March 26 is a surprisingly literary day. It was on this day in 1484 that William Caxton published his English-language translation of Aesop's Fables. Tennesee Williams and Robert Frost were born on this day (albeit 37 years apart), and Walt Whitman and Noel Coward both died on March 26ths of different years. To commemorate this momentous day, enjoy a collection of poems and quotations from the many individuals who marked its passage in particularly memorable ways (with the exception of Eazy-E who, although he died on March 26, never managed to write any lyrics that would be appropriate for this particular online venue).

"When I Heard the Learned Astronomer," Walt Whitman

When I heard the learn'd astronomer,

When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,

When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them,

When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,

How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,

Till rising and gliding out I wander'd off by myself,

In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,

Look'd up in perfect silence at the stars.

"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on." -Robert Frost

"I don't want realism. I want magic!" -Tennessee Williams, A Streetcar Named Desire