Literary Calendar, January 31

This date in 1905:  John O'Hara born in Pottsville, Pa.  (which in his writings became Gibbsville).  Note to self:  re-read "Hope of Heaven," "Andrea," "Farmers Hotel," etc.

This date in 1901:  Chekhov's "Three Sisters" opens at the Moscow Art Theatre, with his beautiful and famous actress wife Olga Knipper as Masha.  Note to self:  remember Robert Graham's excellent staging of Chekhov plays for Westcoast Actors.

This date in 1948:  J.D. Salinger's "A Perfect Day for Banana Fish" published in The New Yorker.  Note to self:  re-read all "Nine Stories."

This date in 1923:  Norman Mailer born in Long Branch, New Jersey.  On his fiftieth birthday, Mailer invites 5,000 people to a party, at $50 a couple, money to go towards "a democratic secret police."  Five hundred people turn up.  Did the secret police get founded?  If so, it's still a secret.  Note to self:  prepare invitations for 100th birthday party.  $100 a pop, for the whole family.  BYOB.