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Category: Ask a Librarian

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From Fiction to Film: “The Greatest Gift” and “It’s a Wonderful Life”

Posted by: Peter Armenti

The following is a guest post by Elizabeth Brown, a reference librarian/digital reference specialist in the Library’s Researcher and Reference Services Division. A related exhibit, From The Greatest Gift to It’s a Wonderful Life, is currently on display through January 30 on the second floor of the Great Hall in the Library’s Thomas Jefferson Building. …

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Poetry Sleuthing 101: Searching the Deep Web

Posted by: Peter Armenti

Nearly every day I receive questions from readers trying to track down a poem they read years ago whose title and author they’ve forgotten. Typically, they recall a few words or phrases from the poem, the approximate year in which they read the poem, and little else. They also usually indicate that they’ve conducted numerous …

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The Bread, the Knife, and the Source of Billy Collins’s Poem “Litany”

Posted by: Peter Armenti

As the poetry specialist in the Library’s Researcher and Reference Services Division, I receive my fair share of questions about U.S. poets laureate. Most often, people ask about the history of the laureateship, or about the activities of a particular laureate during his or her term. Very rarely, though, do I receive questions about specific …

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Who wrote the poem at the end of “The Shape of Water”?

Posted by: Peter Armenti

The Library of Congress receives hundreds of questions each year from people seeking help identifying the full text and authors of poems they read years—if not decades—ago. Most people are able to recall little more than a phrase or line from the sought poem and the general period of their life when they read it …

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Poetry and the Presidential Inauguration

Posted by: Peter Armenti

During the past several weeks the Library has received inquiries through our Ask a Librarian service about the history of inaugural poetry and whether a poem will be read at President-elect Trump’s inauguration on Friday, January 20. The official inaugural program issued by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies does not mention the inclusion …