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JOHN O'DONOHUE (1956 - 2008) was an Irish poet, philosopher and scholar, a native Gaelic speaker. He wrote numerous international best-selling books including: Anam Cara, Beauty, Eternal Echoes, and Benedictus: A Book of Blessings- Published in the US as To Bless the Space Between Us. John O'Donohue Official website

Quote Source: - Excerpt from John O’Donohue's book "Beauty"

May Sarton was the pen name of Eleanore Marie Sarton (1912 – 1995), She was a prolific Belgian-American novelist and poet, with over 50 books published, including novels, poetry, nonfiction works, children's books, a play, and screenplays. Sarton taught at several colleges and universities, including Wellesley College and Harvard University. Her tombstone has a quote of her's : "I think my work is universal, and I think my value is as a maker of bridges ..."

From May Sarton's book Journal of a Solitude,

       The Day is Done

The day is done, and the darkness
Falls from the wings of Night,
As a feather is wafted downward
From an eagle in his flight.

First Stanza of Henry W. Longfellow's "The Day is Done". See complete poem

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) American poet and educator . His works include "Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, and Evangeline. He was was one of the Fireside Poets from New England and the first American to translate Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy. More

Lin Yutang (1895 – 1976) was a Chinese linguist, novelist, philosopher, translator and inventor, He had an informal but polished style in both Chinese and English, and he made compilations and translations of classic Chinese texts into English made him one of the most influential writers of his generation. More

The increase number of challenges targeted 65% more books titles for Censorship over The Previous Year. More at The American Library Association ➜

"In early 2015, the 10,000-entry Oxford children’s dictionary dropped around fifty words related to nature — words like fern, willow, and starling — in favor of terms like broadband and cut and paste, some of the world’s most prominent authors composed an open letter of protest and alarm at this impoverishment of children’s vocabulary and its consequent diminishment of children’s belonging to and with the natural world. Among them was one of the great nature writers of our time: Robert Macfarlane....Troubled by this loss of vital and vitalizing language, MacFarlane teamed up with illustrator and children’s book author Jackie Morris, who had reached out to him to write an introduction for a sort of “wild dictionary” she wanted to create as a counterpoint to Oxford’s erasure. Instead, Macfarlane envisioned something greater. The Lost Words: A Spell Book (public library) was born" . Read more at the Marginalian

There is no Life or Death,
Only activity
And in the absolute
Is no declivity.
There is no Love or Lust
Only propensity
Who would possess
Is a nonentity.
There is no First or Last
Only equality
And who would rule
Joins the majority.
There is no Space or Time
Only intensity,
And tame things
Have no immensity.

Mina Loy (born Mina Gertrude Löwy; (1882 – 1966) was a Writer. poet, playwright, novelist, actress, designer, painter and a bohemian. Loy was born in London, and she was one of the last of the first-generation modernists to achieve posthumous recognition. As stated by Nicholas Fox Weber in the New York Times, "This brave soul had the courage and wit to be original. Mina Loy may never be more than a vaguely familiar name, a passing satellite, but at least she sparkled from an orbit of her own choosing".

This poem is in the public domain

Join author and historian Marilyn Morgan as she chronicles the incredible lives and contributions of Washington's Black women. Click the image below for more information.

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (1821 – 1881), sometimes transliterated as Dostoyevsky, was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist. He is regarded by many literary critics as one of the greatest novelists in all of world literature, as many of his works are considered highly influential masterpieces. His most acclaimed novels include Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, Demons (1872), and The Brothers Karamazov

"Language is an instrument of great precision and poignancy — our best tool for telling each other what the world is and what we are, for conveying the blueness of blue and the wonder of being alive. But it is also a thing of great pliancy and creativity — a living reminder that how we name things changes what we see, changes the seer" .....Read more at the Marginalian

"A symbolic moment of peace, grace, and humility amidst one of humanity’s most violent and disgraceful events".
"In December of 1914, a series of grassroots, unofficial ceasefires took hold of the Western Front in the heat of WWI. On Christmas, soldiers from an estimated 100,000 British and German troops began to exchange seasonal greetings and sing songs across the trenches",........ Continue Reading

Karl Ove Knausgaard, Norwegian writer, born in Oslo, Norway in 1968. His first book, a 1998 novel tilted , Ute av verden (“Out of the World”), became the first debut novel to win the Norwegian Critics’ Prize. Knausgaard’s second book, titled A Time to Every Purpose Under Heaven, (also published as A Time for Everything). His six volume series, autobiographical novel, Min kamp (My Strugle), published starting in 2009 became a best seller in Norway and its English-language publication gathered a large following.

Source:  Karl Ove Knausgaard, Min kamp 1