On this day in 1933, Cormac McCarthy was born. The great American novelist moved around a lot, and served in the Air Force for four years. After returning to the University of Tennessee in 1957, he was awarded an Ingram-Merrill Award for …
Category: birthdays
Happy Birthday, Pablo Neruda: Quotes about Life (and Love)
Born in Chile on July 12, 1904, we recognize Pablo Neruda 112 years later as a political activist and eclectic poet. As a Communist holding several Chilean governmental posts, Neruda faced danger when Radical Party presidential candidate Gabriel González Videla turned …
Read More "Happy Birthday, Pablo Neruda: Quotes about Life (and Love)"
Happy Birthday, Beckett! Celebrate the (Absurd) “Waiting for Godot” Author
Samuel Beckett was a most interesting man—a fact that can be immediately confirmed by the author’s influential contributions to the Absurdist Movement (but we’ll get to what that is in a moment). Though born and raised in Ireland, Beckett fell in …
Read More "Happy Birthday, Beckett! Celebrate the (Absurd) “Waiting for Godot” Author"
Les Misérables: A Tale of Victor Hugo
In honor of what would be Victor Hugo’s 214th birthday (wow), enjoy a tribute to his most famous and longest-lived work, Les Misérables. Let’s start by defining what “les misérables” means. The literal translation is “the miserable ones,” but there remains the distinct possibility …
Happy Birthday, Shakespeare! 4 Ways to Celebrate the Bard
Today is the anniversary of the Bard’s birth. Check out ways to commemorate the day below, complete with cakes, quizzes, quotes and more. 1. Bake a Shakespeare-inspired birthday cake Introducing… Cakespeare! To celebrate Shakespeare’s b-day, the Victoria and Albert Museum …
Read More "Happy Birthday, Shakespeare! 4 Ways to Celebrate the Bard"
The Old Men and the Sea: 150 Hemingway Look-Alikes Descend on the Florida Keys
If you happened to be in Key West, Florida during the third week of July, you may have found yourself caught in a sudden and strange upsurge in the local population of white-bearded men sporting cable-knit fishermen’s turtlenecks. You may …
Read More "The Old Men and the Sea: 150 Hemingway Look-Alikes Descend on the Florida Keys"
Ten Things You (Probably) Didn’t Know About the Fourth of July
There are lots of things we expect on the Fourth: fireworks, friends, family. There are things we love (sparklers, Roman candles, cold beer) and things we despise (sauerkraut, ambrosia, Lee Greenwood… all right, haters… this was from a friend. Direct …
Read More "Ten Things You (Probably) Didn’t Know About the Fourth of July"
Big Brother, Where Art Thou?
Oh yes, there you are, with your party hat on. What with the recent NSA scandal, George Orwell’s dystopian caution that “Big Brother is watching you” has never seemed so relevant. In fact, sales of 1984 skyrocketed just after news …
