Zanzibar Child Rights Report Final 5 May: Fill & Download for Free

It is not a belief; it is a historical fact.African Americans have spoken on behalf of Africans on numerous occasions.(1890) George Washington Williams’s Open Letter to King Leopold on the CongoGeorge Washington Williams, “An Open Letter to His Serene Majesty Leopold II, King of the Belgians and Sovereign of the Independent State of Congo By Colonel, The Honorable Geo. W. Williams, of the United States of America,” 1890Good and Great Friend,I have the honour to submit for your Majesty’s consideration some reflections respecting the Independent State of Congo, based upon a careful study and inspection of the country and character of the personal Government you have established upon the African Continent.It afforded me great pleasure to avail myself of the opportunity afforded me last year, of visiting your State in Africa; and how thoroughly I have been disenchanted, disappointed and disheartened, it is now my painful duty to make known to your Majesty in plain but respectful language. Every charge which I am about to bring against your Majesty’s personal Government in the Congo has been carefully investigated; a list of competent and veracious witnesses, documents, letters, official records and data has been faithfully prepared, which will be deposited with Her Britannic Majesty’s Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, until such time as an International Commission can be created with power to send for persons and papers, to administer oaths, and attest the truth or falsity of these charges.There were instances in which Mr. HENRY M. STANLEY sent one white man, with four or five Zanzibar soldiers, to make treaties with native chiefs. The staple argument was that the white man’s heart had grown sick of the wars and rumours of war between one chief and another, between one village and another; that the white man was at peace with his black brother, and desired to “confederate all African tribes” for the general defense and public welfare. All the sleight-of- hand tricks had been carefully rehearsed, and he was now ready for his work. A number of electric batteries had been purchased in London, and when attached to the arm under the coat, communicated with a band of ribbon which passed over the palm of the white brother’s hand, and when he gave the black brother a cordial grasp of the hand the black brother was greatly surprised to find his white brother so strong, that he nearly knocked him off his feet in giving him the hand of fellowship. When the native inquired about the disparity of strength between himself and his white brother, he was told that the white man could pull up trees and perform the most prodigious feats of strength. Next came the lens act. The white brother took from his pocket a cigar, carelessly bit off the end, held up his glass to the sun and complaisantly smoked his cigar to the great amazement and terror of his black brother. The white man explained his intimate relation to the sun, and declared that if he were to request him to burn up his black brother’s village it would be done. The third act was the gun trick. The white man took a percussion cap gun, tore the end of the paper which held the powder to the bullet, and poured the powder and paper into the gun, at the same time slipping the bullet into the sleeve of the left arm. A cap was placed upon the nipple of the gun, and the black brother was implored to step off ten yards and shoot at his white brother to demonstrate his statement that he was a spirit, and, therefore, could not be killed. After much begging the black brother aims the gun at his white brother, pulls the trigger, the gun is discharged, the white man stoops . . . and takes the bullet from his shoe!By such means as these, too silly and disgusting to mention, and a few boxes of gin, whole villages have been signed away to your Majesty.When I arrived in the Congo, I naturally sought for the results of the brilliant programme: “fostering care”, “benevolent enterprise”, an “honest and practical effort” to increase the knowledge of the natives “and secure their welfare”. 1 had never been able to conceive of Europeans, establishing a government in a tropical country, without building a hospital; and yet from the mouth of the Congo River to its head-waters, here at the seventh cataract, a distance of 1,448 miles, there is not a solitary hospital for Europeans, and only three sheds for sick Africans in the service of the State, not fit to be occupied by a horse. Sick sailors frequently die on board their vessels at Banana Point; and if it were not for the humanity of the Dutch Trading Company at that place—who have often opened their private hospital to the sick of other countries—many more might die. There is not a single chaplain in the employ of your Majesty’s Government to console the sick or bury the dead. Your white men sicken and die in their quarters or on the caravan road, and seldom have Christian burial. With few exceptions, the surgeons of your Majesty’s Government have been gentlemen of professional ability, devoted to duty, but usually left with few medical stores and no quarters in which to treat their patients. The African soldiers and labourers of your Majesty’s Government fare worse than the whites, because they have poorer quarters, quite as bad as those of the natives; and in the sheds, called hospitals, they languish upon a bed of bamboo poles without blankets, pillows or any food different from that served to them when well, rice and fish.I was anxious to see to what extent the natives had “adopted the fostering care” of your Majesty’s “benevolent enterprise” (?), and I was doomed to bitter disappointment. Instead of the natives of the Congo “adopting the fostering care” of your Majesty’s Government, they everywhere complain that their land has been taken from them by force; that the Government is cruel and arbitrary, and declare that they neither love nor respect the Government and its flag. Your Majesty’s Government has sequestered their land, burned their towns, stolen their property, enslaved their women and children, and committed other crimes too numerous to mention in detail. It is natural that they everywhere shrink from “the fostering care” your Majesty’s Government so eagerly proffers them.There has been, to my absolute knowledge, no “honest and practical effort made to increase their knowledge and secure their welfare.” Your Majesty’s Government has never spent one franc for educational purposes, nor instituted any practical system of industrialism. Indeed the most unpractical measures have been adopted against the natives in nearly every respect; and in the capital of your Majesty’s Government at Boma there is not a native employed. The labour system is radically unpractical; the soldiers and labourers of your Majesty’s Government are very largely imported from Zanzibar at a cost of £10 per capita, and from Sierra Leone, Liberia, Accra and Lagos at from £1 to £1/10 per capita. These recruits are transported under circumstances more cruel than cattle in European countries. They eat their rice twice a day by the use of their fingers; they often thirst for water when the season is dry; they are exposed to the heat and rain, and sleep upon the damp and filthy decks of the vessels often so closely crowded as to lie in human ordure. And, of course, many die.Upon the arrival of the survivors in the Congo they are set to work as labourers at one shilling a day; as soldiers they are promised sixteen shillings per month, in English money, but are usually paid off in cheap handkerchiefs and poisonous gin. The cruel and unjust treatment to which these people are subjected breaks the spirits of many of them, makes them distrust and despise your Majesty’s Government. They are enemies, not patriots.There are from sixty to seventy officers of the Belgian army in the service of your Majesty’s Government in the Congo of whom only about thirty are at their post; the other half are in Belgium on furlough. These officers draw double pay—as soldiers and as civilians. It is not my duty to criticise the unlawful and unconstitutional use of these officers coming into the service of this African State. Such criticism will come with more grace from some Belgian statesman, who may remember that there is no constitutional or organic relation subsisting between his Government and the purely personal and absolute monarchy your Majesty has established in Africa. But I take the liberty to say that many of these officers are too young and inexperienced to be entrusted with the difficult work of dealing with native races. They are ignorant of native character, lack wisdom, justice, fortitude and patience. They have estranged the natives from your Majesty’s Government, have sown the seed of discord between tribes and villages, and some of them have stained the uniform of the Belgian officer with murder, arson and robbery. Other officers have served the State faithfully, and deserve well of their Royal Master.From these general observations I wish now to pass to specific charges against your Majesty’s Government.FIRST.—Your Majesty’s Government is deficient in the moral military and financial strength, necessary to govern a territory o 1,508,000 square miles, 7,251 miles of navigation, and 31,694 square miles of lake surface. In the Lower Congo River there is but One post, in the cataract region one. From Leopoldville to N’Gombe, a distance of more than 300 miles, there is not a single soldier or civilian. Not one out of every twenty State-officials know the language of the natives, although they are constantly issuing laws, difficult even for Europeans, and expect the natives to comprehend and obey them. Cruelties of the most astounding character are practised by the natives, such as burying slaves alive in the grave of a dead chief, cutting off the heads of captured warriors in native combats, and no effort is put forth by your Majesty’s Government to prevent them. Between 800 and 1,000 slaves are sold to be eaten by the natives of the Congo State annually; and slave raids, accomplished by the most cruel and murderous agencies, are carried on within the territorial limits of your Majesty’s Government which is impotent. There are only 2,300 soldiers in the Congo.SECOND.—Your Majesty’s Government has established nearly fifty posts, consisting of from two to eight mercenary slave-soldiers from the East Coast. There is no white commissioned officer at these posts; they are in charge of the black Zanzibar soldiers, and the State expects them not only to sustain themselves, but to raid enough to feed the garrisons where the white men are stationed. These piratical, buccaneering posts compel the natives to furnish them with fish, goats, fowls, and vegetables at the mouths of their muskets; and whenever the natives refuse to feed these vampires, they report to the main station and white officers come with an expeditionary force and burn away the homes of the natives. These black soldiers, many of whom are slaves, exercise the power of life and death. They are ignorant and cruel, because they do not comprehend the natives; they are imposed upon them by the State. They make no report as to the number of robberies they commit, or the number of lives they take; they are only required to subsist upon the natives and thus relieve your Majesty’s Government of the cost of feeding them. They are the greatest curse the country suffers now.THIRD.—Your Majesty’s Government is guilty of violating its contracts made with its soldiers, mechanics and workmen, many of whom are subjects of other Governments. Their letters never reach home.FOURTH.—The Courts of your Majesty’s Government are abortive, unjust, partial and delinquent. I have personally witnessed and examined their clumsy operations. The laws printed and circulated in Europe “for the Protection of the blacks” in the Congo, are a dead letter and a fraud. T have heard an officer of the Belgian Army pleading the cause of a white man of low degree who had been guilty of beating and stabbing a black man, and urging race distinctions and prejudices as good and sufficient reasons why his client should be adjudged innocent. I know of prisoners remaining in custody for six and ten months because they were not judged. T saw the white servant of the Governor-General, CAMILLE JANSSEN, detected in stealing a bottle of wine from a hotel table. A few hours later the Procurer-General searched his room and found many more stolen bottles of wine and other things, not the property of servants. No one can be prosecuted in the State of Congo without an order of the Governor-General, and as he refused to allow his servant to be arrested, nothing could be done. The black servants in the hotel, where the wine had been stolen, had been often accused and beaten for these thefts, and now they were glad to be vindicated. But to the surprise of every honest man, the thief was sheltered by the Governor General of your Majesty’s Government.FIFTH—Your Majesty’s Government is excessively cruel to its prisoners, condemning them, for the slightest offences, to the chain gang, the like of which can not be seen in any other Government in the civilized or uncivilized world. Often these ox-chains eat into the necks of the prisoners and produce sores about which the flies circle, aggravating the running wound; so the prisoner is constantly worried. These poor creatures are frequently beaten with a dried piece of hippopotamus skin, called a “chicote”, and usually the blood flows at every stroke when well laid on. But the cruelties visited upon soldiers and workmen are not to be compared with the sufferings of the poor natives who, upon the slightest pretext, are thrust into the wretched prisons here in the Upper River. I cannot deal with the dimensions of these prisons in this letter, but will do so in my report to my Government.SIXTH.—Women are imported into your Majesty’s Government for immoral purposes. They are introduced by two methods, viz., black men are dispatched to the Portuguese coast where they engage these women as mistresses of white men, who pay to the procurer a monthly sum. The other method is by capturing native women and condemning them to seven years’ servitude for some imaginary crime against the State with which the villages of these women are charged. The State then hires these woman out to the highest bidder, the officers having the first choice and then the men. Whenever children are born of such relations, the State maintains that the women being its property the child belongs to it also. Not long ago a Belgian trader had a child by a slave-woman of the State, and he tried to secure possession of it that he might educate it, but the Chief of the Station where he resided, refused to be moved by his entreaties. At length he appealed to the Governor-General, and he gave him the woman and thus the trader obtained the child also. This was, however, an unusual case of generosity and clemency; and there is only one post that I know of where there is not to be found children of the civil and military officers of your Majesty’s Government abandoned to degradation; white men bringing their own flesh and blood under the lash of a most cruel master, the State of Congo.SEVENTH.—Your Majesty’s Government is engaged in trade and commerce, competing with the organised trade companies of Belgium, England, France, Portugal and Holland. It taxes all trading companies and exempts its own goods from export-duty, and makes many of its officers ivory-traders, with the promise of a liberal commission upon all they can buy or get for the State. State soldiers patrol many villages forbidding the natives to trade with any person but a State official, and when the natives refuse to accept the price of the State, their goods are seized by the Government that promised them “protection”. When natives have persisted in trading with the trade-companies the State has punished their independence by burning the villages in the vicinity of the trading houses and driving the natives away.EIGHTH.—Your Majesty’s Government has violated the General Act of the Conference of Berlin by firing upon native canoes; by confiscating the property of natives; by intimidating native traders, and preventing them from trading with white trading companies; by quartering troops in native villages when there is no war; by causing vessels bound from “Stanley-Pool” to “Stanley-Falls”, to break their journey and leave the Congo, ascend the Aruhwimi river to Basoko, to be visited and show their papers; by forbidding a mission steamer to fly its national flag without permission from a local Government; by permitting the natives to carry on the slave- trade, and by engaging in the wholesale and retail slave-trade itself.NINTH.—-Your Majesty’s Government has been, and is now, guilty of waging unjust and cruel wars against natives, with the hope of securing slaves and women, to minister to the behests of the officers of your Government. In such slave-hunting raids one village is armed by the State against the other, and the force thus secured is incorporated with the regular troops. I have no adequate terms with which to depict to your Majesty the brutal acts of your soldiers upon such raids as these. The soldiers who open the combat are usually the bloodthirsty cannibalistic Bangalas, who give no quarter to the aged grandmother or nursing child at the breast of its mother. There are instances in which they have brought the heads of their victims to their white officers on the expeditionary steamers, and afterwards eaten the bodies of slain children. In one war two Belgian Army officers saw, from the deck of their steamer, a native in a canoe some distance away. He was not a combatant and was ignorant of the conflict in progress upon the shore, some distance away. The officers made a wager of £5 that they could hit the native with their rifles. Three shots were fired and the native fell dead, pierced through the head, and the trade canoe was transformed into a funeral barge and floated silently down the river.TENTH.—Your Majesty’s Government is engaged in the slave-trade, wholesale and retail. It buys and sells and steals slaves. Your Majesty’s Government gives £3 per head for able bodied slaves for military service. Officers at the chief stations get the men and receive the money when they are transferred to the State; but there are some middle-men who only get from twenty to twenty-five francs per head. Three hundred and sixteen slaves were sent down the river recently, and others are to follow. These poor natives are sent hundreds of miles away from their villages, to serve among other natives whose language they do not know. When these men run away a reward of 1,000 N’taka is offered. Not long ago such a recaptured slave was given one hundred “chikote” each day until he died. Three hundred N’taka—brassrod-—is the price the State pays for a slave, when bought from a native. The labour force at the stations of your Majesty’s Government in the Upper River is composed of slaves of all ages and both sexes.ELEVENTH.—Your Majesty’s Government has concluded a contract with the Arab Governor at this place for the establishment of a line of military posts from the Seventh Cataract to Lake Tanganyika territory to which your Majesty has no more legal claim, than I have to be Commander-in-Chief of the Belgian army. For this work the Arab Governor is to receive five hundred stands of arms, five thousand kegs of powder, and £20,000 sterling, to he paid in several instalments. As I write, the news reaches me that these much- treasured and long-looked for materials of war are to be discharged at Basoko, and the Resident here is to be given the discretion as to the distribution of them. There is a feeling of deep discontent among the Arabs here, and they seem to feel that they are being trifled with. As to the significance of this move Europe and America can judge without any comment from me, especially England.TWELFTH—The agents of your Majesty’s Government have misrepresented the Congo country and the Congo railway. Mr. H. M. STANLEY, the man who was your chief agent in setting up your authority in this country, has grossly misrepresented the character of the country. Instead of it being fertile and productive it is sterile and unproductive. The natives can scarcely subsist upon the vegetable life produced in some parts of the country. Nor will this condition of affairs change until the native shall have been taught by the European the dignity, utility and blessing of labour. There is no improvement among the natives, because there is an impassable gulf between them and your Majesty’s Government, a gulf which can never be bridged. HENRY M. STANLEY’S name produces a shudder among this simple folk when mentioned; they remember his broken promises, his copious profanity, his hot temper, his heavy blows, his severe and rigorous measures, by which they were mulcted of their lands. His last appearance in the Congo produced a profound sensation among them, when he led 500 Zanzibar soldiers with 300 camp followers on his way to relieve EMIN PASHA. They thought it meant complete subjugation, and they fled in confusion. But the only thing they found in the wake of his march was misery. No white man commanded his rear column, and his troops were allowed to straggle, sicken and die; and their bones were scattered over more than two hundred miles of territory.CONCLUSIONSAgainst the deceit, fraud, robberies, arson, murder, slave-raiding, and general policy of cruelty of your Majesty’s Government to the natives, stands their record of unexampled patience, long-suffering and forgiving spirit, which put the boasted civilisation and professed religion of your Majesty’s Government to the blush. During thirteen years only one white man has lost his life by the hands of the natives, and only two white men have been killed in the Congo. Major Barttelot was shot by a Zanzibar soldier, and the captain of a Belgian trading-boat was the victim of his own rash and unjust treatment of a native chief.All the crimes perpetrated in the Congo have been done in your name, and you must answer at the bar of Public Sentiment for the misgovernment of a people, whose lives and fortunes were entrusted to you by the august Conference of Berlin, 1884—1 885. I now appeal to the Powers which committed this infant State to your Majesty’s charge, and to the great States which gave it international being; and whose majestic law you have scorned and trampled upon, to call and create an International Commission to investigate the charges herein preferred in the name of Humanity, Commerce, Constitutional Government and Christian Civilisation.I base this appeal upon the terms of Article 36 of Chapter VII of the General Act of the Conference of Berlin, in which that august assembly of Sovereign States reserved to themselves the right “to introduce into it later and by common accord the modifications or ameliorations, the utility of which may be demonstrated experience”.I appeal to the Belgian people and to their Constitutional Government, so proud of its traditions, replete with the song and story of its champions of human liberty, and so jealous of its present position in the sisterhood of European States—to cleanse itself from the imputation of the crimes with which your Majesty’s personal State of Congo is polluted.I appeal to Anti-Slavery Societies in all parts of Christendom, to Philanthropists, Christians, Statesmen, and to the great mass of people everywhere, to call upon the Governments of Europe, to hasten the close of the tragedy your Majesty’s unlimited Monarchy is enacting in the Congo.I appeal to our Heavenly Father, whose service is perfect love, in witness of the purity of my motives and the integrity of my aims; and to history and mankind I appeal for the demonstration and vindication of the truthfulness of the charge I have herein briefly outlined.And all this upon the word of honour of a gentleman, I subscribe myself your Majesty’s humble and obedient servant,GEO. W. WILLIAMSStanley Falls, Central Africa,July 18th, 1890.….Martin Delany - WikipediaMartin Robinson Delany (May 6, 1812 – January 24, 1885) was an African-American abolitionist, journalist, physician, soldier and writer, and arguably the first proponent of black nationalism.Delany is credited with the Pan-African slogan of "Africa for Africans."Martin R. DelanyMartin Delany: The First TransformatistMartin Delany lived during an extraordinary time in the history of African people. Among his contemporaries in the struggle for genuine African liberation were James McCune Smith, a physician and professor; James W. C. Pennington, orator and minister; Alexander Crummell, philosopher and minister; Frederick Douglass, abolitionist and orator; and William Wells Brown, novelist. Delany was not the least among these giants and in some instances might have been considered the superior in intellect and action to some of them, including the eloquent Douglass.Abraham Lincoln introduced Martin Robison Delany to Secretary of War Stanton as “this most extraordinary and intelligent black man.”One can easily ask, “What made Delany extraordinary and intelligent in Lincoln’s mind?” I ask this question because Lincoln’s estimation of blacks in general was negative. There are several laws of intelligence. One is to have a clear sense of one’s situation—psychological, social, economic, cultural, and spiritual. The second law of intelligence is to have a healthy sense of self. This was the case with Martin Delany during a time when many blacks hated their origins because they identified Africa with slavery. Some refused to see themselves in any sense of identity but “colored American.” Delany escaped the prison of inferiority that was created by the practice of white supremacy and found his strength in the acceptance of his innate capabilities as a man.Physically, he was jet black in complexion and was known to say, according to the famous historian Benjamin Quarles, that he was different from Frederick Douglass who thanked God for making him a man; Delany thanked God for making him a black man. There was something he felt in the nature of the black man’s spirit that had come from the pressures of enslavement that made him adaptable, resilient, and willful. These were characteristics that made him proud of his race.Identity was important to Delany as it is to most people. He knew something about his own origins, but, like most Africans who had been forced into bondage and who had lost their language, Delany could not go beyond a few generations. But he held onto what he had. Names had often been stolen and thrown away into the thin air of anonymity by the slave trade itself.Delany’s grandfather had been enslaved but the family had managed to make its way to Pennsylvania where Martin Delany began to make his own history. He devoted his time to reading, to studying, and to demonstrating the capability of the black man. He saw himself as the equal to any other man. After two hundred and fifty years of subservience this was something that challenged the thinking of blacks.Delany managed to edit a newspaper, studied medicine at Harvard until he was asked to leave, explored the Niger River in West Africa, accepted a commission from Lincoln to become a major in the Union Army, lived in South Carolina and run for Lieutenant Governor, amassing an impressive vote. Projecting himself always as the representative of his people, despite the fact that he found himself between the Republicans and Democrats and had to abandon South Carolina, he finally settled in Ohio and was buried in Wilberforce.Delany’s experiences taught him early that there were many other Africans who had independence of spirit, who thought for themselves, and who desired to elevate their status. They were free even if they were oppressed economically, socially, and politically. Even among the free blacks in the North, liberty was pursued with eagerness at the same time liberation was suppressed. Thus, Delany’s practical demonstration was electrifying to other blacks. His idea was to demonstrate that none of this oppression of black people was based on the fact of the quality of the people but own the avarice, cruelty, and pettiness of the whites. As for Delany, he was not merely equal to other blacks, but to other men.

Background Globally, pregnant women are challenged to meet sufficient and necessary dietary intake in order to improve maternal and neonatal outcomes. These challenges are amplified in traditional communities, such as the Maasai, where the historical and cultural practices may further curtail, or impact on this dyad’s potential success. The research is intended to enhance understanding of Maasai women’s pregnancy and nutrition traditions as well as their beliefs. Method Interviews with 12 pregnant Maasai women, all originally from the (Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority NCAA) area and have spent most or all of their adult lives in the NCAA, sought to answer two research questions: how do these women describe their current dietary pattern and what do they believe is the role of nutrition during pregnancy. Results Interpretive description methodology was used to reveal five themes: (1) Eating less food makes baby come easier, (2) Not producing food means more dependence, (3) Working hard harms my baby, (4) Knowing what is needed for a good pregnancy and (5) Preferring our traditional ways for pregnancy and birth. Conclusions There is an imperative to address nutrition throughout the perinatal period within the Maasai population and the women recognize how important nutrition is for them and their babies. Opportunities to incorporate cultural values and practices must be embedded in programmes/services to achieve success and sustainability. It is important for future prenatal programming with the Maasai in northern Tanzania and other vulnerable groups of pregnant women to build on the women’s knowledge of what leads to good pregnancy outcomes. Background Malnutrition is a leading cause of maternal and fetal complications in developing countries. Though food insecurity is the predominant cause of malnutrition, traditions and cultural beliefs surrounding nutritional practices during pregnancy can impact the nutritional status and outcomes. Acknowledging these cultural beliefs and traditions is an important global health consideration when endeavoring to improve maternal and child outcomes. A number of studies considered traditional prenatal practices highlighting both diversities and commonalities. Wulandari and Whelan [1] state there is a wide range of ‘should and should not be eaten’ lists for pregnancy which are Indigenous-informed. Food avoidance with Ghanian pregnant women found a range from of avoiding meat, snails or certain vegetables to avoid a drooling or a ‘spirited’ child [2]. A study conducted in southern Tanzania revealed that 69% of the women avoided fish and farm meats [3]. Foregoing of eggs in parts of Tanzania and throughout parts of Africa is to assuage fears related to the animal’s characteristics being transferred to the child or sterility [4]. Some authors spoke hot/cold foods [1] and herbal remedies [5]. Many culturally informed prenatal food restrictions were related to ensuring that the ‘baby will not be too big’, head would be normal size, or to avert ‘a difficult labour’ [1, 4, 5]. Dietary taboos were most often enforced by the elders [2, 6]; mother-in-laws [4]; or husbands and other family members [7]. Oni and Tukur [8] found adherence to cultural practices tended to be more consistent in youth (teenage) pregnancies and less educated women, as well as in women with a low body mass index (a finding mirrored by Yassin, Sobhy, and Ebrahim [9]). When the information from health providers differed from traditional practices, most women choose to follow cultural practices [2]. In a study by Mothupi [5], 12% of prenatal women in Nairobi, Kenya revealed their use of traditional practices such as herbal medicines often without the knowledge of the formal health care practitioners. In contrast a study in Zanzibar found women reported a fear of traditional medicine during pregnancy [10]. Within Tanzania, specifically, food insecurity remains the primary cause of under-nutrition and under-nutrition related illnesses. The Tanzanian Household Budget Survey (2011/2012) revealed that 28.2% of Tanzanians fell below the poverty line, an indication of the minimum consumptions of goods necessary for long-term physical wellbeing [11]. Additionally, 9.7% also fell below the food poverty line, classified as extremely poor and unable to meet the basic food needs of a household [11]. A study by Kalinjuma, Mafuru, Nyoni, and Modaha [12] assessed nutritional status of women using BMI, workload of women, birth weight, and current breastfeeding practices in four regions of Tanzania (i.e., Dodoma, Iringa, Njombe, & Singida). All women participants reported being responsible for cooking, washing clothes, and fetching water, with 60% indicating roles in care of children, taking care of invalids in the household, and collecting firewood [12]. The average birth weight for all regions was 3.24 kg, with 20% of births classified as LBW [12]. As previously stated, maternal weight prior to conception is a major determinant of LBW in infants, with maternal undernourishment during fetal development increasing the risk for developing macronutrient and micronutrient deficiencies during childhood [13]. The Tanzanian National Food and Nutrition Policy focuses on four major nutritional deficiencies affecting the population of Tanzania which include; protein energy malnutrition, nutritional anemia, iodine deficiency disorders (IDD), and vitamin A deficiencies [13]. The 2010 Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey (TDHS) showed 25% of children under age five were stunted and 17% were classified as severely stunted [13]. The TDHS revealed that 12% of children under age five are underweight (too thin for age) and 4% are wasted (too thin for height) [13]. Micronutrient deficiencies are prevalent in Tanzania, particularly iron deficiency anemia [14] and create significant vulnerabilities for the mother-child dyad [15]. According to the TDHS, 40% of women aged 15–49 were classified as anemic, a slight decrease from 48% in the 2004/2005 survey [13, 15]. The lack of prenatal education on nutrition and health during pregnancy, as well as accessibility to hospitals and clinics are other barriers to healthy maternal and child outcomes. Mosha and Philemon [16] reported factors influencing pregnancy outcomes in the Morogoro District of Tanzania with nearly two-thirds of the women knowing the right foods to eat during pregnancy but only 1 in three classifying fruits and vegetables as contributing to their iron status. Additionally, 63.7% of the participants listed meat, beans, lentils, and whole cereals as important foods to improve their general health [16]. A minority (3.2%) of women were unaware of the role of diet and nutrition throughout their pregnancy [16]. The Maasai rely on their herds of cattle, goats, and sheep as primary sources of income by selling or trading the meat and milk [17]. Traditionally, the diet was primarily meat, milk, and blood from domesticated animals. Due to land and grazing constraints, some Maasai, living outside of the NCAA, have begun to cultivate maize, rice, potatoes and cabbage to meet their nutritional needs [17]. To address diminishing food availability and decreasing cattle numbers in NCAA, the government of Tanzania has recently begun supplying free food rations and permitting Maasai to graze their cattle within the Ngorongoro Crater on the condition of daily entry and exit [18]. In October 2013, 7,000 tonnes of maize were delivered to the 87,000 NCAA residents with a commitment of annual ongoing support of 10 bags per family [19]. These foods are non-traditional to the Maasai, and, although they are addressing hunger related issues, they are not providing sufficient micro-nutrients and the implications to cultural nutritional practices are, as of yet, unknown. In this context of change, challenge, and cultural variance in nutritional patterns, one must consider the impacts and implications of nutrition to the Maasai. Traditionally, Maasai women consume a modified diet, restricting caloric consumption during the third trimester, reducing intake of protein rich foods, and increasing water intake [20, 21]. Community elders often enforce this practice in the first pregnancy, although women, according to a number of the participants, may opt to follow this pattern in subsequent pregnancies. Powell [22] interviewed NCAA Maasai regarding their perceptions of dietary restrictions during the third trimester and found that the women viewed these nutritional restrictions as necessary for a safe delivery and to limit adverse medical outcomes. The women felt the dietary restrictions keep their bodies ‘clean’ during pregnancy in order to readily absorb nutrients contained in the perinatal diet [22]. According to Mawani [23], Maasai women in Kenya believed that it is important to continue a regular diet throughout pregnancy. Mawani’s study, however, noted that foods such as sugar, certain herbs, mutton, sheep’s offals and meat or milk from sick animals are avoided due to their perceived negative effects on the fetus [23]. These findings predate the food security interventions in NCAA and need to be revisited. Maasai pregnancies and neonatal outcome are concerning. On average, Maasai women are observed to gain only 11% of their body weight during pregnancy [20] compared to their American and European cohorts with 15 to 25% gain [20, 24]. Approximately 13% of Maasai infants are categorized as low birth weight compared with an average 6.9% in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries [23, 24]. Many factors influence pregnancy outcomes, such as poor maternal nutrition, birth spacing, maternal age (under 15 years or over 35 years), inadequate prenatal care, lifestyle behaviors, and poverty [22–24]. It is in this context of the changing food availability and food insecurity affecting the maternal-child dyadthat we framed our study. Method This qualitative descriptive study explored the views and daily dietary habits of select pregnant Maasai women currently or previously from the NCAA. Using an interpretive description methodology, which is rooted within a phenomenological qualitative approach, the researchers sought to answer two research questions: 1) What are the beliefs of pregnant Maasai women on the roles of nutrition in healthy pregnancy outcomes? and 2) How do pregnant Maasai women from the NCAA describe their current dietary pattern? Data was collected in two optional parts: a semi-structured individual interview (see Appendix) lasting between 15 and 60 min; and/or a 24-h diet recall conducted immediately after the interview which took place in November 2015. However, the research team has an ongoing relationship in this community for more than 4 years. Each woman was invited and chose to complete both parts, but was given the option to participate in either or both. This article considers the interview (results) contributions and perspectives of the participants respecting the first research question. The dietary recall analysis and second research question will be published in a subsequent document. A convenience sampling method yielded 12 study participants through a combination of posters and ‘word of mouth’ recruitment. Posters translated in to Swahili and M’aa were placed in local clinics and the ward administrator’s office in the village. Due to literacy and logistical issues (travel to the village) efforts were made to ensure the largest number of women were made aware of the research opportunity through word of mouth. The local clinic staff and administration were important in letting members of the community know about the opportunity and asking them to share it with any woman who might be interested and appropriate for the study purposes. The two interviews in the city locale were through word of mouth (telephone contacts from members of the community to the women about the project). The project team had intended to interview between 6 and 8 individuals; however, the successful recruitment was seen as an opportunity to include more voices and perspectives. All women were originally and/or currently from the NCCA, although 10 interviews occurred in Meshili village and 2 in Arusha city. To be eligible to participate, women must have self-identified as Maasai woman in any trimester of pregnancy. All women provided voluntary informed consent, either verbally or written, depending on their literacy level. Interviews were conducted as one to one interactions lasting about 20 to 60 min each by either the research assistant or the primary author. The NCCA based interviews all took place at either the local village dispensary or at the woman’s home based on the participant’s request. The Arusha based interviews took place at the offices of a local partner non-government organization. In each case the setting provided privacy and ensured confidentiality. Demographic data was recorded prior to each interview. An interview guide was created by the first author with translation done first to Swahili then to M’aa as many terms and phrases are existing in the former language but have been adapted into M’aa. Translation was done by 2 Swahili native speakers independently into Swahili and consensus was reached before the research assistant translated the content to M’aa. The village based interviews were conducted by a male tri-lingual research assistant who works as a community health service provider in the community. All village-based interviews were conducted in M’aa and translated to English. In Arusha the interviews were conducted by the primary author with the research assistant in attendance to assist in case language became an issue. Each interview was digitally recorded, translated, transcribed, and edited with the primary author and local research assistant, with a special focus on clarifying any culturally specific words, concepts, and/or practices. Interpretive description was selected as the qualitative methodological approach to distinguish commonalities between what was already known regarding beliefs of pregnant Maasai women and the findings of this study, allowing interpretation of new data and application of evidence to practice. This non-categorical research methodology encompasses multiple qualitative methods to describe the complex interactions between psychosocial and biological phenomena [25]. The study used interpretive description in order to generate new constructs out of the data which forces the researchers to “see beyond the obvious, rigorously testing out that which we think we see, and taking some ownership over the potential meaning and impact of the visions” [26]. Thorne et al. [26] advises researchers to keep data analysis simple and to avoid removing the researcher from the participants, which could harbor over analyzing and misinterpretation of participants’ views. All the data were analyzed using content analysis, a technique for creating replicable interpretations from qualitative data such as interviews, observations, and other contextually important materials [27]. The purpose of content analysis is to arrange large amounts of text into themes and subthemes with similar meaning and generate a deeper interpretation through coding and identifying commonalities and themes within the findings [28]. Analysis The interview results were analyzed using Excel™ software, by highlighting or coding common words, phrases, and subjects. To further reflect the participants’ voices, in most cases, the theme label (name) was derived from an actual participant quotation. The final 5 themes were reviewed and agreed to by the research team and the research assistant. Results Participant ages ranged from 18–30 years (please note that actual age is not always easily determined as birth records are often not kept). One participant was primigravida (8.3%) with the remainder multigravida (91.6%) with most reporting 2 or 3 children. All (100%) participating women were married. All participants were originally from Olbalbal communities. At the time of the study, a majority (83.3%) of participants lived in the rural district of Olbalbal in the NCAA. One (8.35%) participant was currently living in Arusha City with her husband and the other (8.35%) was doing business in the city on an intermittent basis (going back to Olbalbal regularly). As mentioned the study had two major components – an individual interview and a food recall. These results reflect the former, whilst the food recall will be reported in a second paper. Through data analysis, five common themes were identified: a) Eating less food lets baby come easier; b) Not producing food means more dependence; c) Working hard harms my baby; d) Knowing what is needed for a good pregnancy; and e) Preferring our traditional ways for pregnancy and birth. It is noted that the limited number of primigravidas precluded the discussion of results based on number of pregnancies. Theme 1: ‘Eating less food lets baby come easier’ This theme, which derives from a direct quotation, reflects the belief that a pregnant woman’s food intake must be decreased to prevent a large baby. This belief seemed to relate to a number of factors such as risk of death due to a large infant, concern for lack of specialized care if the baby did not pass naturally, and concern over health of a big infant. A majority of the women travel long distances to clinics and value the tradition of giving birth at home under the supervision of a traditional birth attendant. Delivering at home makes it necessary for women to avoid big babies, which, they believe, increases the risk for a cesarean delivery. One woman stated “If I eat meat it will make the baby fat that would make me go to the hospital and deliver through surgery.” (Participant 9 [P9]). The women told of the Maasai traditions surrounding food during pregnancy which restricted or prevented them from consuming unpasteurized milk, meat, or milk from cattle (other than their own), eggs, sweet foods, and butter. Also, they shared that women were to restrict caloric intake, especially from sweet or fatty foods throughout their pregnancies. When asked “What foods do you avoid while you are pregnant?” one women replied “beans and milk, because if you eat this, the baby will be fat” [P6]. These traditions restrict women from eating any meat or drinking milk from their sixth month of pregnancy until delivery. At delivery, they are expected to be “clean” in order to readily absorb nutrients contained in the postnatal diet. … any sweet foods aren’t allowed, I am not allowed to eat the fat separated from the milk (butter) until I am closer to birth… We avoid those foods because we don’t want the baby to get really really fat... [P2] In combination with the dietary restrictions, many pregnant Maasai women reported a decrease in appetite during their pregnancy, which, when combined with nausea and vomiting, resulted in further restriction in dietary intake. All participants interviewed reported feeling very tired since becoming pregnant. One woman said, “Sometimes I wake up feeling very tired and nauseous…I feel drunk but haven’t had anything to drink…when I feel that way I just drink water or anything sour.” [P2] According to the participants, in a Maasai household, the male head is always the first to eat followed by the children, and lastly, the mother. Most participants interviewed reported being fed last as having no effect on how much food they received. However, according to Participant 2: Since I’ve been pregnant and am told not to eat certain foods, they don’t see me as a priority to have to eat first. Sometimes I’m not full but I’m supposed to stop eating (be)cause I’ve reached my limit…and sometimes if we run out of food I have to drink tea with milk instead. There’s nothing that I can do because it’s the tradition. The use of local herbs and medicine at some point during a pregnancy is seen as a means to cleanse or cure the woman of sickness (i.e., nausea and vomiting), fever, or from consumption of ‘prohibited foods’ (i.e., foods high in fat or sugar). On average, the Maasai women interviewed were given local medicine consisting of naturally grown herbs once a week to induce vomiting and diarrhea. Primarily, the mother-in-law or Elders monitor the pregnant mothers’ diets. One participant [P11] reported that “[I] take these medicines to have an appetite to eat more…to feel light”.One of the two women currently located in the city discussed how Maasai cultures and traditions differ when they live in the NCAA. I am a Maasai that lives in town so there’s no one to restrict my diet, so sometimes I eat whatever I want but sometimes if I eat something that I don’t think is healthy I’ll take the medicine myself to make myself vomit. Consistent with Maasai traditions, study participants believe reducing dietary intake will avert ‘big’ babies and complications during childbirth. Pregnant mothers rely on the experience of relatives and Elders in the community to guide them through pregnancy and delivery without formal health system interventions. Theme 2: ‘Not producing food means more dependence’ Maasai historically relied on cattle, sheep, and goats as their principal dietary sources. As herd sizes have decreased the Maasai increasingly rely on food brought in to the NCAA on market days and relief foods. There is an increasing dependence on non-traditional foodstuffs, a situation which the women struggle with. On bi-monthly market days, women walk long distances to the village to purchase fruits and vegetables, but not all women who attend the market are successful in making purchases due to cost and supply. When asked about their food sources, six women reported purchasing maize, seven indicated getting milk from their cows, and three obtained vegetables from the forest. Very few Maasai families access food outside of NCAA due to lack of transportation and funds, limiting their diets to milk, maize, and meat derived from cows, sheep, or goats. This situation has created an inability for self-sustainability and a greater dependency on purchased or government relief foods. When asked to explain Maasai traditions surrounding diet during pregnancy, one woman explained: Mostly what [Maasai women] eat in Ngorongoro is maize, maize flour, milk, and meat/intestines. The goat meat is from our own herd of goat, we never take meat or livestock from anywhere else because we don’t know if they were on any medication or sick. [P2] In the NCAA, seasonal changes affect food availability, altering which foods are naturally available as those brought in for purchase. During the rainy season, most (7) women reported eating vegetables. One woman indicated that “During the rainy season I get vegetables and ugali (stiff porridge), and during the dry season I get only porridge.” [P8] Only three women reported eating any form of protein or dairy product during the dry season, with a majority reporting eating only maize, and maize porridge. As mentioned previously these latter foods, which lack the requisite micronutrients, often comprise the bulk of the government relief foods. Theme 3: ‘Working hard harms my baby’ Women in the community are responsible for household chores, such as collecting firewood and water, taking care of children, and food preparation. Pregnant Maasi women will steadily increase their workload throughout the second and third trimesters in preparation for the postnatal period, when they will remain in their bomas (homes) for three months post-partum to recover from childbirth and to care for their newborns [14]. Many women described feeling hungry, tired, and weak throughout their pregnancies. The increased workload and decreased nutritional support compromises the women’s abilities to maintain the energy level necessary to perform activities of daily living. Half of the women interviewed described difficult environments and increased workload as being detrimental to a healthy pregnancy. Participant 2 explained that walking long distances while pregnant became increasingly difficult saying, “they don’t care if I’m pregnant or not I still have to do my daily chores like, walking to get water and firewood which usually involves long distances”. Daily chores become increasingly difficult to perform in the heat and there is little protection from the environment. Some women interviewed indicated a choice in sacrificing clinic visits and checkups to avoid walking long distances in these extreme conditions. One woman stated What I am going through I don’t feel anything good at the moment, the only thing good about the pregnancy is about having the baby.[P2] Theme 4: Knowing what is needed for a good pregnancy Many participants shared instinctual knowledge on how to maintain healthy pregnancies, even though such knowledge may contradict cultural beliefs. Cultural pregnancy beliefs and traditions enforce rules or guidelines regarding diet, activity level, and rest. Many of those interviewed understood that not all traditions are beneficial. Most participants had a basic understanding of good nutrition during pregnancy, with eight indicating that they had adhered to this healthy, traditionally ascribed approach throughout their pregnancies. With respect to local medicines and herbs, the women indicated usages such as “to clean out”, “to help cooling down our bodies”, and “for fever”. Rather than labeling traditional medicines as good or bad, they described them as necessary to ensure health and to address over indulgences. In discussion of what was good and bad during their pregnancy, six women mentioned hunger and lack of food as being bad during pregnancy, as epitomized by one woman stating that “Good, if I get enough food, and bad, if I am hungry” [P5]. The other half of participants indicated that not enough rest, and difficult work are bad for their pregnancies. In addition, some mentioned anger as being harmful during pregnancy. One woman stated, I wish I could change how much anger I have, (be)cause in Maasai traditions you are not supposed to be an angry person during pregnancy…it is [not] healthy for my baby to be mad all the time. [P1] Lastly, the women were asked if there was anything that they could or should change to help the baby’s development during pregnancy. Three women voiced “having resting time” [P6] as something they could change to help baby develop healthy and safely. Three women said having a balanced diet was important “to try to find balanced diet which my baby loves.” [P11] Theme 5: Preferring our traditional ways for pregnancy and birth Maasai cultures and traditions impact on prenatal and postnatal care, both positively and negatively. This life stage, according to the participants, is filled with “family”, including mothers-in-laws, husbands, parents, and other wives in their polygamous relationships. One woman stated, “For us we get help from women Elders who have already gave birth and are years older…I need to be close to someone that has experience in the community.” [P2] The Elders are partially responsible for monitoring food intake, and administering local medicines. Family members, community members, ‘Wakunga’ (local traditional birth attendants), and Elders share responsibility for monitoring food intake during pregnancy. One woman reported: The mother in law monitors my diet, if she sees me eating foods that she believes are bad for baby, too fatty, or will make baby over weight, she will make me drink a special drink to induce vomiting…given on average once a week…women have to hide while eating when they are pregnant so the elders don’t see them eating so much. [P2] Nine of twelve women reported taking some form of local medicine during their pregnancies. One woman reported “I take local herbs “Oloiren” and “Oloisuki” [P7]. Herbs are taken during times of sickness or after eating fatty foods as a way to “clean out” the mother. Another discussed “there is a medicine we call black okeshal [or] “Olevisi”, it is used for pregnant women to help with cooling down our bodies, and helps with hydration” [P2]. Discussion There is minimal research evidence on how Maasai women’s perception of the importance of diet and nutrition during pregnancy and to healthy child outcomes. Although cultural traditions dictate the diet and activity levels, many participants understood the importance of a balanced diet and adequate rest during pregnancy. The women indicated a preference for adhering to traditional practices during pregnancy as they were supported by other women and being cared for in a traditional way (by elders and traditional birth attendants). So there is a dissonance between knowledge of dietary needs during pregnancy and adherence to follow cultural practices. The study suggested the imperative for promotion of prenatal care to invite women to openly discuss traditional and mainstream practice in order to have healthier pregnancies and healthier babies. The women talked about feeling tired and overworked, not getting enough to eat and lacking vegetables during their pregnancy, indicating an awareness of how these contribute to an unhealthy pregnancy. They also shared their choices to have healthier babies such as eating less to ensure the baby could ‘pass’, avoiding certain foods that are culturally regarded as bad for the baby, and taking local herbs. This is a critical opportunity for knowledge mobilization, with the research evidence from this study, to bring forward new ideas, options, and an informed dialogue on prenatal nutrition concerns and needs amongst Maasai women. Such a dialogue must be culturally respective and inclusive. This study also showed the interest and willingness of this group of women, to share their experiences in the hope of improving their situation and that of other pregnant women. Opportunities for ongoing research and knowledge translation should be considered, which are inclusive of the elders, traditional birth attendants, local health providers, and the pregnant women. There were a number of limitations in this study. The first limitation relates to development of the interview guide. As there was no specific pre-existing tool so an interview guide was developed. Although the instrument used open ended questions, most women often answered with only one to two word responses. Future iterations might include more extensive questioning to enable multiple ways of seeking answers or conduct group interviews which might invite more extensive dialogues. The perceived position of power of the interviewer/researcher may have contributed to this succinct answering pattern. To address this, one might consider a more prolonged engagement in the community which potentially generates familiarity and comfort with process and person. A second limitation was reliance on a local research assistant to collect the interviews and dietary recalls. Although the research assistant was a local community member of Maasai descent, and fluent in M’aa, Swahili, and English, he was male. This interface could have created bias and/or limited the interview content by creating a perceived power imbalance in the interviewer/interviewee relationship or making the female participants uncomfortable to discuss their health and pregnancy with a male. This gender difference may have also yielded under-reporting by the women due to perceived ‘traditional’ roles and expectations. A third limitation was in the need for multiple translations. Nes, Abma, Jonsson, and Deeg [29] discussed how language difference in qualitative research may have consequences in loss of meaning, or the misinterpretation of words or how they are perceived. In this study, complexity was added in needing a translator who was trilingual. In order to ensure reliability of interpretation throughout the data transcription process, the research assistant and lead researcher worked together to clarify each relevant word and interpretation of the participants’ meaning to ensure authenticity of each interview. Some risks associated with translation were potentially mitigated through digitally recording interviews which provided the opportunity to cross-check certain words or phrases with the translator and the local doctor (both of whom were tri-lingual), helping with the validation of findings as described by Murray & Wynne [30]. Conclusion This research described traditional and current dietary practices of select Maasai women during pregnancy and their perceptions on how diet and nutrition impact maternal and child outcomes. The women interviewed variably described restricted dietary intake throughout their pregnancies, especially during the third trimester, with the intent of reducing the size of the baby to facilitate easier delivery. Added chores, excessive walking, and difficult workloads during pregnancy further increases metabolic expenditure, further reducing fetal size. The study findings may contribute to improving nutritional status of pregnant Maasai women by providing knowledge of cultural practices related to pregnancy nutrition. Community leaders, family members, and traditional birth attendants are influential in how and when the Maasai women seek medical care throughout their pregnancy. From the research findings, gender inequality in relation to inadequate nutritional patterns, and prenatal workload informs potential research direction. Locally, this research may inform program changes by embedding traditional beliefs, focus on nutrition, and on evidence based practices. By promoting an understanding of the mechanisms and risks of fetal growth restriction, cultural practices may change and encourage the reconsideration of food restrictions in pregnant Maasai women. The research findings can as well be used as a catalyst in development of local policies by focusing on accommodating traditional beliefs respecting culturally safe prenatal care and nutrition. These research findings can potentially inform government policies specifically in the domain of food aid programs, by increasing a focus on variability of relief foods with the imperative for more nutrient dense foods, specifically for pregnant and

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As of today, Christie remains the bestselling murder mystery novelist of all time, so her method obviously worked!18th century poet Alexander Pope has the most popular poetic quote according to Google Analytics. The award-winning quote, which has over 14.8 million hits on Google, comes from Pope’s An Essay on Criticism: “To err is human; to forgive, divine.” Rounding out the top three are William Ernest Henley’s “I am the master of my fate,” and William Wordsworth’s “The child is father of the man.While poet Sylvia Plath is better known for Ariel and The Bell Jar, she also wrote a popular collection of children’s rhymes that were published posthumously as The Bed Book. The original printed version of The Bed Book featured illustrations by Quentin Blake, the award-winning artist behind almost all the illustrations in Roald Dahl’s books.Irish novelist James Joyce was one of world literature’s most famous astraphobics. In case you didn’t already know, astrophobia refers to an intense fear of thunder and lightning. Biographers believe Joyce developed this fear when his Catholic teachers told him thunder was a sign of God’s wrath.Robert Louis Stevenson, author of Treasure Island and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, formally gave away his birthday to an American girl while he was living in Samoa. The reason he did this was because the young girl, A. H. Ide, had her birthday on Christmas, so she didn’t get as many presents as her friendsHanson Robotics created a life-size android of sci-fi author Philip K. Dick in 2005. The life-like robot has won numerous accolades in the tech industry. You can check out videos of this intelligent android-author on YouTube.Classical music lovers probably already know that novelist Aurore Dupin (better known as George Sand) was the lover of Polish composer Frédéric Chopin. In addition to Chopin, Sand had relationships with the playwright Alfred de Musset and the short story writer Prosper Mérimée. Before she embarked on these famous romantic relations, Sand was married to François Casimir Dudevant and bore him two children.There are many eerie parallels between John Brunner‘s 1964 novel Stand on Zanzibar and the current world. This novel, which is set in 2010, predicted the rise of China, the formation of the European Union, overpopulation, Viagra, and even had a president named Obomi!Most novelists have some pretty odd ways of getting “inspired,” but British novelist D. H. Lawrence‘s method was pretty extreme…even for a writer. Lawrence would actually climb mulberry trees totally naked to help stimulate his imagination. Well, whatever works, right?The Anglican Church honored Victorian poet Christian Rossetti with her very own Feast Day on the second Sunday of Easter. Rossetti is well known for her devotional verses, especially her Christmas poems. British composer Gustav Holst actually set Rossetti’s “In The Bleak Midwinter” to music.American author Ernest Hemingway once stole a urinal from the bar Sloppy Joe’s and brought it to his Key West home. He argued that he had “pissed away” enough money in this bar that he deserved to own the urinal. Today, visitors can still see this famed urinal, which was soon transformed into a garden fountain.Candide author Voltaire helped spread the story of Sir Isaac Newton getting hit on the head with an apple. Voltaire wasn’t the first to write about how Newton came up with his theory of gravity, but his account in 1727’s “Essay on Epic Poetry” is one of the most famous versions. Although Voltaire (real name François-Marie Arouet) greatly admired Newton’s work, the two great Enlightenment thinkers never met.In 1886, science fiction legend Jules Verne was almost killed by his nephew Gaston. Only one of Gaston’s two bullets hit Verne in the left shin, which resulted in a lifelong limp. Police quickly arrested Gaston and locked him away in a mental institution.American playwright Eugene O’Neill was born in a hotel room in New York and died in a hotel room in Boston. His famous last words were, “I knew it. I knew it. Born in a hotel room – and God damn it – died in a hotel room.”Many film critics believe sci-fi author Ursula K. Le Guin‘s novels were the main sources of inspiration for the 2009 blockbuster Avatar. In particular, critics see stark parallels between Avatar and Le Guin’s novella The Word for World Is Forest. Fans of James Cameron’s epic film should really give this short book a read-through.Edgar Rice Burroughs, author of Tarzan, worked as a pencil-sharpener salesman before he tried his hand at fiction. Indeed, Burroughs only started writing at the age of 36 to support his wife and two children.Irish dramatist Samuel Beckett was close friends with the wrestler André the Giant. André’s father, Boris Rousimoff, actually helped Beckett build his farm in northern Paris. In return for this favor, Beckett agreed to drive the young André into school every day.The great Swiss-born writer Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a key contributor to Denis Diderot‘s first French Encyclopedia. Rousseau almost exclusively wrote entries on subjects related to music. Indeed, Rousseau was so fond of music that he actually composed his own opera, The Village Soothsayer, in 1752.DC Comics didn’t invent the nickname “Gotham City.” Believe it or not, “Rip Van Winkle” author Washington Irving first used this term to describe New York in an 1807 periodical. Irving apparently stole the nickname from a village in Nottinghamshire, EnglandThe city Pippa Passes in eastern Kentucky was named after Victorian poet Robert Browning‘s verse drama of the same name. Locals decided to change the city’s name from “Carney” to “Pippa Passes” after they received financial assistance from the Browning Society in the 1920s.The Hound of Heaven poet Francis Thompson is listed as a Jack the Ripper suspect. Although there’s no physical evidence to back up this strange claim, independent researchers say the imagery in Thompson’s poetry and his background in medical school are valid grounds for suspicion.Charles Perrault, the French author behind classic fairy tales like Cinderella, persuaded King Louis XIV to build 39 fountains in the Gardens of Versailles as a tribute to Aesop’s fables. It took workers only five years (1672 to 1677) to complete this remarkable feat of engineering. Besides Cinderella, Perrault is responsible for tales like Bluebeard, Little Red Riding Hood, and Sleeping Beauty.Although lesser known today, the temperance novel Franklin Evans was one of Walt Whitman‘s most commercially successful works during his lifetime. The great American poet wrote this novel at the start of his career strictly for cash. He later admitted that he penned this work in a drunken stupor over a period of three days.Colin Dexter, author of the popular Inspector Morse novels, said the most common question he got from fans was about the meaning of the term “boustrophedon” in one of his novels. In case you were wondering, boustrophedon refers to an ancient style of writing in which the lines of text alternate from left to right and then from right to left. Dexter was a Classics major and loved filling his detective novels with Ancient Greek, Latin, and English literature.Speaking of Colin Dexter, it’s impossible not to think of Oxford, which is affectionately known as “The City of Dreaming Spires.” Few people know that it was Victorian poet Matthew Arnold who coined this phrase to describe Oxford. Just like Dexter, Arnold studied Classics at the University of Oxford.Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami said he was inspired to write fiction after attending a baseball game at Jingu Stadium. Even though he had never written a novel before, Murakami intuitively knew he could write a great story as he watched Dave Hilton bat a double. He started writing Hear the Wild Sing that very night.Before he seriously began writing, French author Michel Houellebecq studied to become a farmer…only to discover that he didn’t want to go into agriculture. Shortly after earning his agronomy degree, Houellebecq worked on computers for the French government. He only began to earn a living as a writer once The Elementary Particles was published in 1998.After Song of Solomon author Toni Morrison‘s house burned down, she spent hours on the phone with fellow author Maxine Hong Kingston trying to process the loss. Kingston also lost one of her homes to a fire.American author Cormac McCarthy admitted that he sent his first novel to Random House only because he didn’t know any other publishing houses. Amazingly, McCarthy has been able to sell all of his novels from the 1960s onwards without the help of an agentAs a souvenir from his trip to the Middle East, French author Gustave Flaubert brought home a mummy’s foot and kept it on his working desk. Historians note that it was actually quite common for wealthy 19th century travelers to bring body parts from mummies as souvenirs.Beat author William S. Burroughs‘s novel Naked Lunch was supposed to be called Naked Lust. Burroughs decided to change the novel’s title after fellow Beat Jack Kerouac mispronounced the original title.Both American writers Ernest Hemingway and Hart Crane were born on the same day: July 21st, 1899. Unfortunately, both of these troubled artists also died by their own hands.While he was writing Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison supported himself as a freelance photographer. He also earned some money repairing, building, and installing audio systems.Although the Italian writer Italo Calvino is highly praised for his fantasy novels, his parents suppressed literary studies in favor of scientific learning. Both of Calvino’s parents were science professors. Indeed, Calvino’s father was a well-respected botanist who grew some Italy’s first avocados.The influential British authors C. S. Lewis and Aldous Huxley died on the same day: November 22nd, 1963. That was also the fateful day John F. Kennedy was assassinated. All three of these coincidental deaths inspired American author Peter Kreeft to write the novel Between Heaven and Hell: A Dialog Somewhere Beyond Death with John F. Kennedy, C. S. Lewis, & Aldous Huxley.Sci-fi author H. G. Wells worked as a math teacher shortly before publishing his iconic The Time Machine. Wells’s most famous student was none other than Winnie The Pooh author A. A. Milne. Milne’s father, John Milne, was the schoolmaster at the Henley House school and employed Wells between 1889 and 1890.While we’re on the topic of important British writers educating future English authors, Eric Arthur Blair (aka George Orwell) was once the pupil of Aldous Huxley. Huxley taught Orwell French at Eton College starting in 1917.Medieval French poet François Villon murdered a priest and later stole from Paris’s Collège de Navarre. Although he was sentenced to be hanged for his criminal actions, it appears Villon’s sentence changed to exile. Some scholars believe Villon fled to England in his final years, but nobody actually knows what happened to him after 1463.Wystan Hugh Auden (often referred to as W. H. Auden) drew a great deal from his father’s medical knowledge and his mother’s Anglican faith in his poetry. Indeed, Auden is credited with being the first serious English writer to use the language of clinical psychiatry in verse.Literary scholars don’t know much about The Faerie Queene author Edmund Spencer‘s first wife Machabyas Childe. All we know is that Spencer married Childe in 1579 in London’s St. Margaret’s Church and that Childe died before 1594. We do know a bit more about Spencer’s second wife Elizabeth Boyle.Ender’s Game author Orson Scott Card lists feeding local wildlife on his North Carolina patio as one of his hobbies. Besides birds, chipmunks, and squirrels, Card also likes to feed raccoons and possums.British diarist Samuel Pepys was so relieved after his successful bladder stone surgery in 1658 that he decided to celebrate the occasion every single year. While the surgeon did remove a major bladder stone, Pepys suffered a few complications from the operation.Catch-22 author Joseph Heller worked on many major screenplays in Hollywood to earn a living. A few major movies Heller worked on include Sex and the Single Girl and the first film adaptation of Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale.British war poet Wilfred Owen thought about enlisting in the French army at the start of World War I. Owen was working as a teacher in France when WWI broke out. Sadly, Owen died shortly before Armistice and was buried in the French town of Ors.Siegfried Sassoon, another famous British WWI poet, befriended Wilfred Owen as they were both recovering in a Scottish hospital. Sassoon had a huge impact on Owen and encouraged the young poet to write. For those who are interested, Pat Barker based her novel Regeneration on the friendship between Owen and Sassoon.Canadian Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae was inspired to write his iconic WWI poem “In Flanders Field” after his friend was killed in Ypres, Belgium. A few days after his friend was buried, McCrae noticed poppies starting to bloom underneath the hundreds of unmarked graves. Inspired by this image, McCrae quickly composed his iconic poem the next day while riding in an ambulance.Controversial American author Charles Bukowski was definitely a cat person. He actually wrote an entire book called On Cats. In one section of this book, Bukowski says he only has to look at a cat to regain his courage.English poet William Blake only spent three years of his life outside of London. During this time in the town of Felpham Blake worked hard on his famous Jerusalem. Blake also got into a serious fight with the soldier John Schofield after he allegedly cursed the king and said soldiers were no better than slaves.At the age of eleven, Japanese author Shūsaku Endō‘s aunt persuaded him to become a Catholic. After studying in Tokyo, Endō studied Catholic theology in Lyon, France. By the time of his death, authors around the world hailed Endō as “Japan’s Graham Greene.”Sudanese author Tayeb Salih‘s classic novel Season of Migrations to the North was banned in his home country after it was published in 1989. The government banned the novel due to its frank depictions of sex rather than its political implications. Today, however, Salih’s novel is hailed around the world as a masterpiece of post-colonial literature.Eighteenth-century Venetian author Giacomo Casanova started writing his epic autobiography History of My Life late in life out of sheer boredom. A Bohemian count in Duchcov, Czech Republic, protected Casanova from 1785 until Casanova’s death in 1798. In case you were wondering, Casanova claims to have slept with 122 women in his dazzling autobiography.Victorian novelist Anthony Trollope had his servant wake him up every day at 5:30 AM with a hot cup of coffee. Trollope then spent three hours writing before he went to his day job at the post office. Most days, Trollope was able to write an incredible 250 words per 15 minutes.The International Astronomical Union (IAU) named asteroid 5696 in honor of Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen. Astronomers at San Diego’s Palomar Observatory discovered 5696 Ibsen in 1960.After the first volume of Norwegian author Karl Ove Knausgård‘s My Struggle was published, numerous offices in Oslo banned workers from talking about the book on Fridays. Bosses in Oslo complained that their employees were spending far too much time talking about Knausgård’s text and not enough time doing their jobs.American author W. E. B. DuBois moved to Ghana in 1960 when he was in his 90s. DuBois started work on an Encyclopedia Africana, but he passed away in 1963. Visitors to the capital city Accra can visit the W. E. B. DuBois Memorial Center and see the room DuBois stayed in as well as his final resting place.Gilded Age author Edith Wharton lived in Paris during World War I and was passionate about helping the French war effort. In addition to working with charities and visiting the Western Front, Wharton wrote numerous articles urging the USA to defend France. At the end of the Great War, the French government gave Wharton a Legion of Honor for her support.English Romantic poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge is credited with the first printed use of the words “selfless,” “psychosomatic,” “bipolar,” and “bisexual.” Coleridge is also responsible for the now famous phrase “suspension of disbelief.”F. Scott Fitzgerald‘s classic short story “Babylon Revisited” sold to the Saturday Evening Post for $4,000 in 1931. Adjusting for inflation, that’s close to $50,000 today. Once he received the money for this story, Fitzgerald told Ernest Hemingway in a letter that he felt like an “old whore.”It took Japanese author Yasunari Kawabata 12 years to complete his masterpiece Snow Country. He especially struggled with choosing from dozens of possible conclusions. All that hard work definitely paid off for Kawabata; he went on to become Japan’s first Nobel Prize winner in the field of literature in 1968.After Fathers and Sons author Ivan Turgenev died in 1818, Russian surgeons took out his brain and put it on a weight scale. They found that his brain weighed 2,021 grams (4.4 pounds), which was one of the heaviest to date on Russian records.Although every student learns about iambic pentameter studying William Shakespeare’s verse, Christopher Marlowe‘s Tamburlaine the Great is the first official play totally in blank verse. Marlowe was a contemporary of Shakespeare, but he died at a younger age after he was stabbed at a dining-house.With Christopher Marlowe in mind, it’s interesting (and sad) to note that he might have indirectly caused the death of another great English Renaissance playwright: Thomas Kyd. Kyd, who’s most famous for his play The Spanish Tragedy, was beaten up by government agents demanding to know whether his roommate Marlowe was an atheist or not. Thomas Kyd died in 1594, just one year after authorities gave him a good thrashing.While he was working at the Royal Library in Stockholm, playwright August Strindberg learned how to read Chinese and organized the library’s Chinese manuscripts. Today, millions of Chinese are just starting to get interested in Strindberg’s outstanding oeuvre.When Journey to the End of the Night author Louis-Ferdinand Céline was a soldier in World War I, he agreed to carry a message for the French army and was shot in the arm in Ypres. For his service in WWI, Céline was awarded a médaille militaire; however, he was denounced by French authorities during WWII for his collaboration with the Nazis.As Anton Chekhov‘s body was transported from Germany to Moscow, a crowd of mourners mistook General Keller’s funeral procession for Chekhov’s. Chekhov is now buried in Moscow’s famous Novodevichy Cemetery with fellow Russian icons such as Sergei Prokofiev and Nikolai Gogol.Nineteenth-century Polish author Henryk Sienkiewicz was so beloved in his own time that his fellow countrymen came together to buy him a small castle in 1900. Sienkiewicz lived in this castle for a few years before World War I. Today, the Poznań castle serves as the Henryk Sienkiewicz Museum.Chilean poet Pablo Neruda always wrote in green ink. For Neruda, green was a color of hope and abundance and (apparently) helped his creative process. Children’s authors Pam Muñoz Ryan and Peter Sís paid tribute to the great poet by publishing their 2010 book on Neruda’s childhood The Dreamer in green ink.At the height of her critical acclaim, British author Doris Lessing sent two new novels to her publisher under the pen name Jane Somers. Her UK publisher rejected both of these novels (The Diary of a Good Neighbor and If the Old Could). Lessing used this experience to illustrate just how difficult it is for a new writer to get published.Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, author of the Gulag Archipelago, spent over 20 years in Vermont after being expelled from the USSR in 1974. In all that time, Solzhenitsyn never learned to speak fluent English. Strangely, Solzhenitsyn did know how to read English and had read English literature ever since he was a teenager.During WWII, Russian author Ivan Bunin lived in southern France and hid dozens of Jews from the Nazis. The Soviet Union welcomed Bunin back after the war, but Bunin chose to spend his final years in France. Bunin was the first Russian to ever win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1933.Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the feminist author of The Yellow Wallpaper, was related to Uncle Tom’s Cabin author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Gilman’s father was Stowe’s nephew, and the Charlotte Perkins Gilman spent a fair amount of her childhood at Stowe’s Hartford residence.There’s no evidence that President Abraham Lincoln said to Harriet Beecher Stowe, “So this is the little lady who started this great big war.” In fact, it’s not even clear whether President Lincoln actually met with Stowe during the Civil War. Historians say this popular rumor can be traced back to Stowe’s 1896 obituary.Staying on the topic of Harriet Beecher Stowe, one of world literature’s greatest admirers of Uncle Tom’s Cabin was none other than Leo Tolstoy. The author of Anna Karenina called Uncle Tom’s Cabin one of the prime “examples of the highest art flowing from love of God and man.” Strange as it may seem, Tolstoy had far kinder things to say about Stowe’s novel than Shakespeare’s King Lear.A few years after Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz was born in present-day Tepetlixpa, Mexico, she taught herself Latin, wrote a dramatic poem, and passed tests administered by scholars in Mexico City. In 1669, Juana decided to enter into a convent so she would have no worldly distractions to her intellectual pursuits.French aristocrat Alexis de Tocqueville initially traveled to the USA in 1830 to study America’s prison system. At the end of his travels, de Tocqueville’s fellow traveler Gustave de Beaumont wrote the majority of the penal system study while de Tocqueville worked exclusively on his influential Democracy in America.Irish author and politician Edmund Burke had great difficulty with public speaking. Burke’s public speeches at the House of Commons were so boring that many MPs left the building once Burke took stood up.British author Rudyard Kipling‘s book Kim literally saved a French soldier’s life. French Legionnaire soldier Maurice Hamonneau was shot in Verdun in 1913. Luckily for Hamonneau, the bullet struck his copy of Kim, which was in his left breast pocket, and stopped the bullet twenty pages away from his heart.Stephen Crane wrote the greatest Civil War novel, The Red Badge of Courage, even though he was born five years after the war ended. When asked how he was able to write battle scenes with such accuracy, Crane said that he learned all he needed to know about war from football.Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is the only American poet to be honored with a bust in London’s Westminster Abbey. Longfellow was born in Portland, Maine, in 1807, but his ancestry can be traced back to Yorkshire, England. During his lifetime, Longfellow was almost as popular a poet as Lord Tennyson in the UK.Shortly after 19th century critic William Hazlitt passed away, his London landlady hid his corpse underneath a bed. So desperate was this Soho landlady for new tenants that she actually gave tours of the apartment while Hazlitt’s body was underneath the bed.Although only one of her poems survives intact, artists have hailed the Ancient Greek poetess Sappho as on par with Homer. Sappho wrote at least nine volumes of poetry, but most of the poems that survive today are in fragments on papyrus scrolls.Two great works by the Roman poet Ovid have been lost to the sands of time: the drama Medea and a poem in praise of King Augustus written in the now extinct Getic language. Luckily for literature lovers and mythologists, Ovid’s masterful Metamorphoses has survived to the present day.Notorious English occultist Aleister Crowley invented quite a few alcoholic mixtures throughout his life. One of his most famous concoctions, “Kubla Khan No. 2,” consists of gin, vermouth, and laudanum (a commonly available opioid painkiller back in the day)Spanish artist Pablo Picasso inspired the Polish-Italian poet Guillaume Apollinaire to imitate Cubism in his poetry. Apollinaire literally followed Picasso’s advice in a few poems which he arranged in striking visual patterns. Many critics believe Apollinaire’s work was a major inspiration behind the Surrealist movement.Shortly after Laurence Sterne died in 1768, grave robbers stole his body and sold it to be used in an anatomy demonstration. Once a Cambridge surgeon recognized Sterne’s face, however, he ordered the body be returned to its grave. The author of Tristram Shandy is now safely buried in Coxwold.Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, author of The Little Prince, was a professional pilot. In 1944, Saint-Exupéry went on a flight to Corsica, but he never made it there. Cops discovered a pilot’s body in Marseilles shortly after he went missing, but experts can’t definitively say it was Saint-Exupéry’s.Edgar Allan Poe thought of having an owl quote “nevermore” in his famous poem “The Raven.” Some letters indicate Poe was even considering using a parrot. Thankfully for American literature, Poe decided the raven was “infinitely more in keeping with the intended tone” of his poem.Aphra Behn wasn’t only a revolutionary Restoration writer; she also served as a spy under Charles II. In fact, “Aphra Behn” was her codename. Behn was actually born Eaffrey Johnson in 1640.Irish dramatist George Bernard Shaw invested a great deal of money and time into creating a new alphabet for the English language. His “Shavian alphabet” was intended to get rid of spelling issues in English by creating a new system of symbols that had a 1:1 relationship to their phonemes. Obviously Shaw’s alphabet hasn’t really caught on in the Anglosphere.John Steinbeck‘s dog ate his first manuscript of Of Mice and Men. Thankfully, Steinbeck was only halfway through the piece at the time his dog tore it to shreds. Steinbeck reportedly told a friend that this might’ve been a sign that his famous novella was in need of serious revisions.While Samuel Richardson‘s Pamela was a major success after it was released in 1740, not everyone enjoyed it. One of the most famous Pamela haters was none other than Henry Fielding, the author of Tom Jones. Fielding made his displeasure with Pamela widely known by consistently calling the novel Shamela.William Makepeace Thackeray wasted his father’s inheritance of £20,000 on gambling and risky investments in the 1830s. It wasn’t until he published the first edition of his famous Vanity Fair in 1847 that he gained financial stability and prestige.William Golding‘s masterpiece Lord of the Flies really struck a chord with big name rock bands. U2 took the name of their song “Shadows and Tall Trees” from chapter seven of Golding’s novel, and Iron Maiden released a track called “Lord of the Flies.”A study out of the University of Liverpool found that reading William Shakespeare in the original activates certain areas of the brain associated with memory and reappraisal. Researchers found that simple English “translations” of Shakespeare’s Elizabethan verse didn’t have as profound an effect on the brain.Meiji Era author Ichiyō Higuchi wrote her greatest stories in her early twenties just before her death of tuberculosis. She was living in a poor area of Tokyo near the red light district at the time. Today, Japan honors Higuchi on the ¥5,000 note.Famous French philosopher Henri Bergson married the famous French author Marcel Proust‘s cousin Louise Neuburger. Interestingly, Bergson’s ideas about time had a profound influence on Proust’s long novel Remembrance of Things Past.Although many readers don’t know him today, John Lydgate (1370-1451 AD) is credited with publishing the first epic poem in the English canon. Written in Middle English, the Troy Book is over 30,000 lines long and details the entire history of Troy.French author Émile Zola died in 1902 from carbon monoxide poisoning resulting from a blocked chimney. There’s still a debate as to whether his death was an accident or if people who didn’t like his support of Alfred Dreyfus murdered Zola.When the Italian writer Umberto Eco visited Paris for the first time, he would only walk down streets that had survived from the Middle Ages. He was studying medieval history at the University of Turin at the time and was obsessed with the era.Although Renaissance writer Petrarch knew the poet Giovanni Boccaccio since 1361, he never read Boccaccio’s celebrated Decameron until shortly before his death in 1374. Petrarch also admitted to Boccaccio that he had never read Dante’s Divine Comedy.Slaughterhouse-Five author Kurt Vonnegut was a huge fan of Cheers. Vonnegut once told reporters he would’ve rather written scripts for this TV show than all his bestselling novels.Parisian dramatist Jean-Paul Sartre loved to play pranks in his schooldays. He actually convinced the French media that Charles Lindbergh was going to stop at his school and hired a lookalike to give interviews. Sartre’s schoolmaster, Gustave Lanson, was eventually fired due to Sartre’s shenanigans.When English Romantic William Blake was only four years old he claimed to see God through a window. Throughout the rest of his life, Blake said he often communed with angels and he incorporated these visions into his art.When the poet John Keats was a child, he was apparently quite adept at sports. Interestingly, many of Keats’s schoolmates believed he would have a great career in the art of war rather than the art of poetry.After retiring from writing at the age of 19, Arthur Rimbaud traveled extensively throughout Europe and Africa. Records suggest the French poet was the first European to step foot in the Ogaden area of Ethiopia.Gigi author Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette could only write after she had plucked all the fleas off of her cat. She also said she couldn’t write with shoes and socks on.The 16th-century poet Girolamo Fracastoro is only well-known today for one word: syphilis. That’s right, we get the word for this devastating STD from one of Fracastoro’s poems.Every year on December 17th, a group of devotees perform a dervish celebration by Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī‘s tomb at Turkey’s Mevlana Museum. The Sufi mystic (commonly known as Rumi) was born in 1207 and died in 1273.While everyone knows that Shakespeare is the bestselling poet of all time, many people can’t guess the number two and three spots correctly. In case you’re wondering, the second bestselling poet is the Taoist sage Lao Tzu and third place goes to Lebanese-American poet Kahlil Gibran.Canadian-American author Saul Bellow didn’t know his own birthday. His parents had just arrived in Québec when he was born in 1915, and they forgot to record whether their son was born on June 10th or July 10th. Unfortunately for Bellow, the city hall that contained his official birth certificate burned down.Poet Xu Zhimo has inspired millions of Chinese tourists to visit Cambridge University. His incredibly popular poem “Taking Leave of Cambridge Again” remains a staple in the Chinese reading curriculum. To commemorate the poet’s work, Cambridge University put inscriptions of the poem on white stones by the River Cam.