I regret to tell you that I’m going to have to hit the pause button on the Pocket University Guide to Daily Readings (1925). I enjoy doing them, and I frequently learn something, but it takes a tremendous amount of time to do them properly. I usually schedule at least three to five of them
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Today in the year 1793 Felicia Dorothea Hermans was born. That infallible source: Felicia Dorothea Hemans (25 September 1793 – 16 May 1835) was an English poet. Two of her opening lines, “The boy stood on the burning deck” and “The stately homes of England”, have acquired classic status. Her poetry was considered morally exemplary, and
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We touched on Alfred Noyes not too long ago. But I just came across this Bio at Poetry Foundation. Extraordinarily prolific and decidedly popular among the reading public, Alfred Noyes enjoyed a full-fledged career as a writer and as an intellectual when few people of the era could depend solely on the writing craft to
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On this day in 1846 the Battle of Monterey was fought. That infallible source [not going to research the differences in spelling]: In the Battle of Monterrey (September 21–24, 1846) during the Mexican–American War, General Pedro de Ampudia and the Mexican Army of the North was defeated by the Army of Occupation, a force of United States Regulars, Volunteers and Texas Rangers under the command of General Zachary Taylor.
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Daily Reading Wordsworth’s My Heart Leaps Up Laodamia There Was a Boy My Heart Leaps Up My heart leaps up when I beholdA rainbow in the sky:So was it when my life began;So is it now I am a man;So be it when I shall grow old,Or let me die!The Child is father of the
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Today in the year 1832 Sir Walter Scott died. That infallible source will refresh our memories, if needed. Scott himself is so good I’m giving him all of the space today. Daily Reading September 21 Sir Walter Scott [GDR directs to a few autobiographical letters, etc. See below.] The Maid of Neidpath [poem] Pibroch of
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I don’t normally do GDRs on the weekend but because of the glorious weather, I am making an exception. One of the readings for today is the poem “Autumn” by Thomas Hood. I liked it– it made me smile. We’ve talked about Hood before. He wrote The Song of the Shirt, remember? It was written
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I don’t know what happened but somewhere along the line this week the days got mixed up. No. I got the days mixed up. I shall correct. Yesterday, the 17th, we turned the page. It does not matter how many, but how good, books you have. Seneca I feel as if there should be a
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Baptized this day in 1685 John Gay. Born this day in 1861 Charles Battell Loomis. Born this day in 1880 Alfred Noyes. That infallible source: “John Gay (30 June 1685 – 4 December 1732) was an English poet and dramatist and member of the Scriblerus Club.” And it sounds as if he was something of a spendthrift. Pals with Alexander Pope.
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Daily Readings Wordsworth’s The Solitary Reaper Jonson’s Hymn to Diana Pindaric Ode Epitaph On the Countess of Pembrook Epitaph On Elizabeth H.L. The Solitary Reaper Behold her, single in the field,Yon solitary Highland Lass!Reaping and singing by herself;Stop here, or gently pass!Alone she cuts and binds the grain,And sings a melancholy strain;O listen! for the
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On this day in 1852 the Duke of Wellington died. On this day in 1321 Dante died. Daily Reading Tennyson’s Ode on the Death of the Duke of Wellington Longfellow’s Dante and Divina Comedia Parson’s On a Bust of Dante Final verse of On a Bust of Dante O time! whose verdicts mock our own,
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This is a perfectly delightful little book– so delightful that I’m not even going to call it a crappy old book! It is culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. Amazon Free on Kindle, paperback $5 That infallible source’s bio of Warner is woefully abbreviated. Let’s see
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Today in the year 1700 James Thomson was born. Daily Reading September 11 Rule Britannia [bit of history; scroll down for the lyrics] Collin’s On the Death of Thomson Lowell’s A Winter Ride MacKaye’s The Automobile FYI: I’m sure you expected as much. The Automobile Fluid the world flowed under us: the hills Billow on billow
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Today we turned the page on a new week at our Pocket University Guide to Daily Reading in 1922. The desire to have many books, and never use them, is like a child that will have a candle burning by him all the while he is sleeping. Henry Peacham Interesting… . That infallible source: Henry
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Today in the year 1583 Sir Humphrey Gilbert drowned. That infallible source: Sir Humphrey Gilbert (c. 1539 – 9 September 1583)[1] of Compton in the parish of Marldon and of Greenway in the parish of Churston Ferrers,[2] both in Devon, England, was an adventurer, explorer, member of parliament and soldier who served during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and was a pioneer of the English colonial empire in North
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On this day in 1886 Siegfried Sassoon was born. Siegfried. That’s a name you don’t hear much anymore. From that infallible source: Siegfried Loraine Sassoon, CBE, MC (8 September 1886 – 1 September 1967) was an English poet, writer, and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front,[1] he became one of the leading poets of the First World War. His
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On this day in history nothing happened. Nothing. The editors of The Pocket University Guide to Daily Reading (1925) made some curious choices. This one is a doozy. Queen Elizabeth– the original– was born on September 7 in the year 1533. Anniversaries and Holidays: A Calendar of Days and How to Observe Them (1928) directs
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Today we turned the page. Old wood best to burn; old wine to drink; old friends to trust; and old authors to read. Alonzo of Aragon Died today in the year 1883, Ivan Turgenieff. Russian novelist, short story writer, poet, playwright, translator and popularizer of Russian literature in the West. Snipetts from that infallible source: From 1838 until 1841
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Died this day in the year 1921, Austin Dobson. Huh. He was an engineer. “In December 1856 he entered the Board of Trade, gradually rising to the rank of principal in the harbour department, from which he retired in the autumn of 1901.” From that infallible source: His official career was uneventful, but as a poet
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Born this day in 1855 Simeon Ford. Here we go. Fifteen minutes later: The internet is a dump. Can’t find him anywhere in my crappy old books. Two pages of Amazon results & nothing more? A dump, I say. Daily Reading September 1 At a Turkish Bath The Discomforts of Travel Boyhood in a New
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