The Story of Writing

Archduke Franz Ferdinand is assassinated, European powers sign the Treaty of Versailles, and it's Mel Brooks' birthday - with a reading from his memoir "All About Me! My Remarkable Life in Show Business."

The birthday club includes Emma Goldman, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Helen Keller, and Grace Lee Boggs - with a reading from Boggs' "The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the 21st Century."

American soldiers arrive in France to join the Allies fighting WWI, the Allies that won Victory in Europe signed the charter creating the United Nations, Shirley Jackson's short story "The Lottery" was first published, J. K. Rowling published her first Harry Potter novel in the UK, and it's the birthday of Pearl S. Buck - with a reading from Buck's "My Several Worlds: A Personal Record."

Custer makes his last stand and the birthday club includes David Douglas and George Orwell - with a reading from Orwell's "1984."

The birthday club includes Ambrose Bierce and Mary Wesley - with a reading from Wesley's "The Camomile Lawn."

The U.S. approves its first birth-control pill, Title IX is amended, Nixon incriminates himself, and it's the 10th anniversary of Brexit - with a reading from Julie Phillips' "What Contraception Meant to a Century of Women Writers."

Establishing the U.S. Department of Justice and the Cuyahoga River catches on fire, again. This episode includes a reading from a speech in 1866 by Ohio Representative William Lawrence on the need for a Department of Justice.

Marie-Joseph Angelique is sentenced to death for burning Old Montreal, three voting-rights organizers are murdered in Mississippi, and it is Jean-Paul Sartre's birthday - with a reading from Sartre's "Nausea."

Samuel Morse gets the patent for the telegraph, the destructive Detroit race riot of 1943 begins, and it is the birthday of Lillian Hellman - with a reading from her book "An Unfinished Woman: A Memoir."

The first game of baseball, Juneteenth, and JFK's civil rights legislation - with readings from Ralph Ellison and JFK, himself.

Link to the Juneteenth reading list compiled by the National Museum of African American History and Culture

https://nmaahc.si.edu/visit/museum-store/juneteenth-reading-list

Napoleon Bonaparte is defeated at Waterloo, Charles Darwin learns that another naturalist is about to publish a theory of evolution nearly identical to Darwin's, England's PM Winston Churchill gives his speech now called "Their Finest Hour," and it is the birthday of Paul McCartney and Roger Ebert - with a reading from Churchill's speech "Their Finest Hour."

Sir Francis Drake makes a land claim on America's Pacific Coast that inspired the idea of Manifest Destiny. The Battle of Bunker Hill - the first salvo in America's Revolutionary War - begins near Boston, the Statue of Liberty arrives in New York Harbor, Nixon's so-called "plumbers" break into the Democratic Party headquarters in Washington D.C.'s Watergate Building, and U.S. legislators make Juneteenth a national holiday.

The first Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is formed, Abraham Lincoln gives his "A House Divided" speech, it is Bloomsday! And it is the birthday of novelist Joyce Carol Oates - with a reading from her book "Foxfire: Confessions of a Girl Gang."

England's King John signs the Magna Carta, Arlington National Cemetery is established, and the birthday club includes Josiah Henson and Harry Nilsson - with a reading from Nilsson's song "Everybody's Talking."

It's Flag Day in the U.S., Charles Babbage proposes his "difference engine," the Bear Flag Revolt made northern Mexico the U.S. state of California, and it is Harriet Beecher Stowe's birthday - with a reading from her landmark novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin."

Miranda rights become a requirement, Thurgood Marshall is nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court, "The New York Times" starts publishing the Pentagon Papers, and it is the birthday of poet William Butler Yeats. This episode includes a reading of the poem by Yeats "When You Are Old."

The state of Virginia adopts George Mason's Declaration of Rights, Anne Frank is given a blank diary for her 13th birthday, and SCOTUS announces its ruling in Loving v. Virginia, and the birthday club includes Rona Jaffe. This episode includes a reading from Jaffe's book "Class Reunion."

!!Content Warning!! This episode includes descriptions of suicide, racism, and murder as a hate crime

The story of a day: this day in 1963 began with the self-immolation of a Buddhist monk in Vietnam, it saw racism in the University of Alabama, a Presidential speech on the importance of enforcing civil rights protections, and the day ended with the murder of NAACP activist Medgar Evers.

The Salem Witch Trials result in executions and the birthday club includes Blues man Howlin' Wolf and author Saul Bellow. This episode includes a reading from Bellow's "Seize the Day."

France and China sign the Treaty of Tientsin - making Vietnam a French colony and the birthday club includes Cole Porter, Robert McNamara, and Jackie Wilson - with a reading from Porter's "Let's Do It, Let's Fall In Love."

James Madison proposes 12 Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, the Antiquities Act passes Congress, and George Orwell publishes his milestone novel "!984." It is Joan Rivers' birthday and this episode includes a reading from Orwell's "!984."

On Gwendolyn Brooks' birthday, we look at her writing and this episode includes a lengthy diatribe/response to a right-wing, disinformation piece.

The World War II Battles of Midway and D-Day are both tied to this day and the birthday club includes Alexander Pushkin, Angelo Moriondo, and Thomas Mann - with a reading from Pushkin's "Eugene Onegin."

Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin" is published, U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy is assassinated, "Tank Man" becomes a symbol for democracy by stopping a line of tanks in Tiananmen Square, and it is Federico Garcia Lorca's birthday, with a reading of his poem "Sonnet of the Sweet Complaint."

Winston Churchill addresses the House of Commons after the evacuation of Dunkirk, and June 4th in 1989 saw big changes in Beijing, Tehran, and throughout Poland and what was then called the "Eastern Bloc" - with a reading from Churchill's speech "We Shall Fight On the Beaches."

Peter Abelard becomes one of the first to use logic in order to understand faith. He was then tried and convicted of heresy.

This episode includes a reading from Abelard's book, "The Story of My Misfortunes."

England's lawmakers enflame American passions for revolution by expanding the Quartering Act and the birthday club includes Thomas Hardy, Dorothy West, and Norton Juster - with a reading from West's column in the Vineyard Gazette.

French poet Charles Baudelaire publishes his landmark book "Flowers of Evil," Senator Margaret Charles Smith gives her speech the "Declaration of Conscience," and the birthday club includes Charles Kay Ogden, Colleen McCullough - with a reading from Baudelaire's "Flowers of Evil."

The birthday club includes Walt Whitman, Fred Allen, Al Young, and Svetlana Alexievich - with a reading from Whitman's "Song of the Banner at Daybreak."

On his birthday, remembering the writer Countee Cullen, a major figure in the Harlem Renaissance. This episode includes a reading of Cullen's poem "Saturday's Child."

The birthday club includes Countee Cullen, James Chaney, and Idina Menzel - with a reading of Cullen's poem "Saturday's Child."

T. H. White, the storyteller who struggled - with a reading from his best-known work, "The Sword in the Stone."

Sojourner Truth gives her extemporaneous speech "Ain't I A Woman?" Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring" premieres, and Edmund Hilary and Tenzing Norgay reach the peak of Mt. Everest. The birthday club includes Bob Hope and T. H. White - with a reading from White's "The Sword in the Stone."

How the Sierra Club and Amnesty International were written into existence on the same day, though nearly 70 years apart - with a reading from John Muir's "My First Summer in the Sierra."

The Sierra Club and Amnesty International were written into existence. The birthday club includes Ian Fleming and Maeve Binchy - with a reading from one of John Muir's journal entries.

Extolling the writing - and wrath - of Julia Ward Howe - with a reading from her "Appeal to Womanhood Throughout the World."

Julia Ward Howe, her writing, and her call for equality and peace - with a reading from her "Appeal to Womanhood Throughout the World."

The House Committee on Un-American Activities holds its first session and the birthday club includes Miles Davis, Dr. Jack Kevorkian, and Raina Telgemeier - with a reading from Alan Hollinghurst's "The Line of Beauty."

Why did the Universalist Church consider Ralph Waldo Emerson a heretic? Maybe we should be glad it did...

The Constitutional Congress begins in Philadelphia, "Star Wars" hits movie screens, and the birthday club includes Ralph Waldo Emerson and Rosario Castellanos - with a reading from Emerson's "Self Reliance."