"A Voice from Death" by Walt Whitman

On this day in 1889, according to the Associated Press, "some 2,200 people in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, perished when the South Fork Dam collapsed, sending 20 million tons of water rushing through the town." To read the poem that Walt Whitman, who was born on this day in 1819, wrote about that cataclysm, click here.

Walt Whitman (1819-1892)

An Observation by Henry David Thoreau on 28 May 1854

On this day in 1854, Henry David Thoreau wrote the following observation in his journal:

It would be worth the while to ask ourselves weekly -- Is our life innocent enough? Do we live inhumanely -- toward man or beast -- in thought or act? To be serene & successful we must be at one with the universe. The least conscious & needless injury inflicted on any creature -- is to its extent a suicide. What peace -- or life -- can a murderer have?

Source: Daily Observations: Thoreau on the Days of the Year (2005), edited by Steve Grant

Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

Quotation from Shane Claiborne on the teachings of Jesus

"Only Jesus would declare God's blessing on the poor rather than on the rich and would insist that it's not enough to just love your friends. I just began to wonder if anybody still believed Jesus meant those things he said." -- Shane Claiborne, quoted in The Sun magazine (May 2018)

Source of the screenshot above: The Sun magazine on Twitter (May 18, 2018, tweet)

The Writer's Almanac with Garrison Keillor: Archives

Good news! As American Public Media says, "The historic archives for The Writer's Almanac with Garrison Keillor are once again available online. You may now access past shows at www.writersalmanac.org."