Anniversaries - November 28, 2020
It is 227 years today since Carl Jonas Love Almqvist was born.
Swedish author, born in Stockholm and raised at the estate of Antuna some distance to the north of the city. The father belonged to a well-known family of public officials. After studies at home Almqvist went to Uppsala, became a schoolmaster, and worked the next few years as a tutor and public official in Stockholm. He was early on influenced by Herrnhutism and Swedenborg. In 1823, he left his...
It is 263 years today since William Blake was born.
The English author and artist William Blake was born and spent most of his life in London. His father was a hosier, but his son was neither interested in following in his father’s footsteps nor in attending school. He began to see angels from early childhood and he had a life-long interest in mysticism that led him to the Gnostics, the Kabbalah, Paracelsus and Swedenborg. When he was fifteen, B...
It is 139 years today since Stefan Zweig was born.
The Austrian novelist, poet and playwright Stefan Zweig was born in Vienna to a wealthy Jewish family. He studied philosophy, literature and history and the universities of Vienna and Berlin. His 1904 dissertation was on the philosopher Taine. He was stripped of his doctorate in 1941, a decision that was not reversed until 2003.
Zweig travelled extensively around the world from an early age. A...
It is 140 years today since Aleksandr Blok was born.
Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Blok is one of the great masters of Russian symbolism. He combined the early Russian literary tradition with modern stylistic devices such as free verse, sound symbols, complex meter and new patterns of rhyme and rhythm, largely inspired by contemporary French poetry.
Blok was born in Saint Petersburg. His father was a law professor, but his parents divorced when he...
It is 51 years today since Hanne Ørstavik was born.
The Norwegian author Hanne Ørstavik was born in the village of Tana in the northern province of Finnmark where many of her novels are set. Her paternal grandparents were missionaries, so she was brought up in a devoutly Christian setting. When she was sixteen, she moved with her family to Oslo where she later studied psychology, French and sociology. While at university she was the leader of the ...
It is 112 years today since Richard Powell was born.
Richard Powell was an author, journalist and advertising man born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he lived most of his life. He attended Princeton University, graduating in 1930. By that time he had already decided to become a professional author, and he found a job as crime reporter and theatre critic at the Philadelphia Evening Public Ledger. In 1940 he joined an advertising agency where...
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Ball, Hugo
1886 - 1927
Hugo Ball was born in Pirmasens, Germany, to Catholic parents who were as poor as they were pious. He wanted to study, but he was not able to get... Further reading
Hanshew, T.W.
1857 - 1914
An American author, journalist and actor, born in Brooklyn, New York. Not much is known about his private life and early years, but it has been... Further reading
Dunant, Sarah
1950 -
The writer, broadcaster and critic Sarah Dunant was born in London. She attended Godolphin and Latymer School and Newnham College, Cambridge,... Further reading
Williams, Charles
1909 - 1975
Charles Williams was a ground-breaking author of noir crime fiction. More than two thirds of his books came out as pulp fiction despite good reviews... Further reading