February 27 – Happy Birthday, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and John Steinbeck

     Posted on February 27, 2022

This is an update of my post published on February 27, 2011:

A great day for American authors!

1. Author of Grapes of Wrath
2. Wrote The Song of Hiawatha
3. Author of Paul Revere’s Ride
4. Wrote Of Mice and Men
5. Won the Nobel Prize for Literature
6. Was born in Portland, Maine
7. Translated Dante’s Divine Comedy
8. Wrote long poems
9. Wrote brilliant novels
10. Was born in Salinas, California
11. Won a Pulitzer Prize
12. Was a professor at Harvard

    

    

• Listen to this short poem by Longfellow, “The Children’s Hour.” 

• When Longfellow wrote “The Song of Hiawatha,” he got criticized for writing about Native Americans in a sympathetic way. But nowadays, many folks rightfully point out how, even though Longfellow’s poem demonstrates liking Native stories and culture, he also misrepresents those stories, misunderstands and mashes together stories from various different groups, and seems to shrug Natives off as people who only existed in the past. Sure, he makes Natives the heroes of the poem – but his romanticization furthers stereotypes and enables people to shirk their duty to dismantle white supremacy.   

  Check out this video of someone singing an excerpt of the poem “The Song of Hiawatha.” But also check out this article about the racism inherent in this poem.

• Read a short story by Steinbeck, or even one of his novels. Several of his books, including Cannery Row and East of Eden, have become movies.

Also on this date:

Plan ahead:

• February holidays
• February birthdays
• Historical anniversaries in February

• March holidays
• March birthdays
• Historical anniversaries in March