In commemoration of Juneteenth, Manuscript Division curator Barbara Bair explores Ralph Ellison’s unfinished second novel, which was not published until after his 1994 death. The resulting novel, "Juneteenth," reflects Ellison’s deep thinking about the rifts in American society—the dissonance, melodies and harmonies, and the strife of racial prejudice and discrimination. Like Ellison’s novel, the idea of Juneteenth as a national holiday has been a long time coming.
Join us for a conversation with former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins about his signature laureate project, Poetry 180, which brings poetry to schools for each of the 180 days of the school year.
The Library of Congress has launched a new public access online version of the Hannah Arendt Papers manuscript collection. To celebrate, Manuscript Division curator Barbara Bair asked Arendt researcher Samantha Rose Hill a few questions about her exploration of and relationship with Arendt’s work.
Today is a big day in the literary world, with the announcement of the Pulitzer Prizes. And this year’s winners in poetry and fiction have strong connections to the Library of Congress—and to our poet laureate’s efforts to champion the voices of Native Americans.
On Thursday, June 10, at 7 p.m. ET, author Paul Hendrickson discusses how his new book (“Plagued by Fire: The Dreams and Furies of Frank Lloyd Wright") was “made” through his use of the unparalleled collections of the Library of Congress.
2020 National Youth Poet Laureate Meera Dasgupta reflects on her laureateship year and offers encouragement and thanks to those working to empower their communities.
Walt Whitman’s diaries and notebooks contain many passages about identity and connection—the identity, status, and worth of other people, and Whitman’s own. In his “No Doubt the Efflux” and other notebooks, Whitman engages in the personal politics of observation and attraction.
Tonight at 7 p.m. ET, poet Cathy Park Hong (“Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning”) and novelist Wayétu Moore (“The Dragons, the Giant, the Women”) discuss how their memoirs give voice to history and speak to the present moment.
