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Today in History: Rudyard Kipling publishes iconic poem “Mandalay”

6/21/2026

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Summary

Story summary

On this day in 1890, English writer Rudyard Kipling published “Mandalay,” a poem set in colonial Burma that follows a London soldier recalling his Burmese lover and the freedom he felt abroad. First appearing in a periodical that year, the work later entered his 1892 collection *Barrack-Room Ballads*, solidifying Kipling’s reputation for vivid imperial verse.

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Story summary

On this day in 1890, English writer Rudyard Kipling published “Mandalay,” a poem set in colonial Burma that follows a London soldier recalling his Burmese lover and the freedom he felt abroad. First appearing in a periodical that year, the work later entered his 1892 collection *Barrack-Room Ballads*, solidifying Kipling’s reputation for vivid imperial verse.