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Born on September 17, 1883, William Carlos Williams spent much of his life proving that poetry did not need grand subjects, distant places, or elaborate language to be meaningful. A wheelbarrow, a fire engine passing through a rainy city, weeds beside a hospital, or a note left on a kitchen table could all become poetry …

Breyten Breytenbach was a South African poet, writer, painter, teacher, and political activist whose long creative life unfolded across languages, continents, prisons, studios, classrooms, and states of exile. Born on September 16, 1939, in Bonnievale in South Africa’s Western Cape, Breytenbach became one of the most distinctive voices in modern Afrikaans literature. He helped reshape …

Every September 15 offers an opportunity to remember Gunnar Ekelöf, one of the most original, restless, and influential poets in twentieth-century Swedish literature. Born in Stockholm on September 15, 1907, Ekelöf helped transform Swedish poetry through a career that moved from surrealism and modernist rebellion toward philosophical meditation, mysticism, memory, music, Byzantine history, and a …

Homemade vanilla whipped cream is one of those wonderfully simple recipes that can completely transform a dessert. Made with cold heavy cream, powdered sugar, vanilla, and just a tiny pinch of salt, it takes only a few minutes to turn four basic ingredients into a soft, billowy topping. Once you know how easy it is …

Violas are small flowers with an impressive ability to brighten the garden when many other plants are taking a break. Their cheerful blooms appear in shades of purple, violet, blue, yellow, white, orange, burgundy, and nearly black, with many varieties displaying delicate markings or contrasting centers. They are especially valuable during the cooler parts of …

Francisco de Quevedo was one of the sharpest, most inventive, and most complicated literary voices of Spain’s Golden Age. Born in Madrid on September 14, 1580, he became celebrated for poetry that could move from intense reflections on love and mortality to merciless satire, as well as for prose that exposed vanity, hypocrisy, social ambition, …

Kohlrabi is one of those vegetables that can be easy to overlook at the farmers’ market. With its round, slightly alien-looking bulb and leafy stems, it does not immediately reveal just how versatile it can be in the kitchen. Peel away the tougher outer layer, though, and you will find crisp, juicy flesh with a …

On September 13, we celebrate the birthday of Else Holmelund Minarik, the Danish-born American author who gave generations of beginning readers one of children’s literature’s most comforting companions: Little Bear. Born on September 13, 1920, in Fredericia, Denmark, Minarik came to the United States as a small child, learned a new language, became a teacher, …

There is something almost luxurious about miso-marinated black cod. The outside emerges from the oven glossy and deeply caramelized, while the flesh underneath remains buttery, tender, and rich enough to practically melt on your fork. Despite its restaurant-worthy appearance, this is not a particularly difficult dish to make at home. The secret is patience rather …

On September 12, we remember Marya Zaturenska, the Ukrainian-born American poet whose journey from an immigrant childhood and factory work to the Pulitzer Prize is one of the more remarkable stories in twentieth-century American poetry. Born in Kyiv in 1902, when the city was part of the Russian Empire, Zaturenska arrived in the United States …