Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Spotlight
Walt Whitman, the author of Leaves of Grass, was born on this date in 1819. Experimenting in many different styles of poetry, Whitman published his first volume of Leaves of Grass in 1855, a collection of 12 poems. By its ninth and final edition, published in 1891, the book held nearly 400 poems, including "Song of Myself," "I Sing the Body Electric," and "O Captain! My Captain!" One of America's most influential poets, Whitman was often criticized by contemporaries for his bold and earthy writings.

Quote
"Not for a moment, beautiful aged Walt Whitman, have I failed to see your beard full of butterflies." – Federico Garcia Lorca

Word of the day
printer's devil: an apprentice in a printing business; Walt Whitman worked for a time as a printer's devil. (© )

Holiday
World No Tobacco Day

Today's News

• low-carb: may lower your cholesterol, even if you don't lose weight (story)
• malware: new German-language Trojan horse will steal your passwords (story)
• Martina Hingis: returns triumphantly to the French Open after 5-year injury leave (story)

Today's History

• Sabbatai Zevi: proclaimed himself the messiah (1665)
• Ancash quake: killed more than 47,000 in Peru (1970)
• Deep Throat: Watergate whistleblower's identity was revealed as W. Mark Felt after 30 years' secrecy (2005)

Today's Birthdays

• William Pirrie: Irishman who built the Titanic (1847-1924)
• Clint Eastwood: actor/director, Million Dollar Baby (76)
• Lea Thompson: Lorraine in Back to the Future (45)