Sorry about the ?radio silence? for much of the past few days ? it’s a function of the slam-bang schedule we?ve been having. I simply could not, however, merely drift into Memorial Day without writing this post. I’m as excited as anyone that this weekend marks the unofficial start of summer in the United States. …
Big night last night, big night tonight. Paul Simon was in the Great Hall last night to receive the first Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. His acceptance remarks were funny and humble. He touched on the moment when he was first inspired to write music: He was listening to the radio as …
I hope this whole Gershwin Prize thing can help serve as my mea culpa for the sparse posting, but I did want to point out this Richard Harrington story in the Washington Post’s Weekend section on the selection of Paul Simon as the first recipient of the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. …
I was a few paragraphs into writing this post when, just a few minutes ago, the power in the Madison Building flashed off and back on again. Were it not for WordPress?s auto-save function (new in this version, thankfully!), I would have lost the entire thing. The only reason I mention that is because ? …
It has been suggested that I should consider altering the opening line from my recent post about a poetry reading I attended: ?Attending poetry readings seems like one of the great fringe benefits of my job, except that occasions such as last evening?s are free and open to the public at large.? The implication was …
I just came from Dr. Billington?s office, where he conducted a media interview in advance of the fast-approaching Gershwin Prize and all-star concert. (I hope to link to the news story within the next few days.) What was especially interesting to me before the interview was that a few other staff members were there, each …
“America” has a lot of birthdays. There’s that familiar one dating back to July 4, 1776. And we’ve written about one recent 500th birthday for “America.” But today’s “TIH” marks another major milestone for this country. On this date in 1607, the first permanent English settlement in North America was established at Jamestown in what …
So I was preparing my remarks for the Asian/Pacific-American Heritage Month event coming up Monday, and I learned that yesterday?s ?TIH? is the reason APAHM is celebrated in May. (The majority of the laborers who built the transcontinental railroad were Chinese immigrants.) Sometimes I think I?m learning more here than my brain can hold! In …
Attending poetry readings seems like one of the great fringe benefits of my job, except that occasions such as last evening?s are free and open to the public at large. The Poets Laureate of the United States and the United Kingdom came together in a historic joint reading at the Library of Congress in a …
I swear, if it were closer to January I would make a New Year?s resolution to do these ?Today in History? posts much earlier in the day, but I guess I?ll just have to start getting to the office even earlier. Blame DC?s worsening traffic. I certainly do. Today?s ?TIH? covers that famous day in …