."
Epilogue, line 20

#OTD in 1835.

The Finnish language epic poetry Kalevala, compiled by Elias Lönnrot from oral sources, is first published in the Grand Duchy of Finland, becoming influential in the Fennoman movement.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalevala

Kalevala at PG:
https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/5186

#books #literature #poetry

Inside front title page of The "Old" Kalevala, Finnish national epos, collection of old Finnish poems, by Elias Lönnrot. First edition; volume 1, 1835.

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1y

46 years ago today
The B-52's is the debut album of the American band The B-52s, released on this day in 1979, includes the singles Planet Clair and Rock Lobster

#punk #punks #punkrock #newwave #theb52s #history #punkrockhistory #otd

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