Ye Old Reading Room

-- By Frank Stockton --

This is the most well-known story by Stockton. Born in Philadelphia in 1834, Frank Stockton did not write for adults until he was nearly 40 years old.

The first or many play adaptions of The Lady and the Tiger was created by Sydney Rosenfeld in 1888. Of the numerous stage adaptions, the most famous adaption is found in The Apple Treefrom 1966 by Jerry Bock.

-- By Christina Rossetti -- 

Last week, we read Goblin Market, the title poem from Rossetti's first collection. This week we hear a love poem from the same collection. 

Happy Valentines Day!

-- By H.P. Lovecraft -- 

Cthulhu and Azathoth are both deity level monsters from the mind of H.P. Lovecraft. 

He features and mentions both beasts in the shared universe of his writings. 

Keep an ear open for many more Lovecraft readings to come. 

-- By Robert Browning -- 

Robert Browning's poems often explore the viewpoints and mentality of emotionally imbalanced people, and we hear an excellent exploration of that concept in Porphyria's Lover. The poem was first published in the British publication the 'Monthly Repository' in January 1836. 

-- By Christina Rossetti --

Dante Gabriel, William Michael, Maria, and Christina Rossetti were all successful writers in their lifetimes, and Dante even more so as a painter. Winter: My Secret was written by Rossetti at the age of 18. 

-- By Frederick Douglass -- 

After escaping from the grasp of a birth into slavery, Douglass became the most well regarded African American writer, orator, and social reformist of the 19th century, and perhaps the greatest of all time, maybe only second to Martin Luther King Jr. 

Douglass escaped from slavery around the time he turned 20 year old. His last name was adopted from the poem The Lady of the Lake by Walter Scott. In the years after escaping slavery, Douglass worked as a preacher and orator, doing national speaking tours with the American Anti-Slavery Society. Douglass' most famous work was his first autobiography, entitled: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. He would go on to publish two more autobiographies during his lifetime. Douglass directly advised President Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Jackson on the issues of emancipation, treatment of black soldiers in the civil war, and black suffrage. 

The Future of the Colored Race was first published as an essay in 1881. The version you heard today is the revised version from 1892, republished by Douglass just three years before his death on February 20, 1895. 

-- By The Founding Fathers--

The first 10 Amendments of the United States Constitution were written at the time of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia and became known as the Bill of Rights.

In a masterstroke, the founding fathers built in the capacity for the Bill of Rights to be updated, and extra Amendments be added to the document. Since the inception of the document in 1789, and its ratification in 1791 thereafter, 14 Amendments have been added, one of which was repealed. 

-- By The Founding Fathers --

The newly founded nation was held together by stitches, under the Articles of Confederation, until the ratification of the U.S. Constitution in 1788.

Representatives from the states argued for months over the terms in the Constitution. James Madison had a pivotal role in the writing with his introduction of the Virginia Plan, which included the structure of the three branch government, therein: their structure and functions. 

After the Constitutional Convention closed, the drafted Constitution was sent to all 13 states (the former 13 British Colonies) for ratification. In his final remarks, Benjamin Franklin endorsed the document by saying, "There are several parts of this Constitution which I don not at present approve, but I am not sure I shall never approve them...I expect no  better and because I am not sure that it is not the best." 

The U.S. Constitution has become the longest standing written document of government structure at this time.

-- By H.P. Lovecraft -- 

Lovecraft is most well known for his creation of the legendary cosmic god, Cthulhu in his short story The Call of Cthulhu. However, Lovecraft's short stories and novelizations extend far past the subject matter of his created monstrosity.

H.P. Lovecraft's love of literature was nurtured by his grandfather, who introduced him to classis such as The Odyssey and One Thousand and One Nights. 

Keep an eye out for more H.P. Lovecraft readings in the weeks ahead!  

-- By Dr. Ulysses G. Weatherly -- 

Dr. Weatherly earned his PhD from Cornell University in 1894. He went on to teach at Indiana University starting in 1895, before becoming a full professor in 1899 in the Department of Economics and Sociology.