Top of page

Archive: October 2018 (10 Posts)

The word

Imaginations of Her Own: Women Pioneers of Science Fiction

Posted by: Peter Armenti

The following is a guest post by Megan Metcalf, a reference librarian in the Library’s Researcher and Reference Services Division. In 2018 Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein turns 200, and readers everywhere, including here at the Library of Congress, are celebrating. While Frankenstein has enjoyed enduring popularity, what many don’t know is that this work from 1818 …

The word

Keeping Up with the Laureate

Posted by: Robert Casper

These days, so much is going on with our Poet Laureate that it’s difficult for our office to keep up! I’m off to Maine in just a few days for the third trip in Tracy’s “American Conversations” fall tour. Our first such trip to Alaska is featured online; pictures, interviews, and other content from our …

The word

Pairing Poems with Fiction and Biography

Posted by: Peter Armenti

The following guest post, part of our “Teacher’s Corner” series, is by Rebecca Newland, a Fairfax County Public Schools Librarian and former Teacher in Residence at the Library of Congress. As a former English teacher and current librarian, I am invested in my students accessing a variety of reading materials. I have found that students, …

The word

Poet-Critics at the People’s Library

Posted by: Anne Holmes

The following guest post is by poet and critic Matthew Zapruder, co-founder of the Bagley Wright Lecture Series. Matthew Zapruder will join poet-critics Maureen McLane and Srikanth Reddy for a discussion on the role of criticism in contemporary American poetry next Tuesday, October 30, at 6:30 p.m. in the Mumford Room on the sixth floor of the …

The word

I Can’t Wait to Slow Down: Looking Forward to Tracy K. Smith on the Air

Posted by: Anne Holmes

The following guest post is by Jeff Shotts, executive editor at Graywolf Press—publisher of the anthology American Journal: Fifty Poems for Our Time in association with the Library of Congress. Regular, daily poetry programming on the airwaves has not only been saved, it’s been revitalized. American Public Media, the Library of Congress, and the Poetry Foundation …

The word

“American Conversations”: Alaska Content Now Online!

Posted by: Anne Holmes

During the last week of August, Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith traveled to rural communities in three of Alaska’s five regions as the kickoff to “American Conversations: Celebrating Poems in Rural Communities.” Today, we’re excited to share photos, interviews, and reflections from Tracy’s adventures in Alaska on the “American Conversations” website. “I’ve been welcomed into …

The word

“I don’t understand it”: Why you should read our newly relaunched poetry interview series

Posted by: Anne Holmes

The following is a guest post by Anastasia Nikolis, the poetry editor for our newly relaunched Interview Series. Poetry has a reputation of being eccentric and esoteric; of being stunningly opaque but deeply meaningful. This is why people say they “don’t understand it,” won’t often read it, and more often turn to poems at times …

The word

Archive of Hispanic Literature Launches New Online Recordings

Posted by: Anne Holmes

The following is a guest post by Catalina Gómez, reference librarian in the Hispanic Division. It originally appeared on the 4 Corners of the World: International Collections blog. Among the various ways that the Library celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 – October 15) is by launching, during this special commemoration, new digital material on …

The word

Announcing “The Slowdown” with Tracy K. Smith

Posted by: Anne Holmes

With her “American Conversations” project in full swing, U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith is keeping busy on the road—she kicked off the tour in rural Alaska at the end of August, and today she will travel to communities in South Dakota. In the coming weeks, we’ll announce public events for her remaining fall trips …