Writings
Ohio and Ohio Valley writers and writing, literary and cultural history with occasional ventures into the greater Midwest and Upper South.
May 21, 1945: Bogie and Bacall marry at Malabar Farm
On May 21, 1945, one of the most famous weddings in Hollywood history occurred, and it didn’t happen in Monaco, New York, London, or Paris. It happened in the beautiful rolling hills of rural Ohio when Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall were married at writer Louis Bromfield’s Malabar Farm. The wedding, occurring just a couple…
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May 14, 1917: Thomas Boyd, author of WWI classic “Through The Wheat,” enlists in the U.S. Marine Corps
May, 1917. Just one month earlier the United States has declared war against the Central Powers. The draft was about to begin. For almost three years Europe has been ravaged by the First World War, much of it brutal trench warfare in France and Belgium. Now the U.S. has entered the fray after a long…
CONTINUE READINGSpring comes to Winesburg, Ohio.
“In the spring when the rains have passed and before the long hot days of summer have come, the country about Winesburg is delightful. The town lies in the midst of open fields, but beyond the fields are pleasant patches of woodlands. In the wooded places are many little cloistered nooks, quiet places where…
CONTINUE READINGAlbion Tourgee: Born May 2, 1838.
Albion Tourgee was born on this date—May 2—in 1838 in Williamsfield, Ohio, located in Ashtabula County. He became known in his lifetime not only as a novelist, but also as a judge, lawyer, soldier, and diplomat. He was educated at Kingsville Academy in Ohio and the University of Rochester in New York. When the Civil…
CONTINUE READINGRobert Penn Warren: Born April 24, 1905.
The distinguished novelist, poet, critic and man of letters Robert Penn Warren, best known to many readers for his novel All The King’s Men, was born on this date in 1905 in Guthrie, Kentucky. Robert Penn Warren is the only writer to win the Pulitzer Prize for both fiction and poetry. He was also the…
CONTINUE READINGCelebrating National Poetry Month: Rita Dove.
This blog is certainly a work in progress. Next year I hope to get a jump on National Poetry Month and get information on regional events lined up ahead of April 2015. So since the month is winding down, I’ve decided to write some posts on various poets from the region. Today’s featured poet is…
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Lloyd C. Douglas: Novelist and Minister.
When I look back on memories of Easter through the years, I often recall the smorgasbord of religious movies that are a constant on Easter Sunday: King of Kings, Ben-Hur, The Greatest Story Ever Told, and Quo Vadis, to name just a few. Another film is The Robe, which I saw once again on Christmas…
CONTINUE READINGApril 19, 1861: Ambrose Bierce enlists in the Indiana Volunteers.
On this day in 1861, author Ambrose Bierce became the second man in Elkhart County, Indiana to enlist for service in the Union volunteers after President Lincoln’s call for troops following the attack on Fort Sumter, South Carolina. Bierce, who was born in Meigs County, Ohio, was working in a local business that was a…
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