September 2nd – Romare Bearden
“The artist has to be something like a whale swimming with his mouth wide open, absorbing everything until he has what he really needs.”Romare Bearden Born September 2, 1911 in Charlotte, North Carolina, Bearden grew up in New York City and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His father, Howard Bearden, was a pianist, and his mother, Bessye Bearden,…
September 3rd – Sarah Orne Jewett
“Find your quiet center of life and write from that to the world.”Sarah Orne Jewett Sarah Orne Jewett was born September 3rd, 1849, in South Berwick, Maine. She lived her entire life in Maine, and was a foundational figure of American regionalism. Her short stories, novel and poems depict life in the seaport towns there.…
September 4th – Richard Wright
“Men can starve from a lack of self-realization as much as they can from a lack of bread.”Richard Wright Author Richard Wright was born September 4th, 1908, on a Mississippi Plantation twenty-two miles east of Natchez. Wright outlines his terrible childhood in his memoir Black Boy, published in 1945, including his father abandoning his family,…
September 5th – Tomie dePaola
“A picture book is a small door to the enormous world of the visual arts, and they’re often the first art a young person sees.”Tomie dePaola Tomie dePaola was born on September 5th, 1934 in Meriden, Connecticut. His father was a barber, his mother a homemaker, and he had one brother, Joseph (nicknamed Buddy), and…
September 7th – Taylor Caldwell
”I wanted to acquire an education, work extremely hard and never deviate from my goal, to make it.”Taylor Caldwell Janet Miriam Holland Taylor Caldwell was born on September 7, 1900, in Manchester, England. At the age of 7 she won a medal for an essay on Charles Dickens. Around the same time, in 1907, her…
September 8th – Jon Scieszka
“Read as much as you can, and then sit down and write.”Jon Scieszka John Scieszka was born on September 8, 1954 in Flint, Michigan. He was the second oldest of six boys. Six. Boys. His mother was a registered nurse, and his father was an elementary school principal. His father’s parents came from Poland, and…
September 9 – Leo Tolstoy
“The two most powerful warriors are patience and time.”Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was born September 9th, 1828 at his family’s estate near Tula, Russia. His parents, who were of noble lineage, died while Tolstoy was young, and he was brought up by relatives. He received an extensive education throughout his childhood, but at…
September 10th – Mary Oliver
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”’The Summer Day’ by Mary Olive Mary Oliver was born September 10, 1935, just outside of Cleveland. Her father was a teacher and an athletics coach. As a child she enjoyed being outside and reading, and took long walks to escape…
September 11th – D.H. Lawrence
Life is ours to be spent, not to be saved.D.H. Lawrence David Herbert Lawrence was born September, 11 1885 in the coal mining town of Eastwood, Nottinghamshire. He was a good pupil but then he left to work. A severe bout of pneumonia ended his career as a junior clerk at a surgical appliance factory…
September 12 – Valerie Tripp
“…the universe is full of the information you need – you just have to begin to pay attention to it!” Valerie Tripp Valerie Tripp is a children’s book author, best known for her work with the American Girl series, of which she is the most prolific author. She was born on September 12, 1951, in Mount…
September 13th – Roald Dahl
“You must have stamina. In other words, you must be able to stick to what you are doing and never give up, for hour after hour, day after day, week after week and month after month.”Roald Dahl Roald Dahl was born September 13, 1916, in Wales. His parents were affluent Norwegian immigrants, and he spent…
September 15th – Claude McKay
“If a man is not faithful to his own individuality, he cannot be loyal to anything.” ― Claude McKay Claude McKay, born September 15, 1890 in Jamaica, where his parents were farmers. When he was nine he was sent to live with an older brother, a teacher, to be educated. It was there he was introduced…
September 16th – James Alan McPherson
I discovered that nothing really matters except not being old and being alive and having potential to dream about, and not being alone.James Alan McPherson James Alan McPherson was born September 16th, 1943, in Savannah, Georgia. The second of four children, McPherson’s life was changed when he discovered the ‘colored branch’ of the local Carnegie…
September 17th – Gail Carson Levine
“I don’t wait for inspiration. Writing is my job.”Gail Carson Levine Gail Carson Levine was born September 17, 1947. She grew up in New York, where her father owned a commercial art studio and her mother was a teacher. In 1967 she married David Levine, and in 1969 she received her B.A. in philosopher from…
September 18th – Samuel Johnson
“Few things are impossible to diligence and skill. Great works are performed not by strength, but by perseverance.” Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson was born September 18th, 1709. According to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, he was “arguably the most distinguished man of letters in English history.” His father was a bookseller, and Samuel was born…
September 19th – Rachel Field
“The more one suffered and lived, the more one had known of joy and grief, the deeper the response must be if an artist were great enough to summon it.” Rachel Field Rachel Lyman Field was born September 19th, 1894 in New York City and raised in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. At the age of 16 she published…
September 20th – Upton Sinclair
“All art is propaganda. It is universally and inescabably propaganda; sometimes unconsciously, but often deliberately, propaganda.”Upton Sinclair Upton Beall Sinclair Jr was born September 20, 1878 in Baltimore Maryland. His father was a liquor salesman, and an alcoholic. His father’s family was also from the South, and had lost their money after the Civil War,…
September 21st – Stephen King
“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There’s no way around these two things that I’m aware of, no shortcut.” Stephen King Stephen King was born on September 21st, 1947 in Portland, Maine. His father left the family when he was…
September 22nd – Maurice Blanchot
“But this is the rule, and there is no way to free oneself of it: as soon as the thought has arisen, it must be followed to the very end.”Maurice Blanchot Maurice Blanchot was born September 22nd, 1907, in the village of Quain in France. He studied philosophy at the University of Strasbourg, then went…
September 23rd – Mary Church Terrell
“And so, lifting as we climb, onward and upward we go, struggling and striving, and hoping that the buds and blossoms of our desires will burst into glorious fruition ere long.” Mary Church Terrell Mary Church Terrell was born on September 23, 1863 in Memphis, Tennessee. Although both of her parents were born into slavery, her…
September 24th – F. Scott Fitzgerald
“Show me a hero and I will write you a tragedy.”The Notebooks of F Scott Fitzgerald Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was born September 24, 1896 in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Always known simply as “Scott,” he was named after his second cousin thrice removed, Francis Scott Key, who wrote the lyrics for the Star-Spangled Banner. The…
September 25th – Shel Silverstein
When I am gone what will you do? Who will write and draw for you? Someone smarter–someone new? Someone better–maybe YOU!”When I Am Gone” by Shel Silverstein Sheldon Allan Silverstein was born September 25th, 1930, in Chicago Illinois. His father ran a bakery and expected Sheldon, who was born at the beginning of the Great…
September 26th – T.S. Eliot
“Unsatisfied desires can play a most important part in keeping the soul alive and urging one higher,” T.S. Eliot – letter to Emily Hale Thomas Sterns Eliot was born on September 26 1888 in St. Louis Missouri, to a prominent family from New England. The youngest of six surviving children, Eliot lived his first sixteen years…
September 27th – Jim Thompson
“There are thirty-two ways to write a story, and I’ve used every one, but there is only one plot – things are not as they seem.” Jim Thompson Jim Thompson was born September 27, 1906 in Anadarko, Oklahoma Territory (a year before Oklahoma officially became a state). Thompson’s early life was the thing of novels. His…
September 28th – James Edwin Campbell
James Edwin Campbell was born September 28th, 1867, in Pomeroy, Ohio. He completed his secondary education at Pomeroy Academy in 1884. He taught in Ohio for two years before relocating to West Virginia, where he served as the editor of The Pioneer and West Virginia Enterprise newspapers. In 1887 his first collection of poetry, Driftings and Gleanings, was published. Campbell…
September 29th – Stan Berenstain
“He is often wrong but never in doubt” – Papa Bear Stanley Melvin Berenstain was born September 29th, 1923, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As soon as I tell you what he wrote, you’re going to think I misspelled it. But I didn’t – look it up. It’s The Berenstain Bears series of books. And Stan seems…
September 30th – Elie Wiesel
“We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”Elie Wiesel Elie Wiesel was born on September 30th, 1928, in Sighet, in the Kingdom of Romania. His parents, Sarah and Shlomo, were Jewish, and through studying Hebrew, the Torah, and reading literature, they instilled in him…
Rumbling The Reason: Daily Inspiration 