Oct. 21, 2008: The Writer's Almanac

Tuesday’s Poem: “Classic Ballroom Dances” by Charles Simic from Charles Simic: Selected Early Poems. Tuesday’s Literary Notes: It’s the birthday of jazz trumpeter and composer Dizzy Gillespie, born in Cheraw, South Carolina (1917). He said, “I don’t care too much about music. What I like is sounds.” It’s the birthday of the Romantic poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, born in Devonshire, England (1772). He wrote “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” It’s the birthday of science fiction writer Ursula K….