A great amount of contemporary people likes reading. Of course, this kind of hobby needs a lot of time and sometimes, unfortunately, we have to do it only going to work by public transport or travelling somewhere on holiday, for example, by bus, by plane, by coach or by ship. Do you agree with us? โ Most modern guys and ladies do. However, are you ready to answer the question โWhen is National Author Day in 2024?โ It is a real pity, but in this case the negative reply is considered to be more typical one.
And that is the main reason, why we have decided to discover this matter in details.
History
As you can understand, it is almost impossible to explain, what day Author Day in 2024 is, without paying a close attention to the historical background of this event.
Initially the idea to create the special occasion like that appeared about 100 years ago in 1928. It happened during the regular meeting, organized by Womenโs Club in the state of Illinois. The ladies of different ages gathered there in order to read the works of their favorite authors and even to write something special by themselves. Among the active participants was Nellie V. Burt McPherson, who proposed to choose the day devoted especially to the American authors. Of course, there were women, who didnโt understand why the preference should be given to the talented people from one particular country. But, having a great teaching experience and authority the founder managed to insist on her idea and when everybody agreed at last the only thing that it was necessary to do was to choose a day for the celebration.
The decision was found occasionally. Nellie got into hospital and when she was recovering from the serious disease being in the bad mood, she wrote the long letter to Irvingโs Bacheller and unexpectedly received an autographed copy of the next story of the same author as an answer. The lady was really overjoyed and touched. So in order to show her high appreciation she decided to establish the special Author Day in the date, when she received a reply, i.e. on November 1.
But that was not the happy end of the story. Miss McPherson suggested her idea to the General Federation of Womenโs Club in the USA. But, unfortunately, the main office didnโt pay attention to it. And only in 1949, 20 years later, the board of the US Department of Commerce set a new official holiday. Since then the answer to โWhen is International Author Day 2024?โ has been known well in some artistic communities.
Meaning
What does Author Day mean? Of course, it is up to you to decide whether to celebrate this notable date or to forget about it completely. It will be only your choice, but why not to spend November 1 in an interesting way if you really get a perfect chance to do it?
By the way, modern British literature is usually associated with the calm, dispassionate syllable of Martin Ames and Julian Barnes, and the American one with the emotional inner world of Jonathan Franzen and the sentimentality of John Irving.
Indeed, the analysis of digitized texts in English, which appeared in the last century, showed that since the 1980s, words with an emotional component have been more common in American books than in British books.
Anthropologist Alberto Aserbi of the University of Bristol (Great Britain) and his colleagues used the Google library, having scanned copies of over 5 million books. This resource has already helped in the studies of the evolution of literary styles and trends in the literary expression of individualism.
Such research led to the emergence of a new field of research, called culturomics. Its enthusiasts believe that this approach will reveal new aspects of public opinion and social norms that can be discerned only by examining a huge set of data.
In general, the use of words with emotional coloring in books in English has steadily declined throughout the 20th century, but this has happened in different ways in the American and British literature (covering about 1 million and 230,000 books, respectively). Approximately since 1980 in the American texts of such words became more than in the British. Initially the difference between them was minimal.
Definition
In our attempts to find the answer to the question โWhat is the date of Author Day 2024?โ we should give the definition to the matter in general.
All in all we have to admit that American literature is considered to be among the youngest literatures in the world, as its development began in the late 18th century.
The main feature of American literature is the relatively long development of Romanticism, not without reason the most famous writers of the 19th century were romanticists: Washington Irving, Fenimore Cooper and Edgar Poe.
Also it is necessary to note also the originality of American literature. The books usually included the reflection of the history of the American continent development, the war for independence as well as the constant conflicts between the north and the south.
As for the genre, the swiftness of American life gave rise to a peculiar style – a short story, in which O. Henry, Edgar Poe, A. Beers, Jack London, Mark Twain and many others worked. The form of such a short entertaining narrative became typical of American literature.
Traditions
When is Author Day in 2024, calendar is always ready to remind you. But unfortunately, there are no any special ways to keep it properly. Of course, as a rule it is not a problem for those, who want to organize something really special in order not to get bored.
All in all there are many ideas to spend this day amazingly. You see, that is a perfect reason to organize a party for your family, friends or colleagues from work.ย Some people adore reading in the companies. โ Just choose the book of your favorite American writer, you havenโt read yet.
Why not to visit a library on November 1? โ Here you can always listen to something interesting, as a great amount of various lectures are usually organized. Some institutions prefer to make the terrific appointments with contemporary American authors just this day annually.
By the way, you can also watch a movie, which was screen on the base of the book. You see, โThe Grapes of Wrathโ, โGone With The Windโ and โThe Great Gatsbyโ are in trend and appreciated both among the youth ad among the adults.
National Author Day Facts
Despite the fact that in America there were many different settlements that had their own cultural traditions and their views on what was happening in nature and the surrounding world, some common features can be traced in their oral creativity, which made it possible to discover the following main directions:
- Stories about the wanderings of the hero. Such books always describe the wanderings of a brave person who, because of his/her skills and ingenuity, overcomes all difficulties and trials. Sometimes he/she had to sacrifice personal gain in the interests of society.
- Intervention of God. The theme of divine intervention was also quite popular in the folklore of the American first settlers, where the hero faced the trials that God sent him/her.
- Natural phenomena. The emergence of unexpected natural disasters during the journey of the hero.
- Creating a world. Creation was a key element of American folklore: from the creation of the world itself up to the birth of a new civilization.