Early American Literature discussion
Introductions and Chat
>
Early American Authors Quiz Game
Pamela wrote: "Dorothy wrote: "Pamela wrote: "Dorothy wrote: "All right, here is the new quiz. I'm sorry it took so long, but I actually forgot you all were waiting on me...I thought we were waiting on Emma, or s..."That's great! I can remember names and faces, but dates/numbers not so much.
Here's the quiz question...This New England writer, one of The Fireside Poets, was the first editor of The Atlantic Monthly, and one of his most popular works, "A Fable For Critics," was published anonymously in 1848. Who was he?
Mod
This New England writer, one of The Fireside Poets, was the first editor of The Atlantic Monthly, and one of his most popular works, "A Fable For Critics," was publishe..."
James Russell Lowell. (I know that he wrote "A Fable for Critics.")
Werner wrote: "Pamela wrote: "Here's the quiz question...This New England writer, one of The Fireside Poets, was the first editor of The Atlantic Monthly, and one of his most popular works, "A Fable For Critics..."
You are correct, Werner!!! Congratulations!!!
😊🕺👍👏🤝🏆🥇🎉🎊🤹♂️😀
Mod
Werner wrote: "Thanks, Pamela! I'll try to post a new question in the next few days --first I'll have to read this thread, so as to see what's been asked already, and it looks like this is a very loooong one. :-)"Good luck with reading through all of the comments on this thread! With that in mind, you should be able to post a new question in, let's say, another month or two! 😀😁😂🤣😅😃😄😆😉😊
Mod
Werner wrote: "Good point, Pamela --I thought about that too. Not to worry, though; I do have a question that I know won't have been asked! For reasons that will become obvious, however, I'm going to wait and pos..."Hmmm? I need to start powering up my memory about events pertaining to the date of June 28th! 🤔🧐🤓
Pamela wrote: "Hmmm? I need to start powering up my memory about events pertaining to the date of June 28th! 🤔🧐🤓"🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 And you can do it, too!
Mod
No, you won't need to do that; the question won't deal with an event on June 28th! Not to be overly mysterious, I'll explain now: unless there's a massive shift in our ongoing poll, which ends on June 27, I'm expecting that we'll broaden the group's focus as of Monday. If so, my question will deal with an author who wasn't from New England; therefore, I know it can't have been asked already. :-)
Werner wrote: "Pamela wrote: "Hmmm? I need to start powering up my memory about events pertaining to the date of June 28th!"No, you won't need to do that; the question won't deal with an event on June 28th! Not..."
Ah Ha!!! Now I get it! I can put my gray matter on pause, which is good, as my mind has been " Ferhoodled and Ferhext" of late!😆😃🤪
Mod
"Ferhoodled and Ferhext" is a common phrase in PA Dutch country, or PA Deutsch Country. My region of Pennsylvania is considered to be a part of that area. My mom's family is part PA Dutch (Germans who settled here in the 1730's), part Polish, and part British. My late Father's family (both sides of his family) came straight from Germany in the mid 19th century, so they were "High German" rather than PA Dutch. I'm fairly fluent in German, a bit less so in PA Dutch, and not very fluent in Polish at all, except for a few words and simple phrases. My Polish Babcia (grandmother) tried to teach me Polish, but it's a difficult language to learn. She also tried to teach me to dance the Polka, but no luck there, either!😉 My cousins are musicians and recorded a Polka album!
Mod
Jt wrote: "PA is a wonderful escape. my friends and i would rent a vehicle and tour the countryside. we'd hit the historic sites and then some recreational auto shows in Carlisle. Gettsyburg is worth the visi..."I love to visit the historic areas in PA, too! Gettysburg, Valley Forge and Historic Philadelphia are my favorites! I also love the Pocono mountains and Hershey. I think it would be great to live in Hershey and inhale the scent of chocolate 24/7!!! 🍫👍😋
Seriously, the Hershey Chocolate Co. story is fascinating! Milton Hershey was a very charitable man. His company was one of the only businesses to thrive during the Great Depression and he took care of his employees, too. He created an entire community for their benefit. I've always had great admiration for him. Asa Packer was another fascinating man from this area, developing the local Lehigh Valley railroad and creating many charities. Currently, one of the most charitable "celebrities" in my area is retired Indy Car racer, Mario Andretti. He's humble, kind and cares about his community! A truly great man!
Mod
New question: what American author was born in Greece, spent time working as a journalist in New Orleans, and eventually moved to Japan?
The author I'm thinking of worked for a paper in Cincinnati, Ohio. After that, I believe the author moved to New Orleans before settling in Japan. Because there is no mention of Cincinnati in the question, I'm doubtful about being correct. I'll hold off on answering for now. Maybe someone else knows who it is. You do ask a good question, Werner!🤔🧐🤔
Mod
I haven't a clue, Pammy, so you go ahead!
I'm going with my first thought and guessing Patrick Lefcadio Hearn. He adopted a Japanese name after moving to that country. I think it is spelled either Yakomo or Yakumo. He wrote much about early Japan and married a Japanese woman. So, that's all I know about that!😁🤣😂
Mod
You're 100% correct, Pamela; Lafcadio Hearn is the right answer! So, you get to ask the next question. :-)
I've wanted to ask this one for quite some time...This New York socialite was the first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize (for literature in 1921). Name the author and the title of the book for which she won the award.
Pamela wrote: "I've wanted to ask this one for quite some time...This New York socialite was the first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize (for literature in 1921). Name the author and the title of the book for which..."
I'm stumped. Any hints? 🤗
Mod
Werner wrote: "I'm going to guess Edith Wharton."You are correct, Werner! Now, to complete the answer to the question, name the book for which she won the Pulitzer Prize. I'm a stickler for detail because of my teaching background.😉👩🏫🤓😊
Mod
Mod
What future American novelist was expelled from Yale Univ. in his third year, after a couple of pranks which included locking a donkey in a recitation room?
Werner wrote: "Hmmm, so I guess we're back to me again.... (I hadn't actually meant to jump in and answer another question this soon; I only took a guess at this one because others appeared to be stumped!)What ..."
I can't help but think that sounds like Mark Twain. 🤣
Mod
Nope, it wasn't him, though I'm sure he'd have gotten a kick out of doing something like that! :-) (He never went to college, so couldn't get expelled.)
Werner wrote: "Dorothy wrote: "I can't help but think that sounds like Mark Twain."Nope, it wasn't him, though I'm sure he'd have gotten a kick out of doing something like that! :-) (He never went to college, s..."
Good point. I see James Fenimore Cooper attended Yale...
Mod
Is that an official answer? :-)
Werner wrote: "Dorothy wrote: "I see James Fenimore Cooper attended Yale..."Is that an official answer? :-)"
Yeah, I'll stick with that, since I'm clueless otherwise. 😂
Mod
You get to be the one to ask the next question!
Werner wrote: "For someone who claims to be clueless, Dorothy, you did pretty well, because you've hit it right on the nose! James Fenimore Cooper was indeed the culprit. (He also, according to Wikipedia, "incite..."Well, I admit that I looked up a list of authors who attended Yale, and his name caught my eye. That certainly was a dangerous prank! I have to wonder if he was actually trying to get expelled. Or, maybe he just loved fun and didn't stop to think.
I have a question ready...
This author, a native of Indiana, served at the court martial of those accused of conspiring with Abraham Lincoln's assassin and was also named president of the war crimes trial that convicted the commandant of Andersonville prison.
Werner wrote: "For someone who claims to be clueless, Dorothy, you did pretty well, because you've hit it right on the nose! James Fenimore Cooper was indeed the culprit. (He also, according to Wikipedia, "incite..."Good job, Dorothy!!!!👍💐🎉🏆
He blew up the door with gunpowder. He also locked a donkey in a professor's classroom. The gunpowder/door incident got him expelled. He then joined the Navy. Based on the fact that he used a donkey as a prank, he should have joined the Army, since the West Point mascot is a mule! 🐴 With the Navy in his future, he should have used a goat! 🐐 🤣😆
Dorothy wrote: "Werner wrote: "For someone who claims to be clueless, Dorothy, you did pretty well, because you've hit it right on the nose! James Fenimore Cooper was indeed the culprit. (He also, according to Wik..."Due to my interest in the American Civil War, I can answer quickly ...
It was Lew Wallace, who wrote "Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ"
Pamela wrote: "Due to my interest in the American Civil War, I can answer quickly ...It was Lew Wallace, who wrote "Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ""
Goodness, ok...that was fast! Congratulations, Pammy!
I'll post a question tomorrow. We're having bad storms. Our electric utility company just made an automated call to all residents saying power is out in several places in town. Lightning struck the traffic light just down the street from my house. It's terrible here tonight.🙏
Mod
Pamela wrote: "I'll post a question tomorrow. We're having bad storms. Our electric utility company just made an automated call to all residents saying power is out in several places in town. Lightning struck the..."Oh dear! That doesn't sound good. Praying for you, Pammy!
So, we're back up and running again. Our local Community Day celebration is happening today. We just got email alerts that the storm flooded out the usual location. They had to move all the tent vendors to the other side of the park and won't be able to present some of the entertainment because the audio system was knocked out by the storm. Too bad, as it was cancelled last year due to Covid. At least they'll still be able to have some of the events today. My cat won't be pleased that the fireworks are still on schedule. She hates fireworks!🐱🎆👎
QUIZ QUESTION:This author of Westerns became one of the first writers to earn one million dollars. From 1917 to 1926, the author was in the top ten best-seller list nine times. Name the author.
🤠
Pamela wrote: "So, we're back up and running again. Our local Community Day celebration is happening today. We just got email alerts that the storm flooded out the usual location. They had to move all the tent ve..."I'm not sure how many pets like fireworks...I know ours don't!
Pamela wrote: "QUIZ QUESTION:This author of Westerns became one of the first writers to earn one million dollars. From 1917 to 1926, the author was in the top ten best-seller list nine times. Name the author.
🤠"
Hmmm...I have a feeling I don't know this one! 😏😂
Dorothy wrote: "Pamela wrote: "So, we're back up and running again. Our local Community Day celebration is happening today. We just got email alerts that the storm flooded out the usual location. They had to move ..."We had a beagle who loved them!
Pamela wrote: "We had a beagle who loved them!"😲 That's amazing! I took Twilight out last year when they were setting them off, when she was a puppy, hoping to get her used to them. I don't know how she'll do tonight. She's very opinionated...barks at people talking next door, barks at cars, barks at things blowing in the wind, barks at things visible and invisible...😏🙄🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣we'll see, I guess!
A hint about the quiz question...The author and his wife are buried in Lackawaxen, Pike County, PA. Their first home is also located there and is a museum now. It was not far from my family's vacation home in the Poconos. We sold the home when my dad's health began to fail. I visited the author's home often. It's now a museum.
Pamela wrote: "A hint about the quiz question...The author and his wife are buried in Lackawaxen, Pike County, PA. Their first home is also located there and is a museum now. It was not far from my family's vac..."
This is just a wild guess, throwing out a name that came up in a Google search of Lackawaxen, Pike County, PA....Zane Grey? (Be it known, I've never heard of him! 🤣)
Dorothy wrote: "Pamela wrote: "A hint about the quiz question...The author and his wife are buried in Lackawaxen, Pike County, PA. Their first home is also located there and is a museum now. It was not far from ..."
Yes, you are correct Dorothy! It is Zane Grey! You get the next question!
😊👸🙆♀️💃👍👏🤝💐🌹🍨🍭🏆🏅🥇🎈🎉🎊🤸♀️🤹♀️🌟🎶😀🤩
Early American Literature
Books mentioned in this topic
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (other topics)Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (other topics)
Explorers of the Infinite: Shapers of Science Fiction (other topics)
The HarperCollins Reader's Encyclopedia of American Literature (other topics)
Emily and Carlo (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Lafcadio Hearn (other topics)George MacDonald (other topics)
Elizabeth Goudge (other topics)
Washington Irving (other topics)
Washington Irving (other topics)
More...
Thank you, Dorothy! Your comment made me smile! Years ago, I used to help our neighbor's little girl with her schoolwork and she often said "You're a walking encyclopedia, Pam! How do you know so much stuff?" I guess I was just always able to retain things that I learned. I've been blessed in that area! I'll think of a question soon.🤗
Pammy Jo