Good day, readers. Today is January 25th, the 25th day of the year 2024, with 341 days remaining.
Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going.
Sam Levenson
Today in Literary History:
On this day in 1882, Virginia Woolf, one of the foremost modernist authors of the 20th century, was born. Her novels, including Mrs. Dalloway and To the Lighthouse, as well as her groundbreaking essays on feminism and literature, have deeply influenced narrative styles and the literary landscape.
Notable Birthdays:
Robert Burns (January 25, 1759 – July 21, 1796), the Scottish poet widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, was also born on this day. Known for his poems and songs that celebrate Scottish culture and language, Burns remains a literary icon whose work is still celebrated globally on Burns Night.
Today’s Readings:
From To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf: “For now she need not think about anybody. She could be herself, by herself. And that was what now she often felt the need of — to think; well not even to think. To be silent; to be alone.”
Literary Fact of the Day:
On January 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy held the first live televised presidential press conference, which transformed the relationship between the media and the White House. This shift in communication style has since been studied in political literature, analyzing the growing influence of television on public perception.
Poem of the Day:
“Journey of the Magi” by T.S. Eliot:
‘A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year
For a journey, and such a long journey:
The ways deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter.’
And the camels galled, sore-footed, refractory,
Lying down in the melting snow.
There were times we regretted
The summer palaces on slopes, the terraces,
And the silken girls bringing sherbet.
Then the camel men cursing and grumbling
And running away, and wanting their liquor and women,
And the night-fires going out, and the lack of shelters,
And the cities hostile and the towns unfriendly
And the villages dirty and charging high prices:
A hard time we had of it.
At the end we preferred to travel all night,
Sleeping in snatches,
With the voices singing in our ears, saying
That this was all folly.
Then at dawn we came down to a temperate valley,
Wet, below the snow line, smelling of vegetation;
With a running stream and a water-mill beating the darkness,
And three trees on the low sky,
And an old white horse galloped away in the meadow.
Then we came to a tavern with vine-leaves over the lintel,
Six hands at an open door dicing for pieces of silver,
And feet kicking the empty wine-skins.
But there was no information, and so we continued
And arrived at evening, not a moment too soon
Finding the place; it was (you may say) satisfactory.
All this was a long time ago, I remember,
And I would do it again, but set down
This set down
This: were we led all that way for
Birth or Death? There was a Birth, certainly,
We had evidence and no doubt. I had seen birth and death,
But had thought they were different; this Birth was
Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death.
We returned to our places, these Kingdoms,
But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation,
With an alien people clutching their gods.
I should be glad of another death.
This reflective poem imagines the journey of the Biblical Magi to Bethlehem and their profound transformation afterward, intertwining themes of faith, alienation, and revelation.
Advice for Writers:
Inspired by Virginia Woolf’s groundbreaking narrative style, consider experimenting with stream of consciousness or nonlinear storytelling in your writing. Playing with perspective and time can offer new ways to explore characters and themes.
Have a creative and introspective day, dear readers. Until tomorrow, may your writing journeys be fruitful and full of discovery.