When I am dead, my dearest
Sing no sad songs for me;
Plant thou no roses at my head,
Nor shady cypress tree:
Be the green grass above me
With showers and dewdrops wet;
And if thou wilt, remember,
And if thou wilt, forget.

- Christina Rossetti

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) December 29, 2020

Poem by Christina Rossetti - Remember Me pic.twitter.com/g4ItlPFWMa

— CFS (@cornwallfuneral) June 29, 2022

#RIP #OTD in 1926, poet and novelist Rainer Maria Rilke died in the arms of his doctor in the Valmont Sanatorium in Switzerland at the age of 51 from leukemia. Raron cemetery, Switzerland https://t.co/aQuKXLniVb pic.twitter.com/0SANuKBFHr

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) December 29, 2022

#RIP #OTD Rainer Maria Rilke epitaph...

Rose, oh reiner Widerspruch, Lust,
Niemandes Schlaf zu sein unter soviel
Lidern.

(Rose, oh pure contradiction, delight,
being no one's sleep under so
many eyelids.)https://t.co/aQuKXLniVb pic.twitter.com/NerVdFughR

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) December 29, 2022

30 December 1865. Rudyard Kipling was born in Bombay, India. George Orwell called him ‘the prophet of British imperialism’. In 1907, Kipling became the first English writer to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. pic.twitter.com/7eev45XZCW

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 30, 2022

1 January 1660. Samuel Pepys began writing a diary, which recorded his daily life for nearly 10 years. It’s a key account of London in 1660s, providing an eyewitness account of great events, such as the Great Plague of London, the Second Dutch War, and the Great Fire of London. pic.twitter.com/b2hJLRDh6o

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) January 1, 2023

1 January 1879. Edward Morgan (“EM”) Forster was born in London. His novels examine class differences and hypocrisy, including: A Room with a View, Howards End, and A Passage to India. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature 16 times, but never won. pic.twitter.com/i05UNtMNBG

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) January 1, 2023

1 January 1919. Jerome David (“JD”) Salinger was born in New York City, USA. He was the author of the 1951 cult novel, The Catcher in the Rye. The novel’s chief character Holden Caulfield became an icon for teenage rebellion. The book has sold over 65 million copies. pic.twitter.com/Dvh6UUW73B

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) January 1, 2023

2 January 1920. Isaac Asimov was born Petrovichi, Russia. He’s best known for his numerous works on science fiction, and his science books for the general reader. He wrote or edited about 500 volumes. pic.twitter.com/rnYaJdHBPN

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) January 2, 2023

4 January 1960. French philosopher, Albert Camus, died in a car accident (aged 46). He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature (aged 44), being the second-youngest recipient in history. His books include The Stranger, The Plague, The Myth of Sisyphus, The Fall, and The Rebel. pic.twitter.com/Z3w93vgGAZ

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) January 4, 2023

4 January 1965. US born T. S. Eliot, one of the greatest poets in the English language, died (aged 76). His best known poem was The Waste Land, published in 1922. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948, “for his outstanding, pioneer contribution to present-day poetry”. pic.twitter.com/lFpClaMcWu

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) January 4, 2023

5 January 1953. The play, Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett was first performed in the Théâtre de Babylone in Paris, France. The two lead characters in the play, Vladimir and Estragon, engage in discussions while awaiting Godot, who never arrives by the end of the play. pic.twitter.com/eHNgGzcVKp

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) January 5, 2023

#RIP #OTD in 1944 writer (The History of the Standard Oil Company), investigative journalist, biographer and lecturer, Ida Tarbell died of pneumonia at Bridgeport Hospital in Bridgeport, Connecticut, aged 86. Woodlawn Cemetery, Titusville, Pennsylvania https://t.co/yQPFxpDwj1 pic.twitter.com/LQJY4vpxsu

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) January 6, 2023

7 January 1936. Hunter Davies was born in Johnstone, Scotland. He’s the author of numerous books, most notably, the authorised biography of The Beatles, which was published in 1968. He has also ghostwritten several autobiographies including of Wayne Rooney, and Paul Gascoigne. pic.twitter.com/OXo04FT34q

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) January 7, 2023

9 January 1908. Simone de Beauvoir was born in Paris. Her most influential book was, The Second Sex, a detailed analysis of women’s oppression and a foundational tract of contemporary feminism. She had a long-standing relationship with the French philosopher, Jean-Paul Sartre. pic.twitter.com/bw2b3OqPY5

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) January 9, 2023

#RIP #OTD in 1923, writer (Bliss and Other Stories, The Aloe) Katherine Mansfield died from a pulmonary haemorrhage in Fontainebleau, Île-de-France, France, at the age of 34. Cimetiere d’Avon, Avon, near Fontainebleau https://t.co/SS6hozMKKn pic.twitter.com/r8JlKkc4Gk

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) January 9, 2023

#RIP #OTD in 1896, poet ("Clair de Lune", La Bonne Chanson, Les Poètes maudits) associated with the Symbolist movement, Paul Verlaine died in Paris at the age of 51. Cimetière des Batignolles, Paris https://t.co/UZ0EHImHUB pic.twitter.com/XHleChB40I

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) January 9, 2023

10 January 1949. The classic play, Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller opened at the Morocco Theatre in New York City. It’s a two-act tragic story set in the 1940’s New York, narrated by the memories, dreams and arguments of the Willy Loman, a disillusioned travelling salesman. pic.twitter.com/oFPgbKrHus

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) January 10, 2023

#RIP #OTD in 1961 US Army veteran, author of detective novels (The Maltese Falcon, The Thin Man, Red Harvest, The Dain Curse) Dashiell Hammett died in Lenox Hill Hospital, Manhattan from lung cancer, aged 66. Arlington National Cemetery @ArlingtonNatl https://t.co/uhiZMflaNq pic.twitter.com/LAdczxNRg5

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) January 10, 2023

#RIP #OTD in 1951 writer (Main Street, Babbitt, Arrowsmith, Elmer Gantry, Dodsworth, It Can't Happen Here), poet, playwright, Sinclair Lewis died in Rome; advanced alcoholism, aged 65. Cremated remains interred, Greenwood Cemetery in Sauk Centre, Minnesota https://t.co/uhiZMflaNq pic.twitter.com/MlH5AZmAC5

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) January 10, 2023

This day 50 years ago – 11 January 1972 – Padraic Colum died, aged 90.

Born in Longford, Colum's poems were first published in Arthur Griffith's newspaper The United Irishman.

He is referenced in James Joyce's Ulysses, with the line, “I think he has that queer thing, genius.” pic.twitter.com/MjlOE8iU3I

— This Day in Irish History (@ThisDayIrish) January 11, 2022