When Megan Went Away is a 1979 children's picture book written by Jane
Severance (pictured) and illustrated by Tea Schook. The book, featuring
lesbian parents, was the first picture book to include any LGBT
characters. Published by Lollipop Power, an American independent press,
the book depicts a child named Shannon dealing with the separation of
her mother and her mother's partner, Megan. As a lesbian working in a
feminist bookstore in Denver in her early twenties, Severance sought to
rectify the lack of picture book content for children with lesbian
parents in her community. When Megan Went Away was not widely
distributed upon publication, although the text of the story was
republished by the magazine Ms. in 1986 under the pen name R. Minta
Day. The work proved divisive among critics. Some praised the story for
being an anti-sexist example of lesbian life. Others found its depiction
of same-sex separation poorly timed, arriving at a moment when lesbian
motherhood was on the rise.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_Megan_Went_Away>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1915:
First World War: Britain, France and Russia signed a secret
treaty promising territory to Italy if it joined the war on their side.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_London_%281915%29>
1933:
The Gestapo, the official secret police force of Nazi Germany,
was established.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gestapo>
1989:
A tornado struck the Manikganj District of Bangladesh and
killed an estimated 1,300 people, making it the deadliest tornado in
history.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daulatpur%E2%80%93Saturia_tornado>
1994:
Just before landing at Nagoya Airport, Japan, the copilot of
China Airlines Flight 140 inadvertently triggered the takeoff/go-around
switch, causing the aircraft to crash and killing 264 of the 271 people
on board.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Airlines_Flight_140>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
DNA:
1. (biochemistry, genetics) Initialism of deoxyribonucleic acid (“a
nucleic acid found in all living things (and some non-living things such
as certain viruses) which consists of two polynucleotide chains that
coil around each other to form a double helix; encoded in its structure
are genetic instructions for development, functioning, growth, and
reproduction”).
2. (informal, loosely) The part of a living thing that carries genetic
information.
3. (figuratively) The fundamental nature or values of a person, or an
organization or other thing, especially when considered as innate and/or
immutable.
4. (transitive) To examine a sample of (someone's) deoxyribonucleic
acid. [...]
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/DNA>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
We still have wars and we still have poverty — as long as these
things exist, there's always going to be something to do. But that
cannot distract from the fact that we're on the way.
--Harry Belafonte
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harry_Belafonte>