Tuesday Trivia

1. Contrary to his express desire, instead of being buried privately in the cathedral of his childhood home, which British author is honored in Westminster Abbey’s famous Poet’s Corner?
2. What was Pulitzer Prize-Winning author John Sanford’s reason for deciding to become a writer?
3. The 2009 British independent film Bright Star dramatizes the short-lived romance between which consumptive Romantic poet and his girlfriend?
4. Though not the first to express the sentiment, this British novelist and playwright is credited with coining the phrase, “The pen is mightier than the sword.”
5. What does Jane Smiley say she would be doing if she were not a writer?

Which poet held the high office of Poet Laureate of England for 30 years but is best remembered for his anthropomorphic children’s story?
Robert Southey, prestigious poet, is best remembered for his story "Goldilocks and the Three Bears."

Contrary to popular belief – and Boston tour guides’ hype – which famous “author” of children’s poetry was probably not a seventeenth-century Boston housewife and is probably not buried in the Granary Burying Ground in Boston?
Tourists to Boston, Massachusetts often hear that the original Mother Goose was the wife of an Isaac Goose, either named Elizabeth Foster Goose (1665-1758) or Mary Goose (1648 -1690) who is interred at the Granary Burying Ground on Tremont Street. It is not likely that either of these women is the original Mother Goose, since some of the famous nursery rhymes predate the 17th century.

In which Grimm Brothers’ tale do the heroine’s nemeses cut off their toe and heel respectively and then have their eyes gouged out by vengeful birds?
In the Grimm Brother’s version of Cinderella, the wicked stepsisters cut off their toes to fit into the slipper. Two pigeons alert the Prince to the deception by pecking the stepsisters' eyes out.

Which author’s favorite snack is cheese doodles?
Janet Evanovich

Which British poet’s wife was illiterate and signed her wedding certificate with an "X"?
William Blake’s wife was illiterate and also unable to conceive. Because of her inability to bear children, Blake advocated bringing a “second wife” into the household so that he could have children.