How to Determine When a Poem was First Published
Posted by: Peter Armenti
A review of major strategies for determining a poem's original publication date.
Posted in: Ask a Librarian
Category: Ask a Librarian
Looking for a book without knowing its title or author? Have other questions? Ask a librarian!
Posted by: Peter Armenti
This post highlights the Library's Ask a Librarian service, through which users can submit their poetry and literature questions—or questions on nearly and subject!—to the Library of Congress to receive assistance from our expert staff.
Posted in: Ask a Librarian, Digital Resources
For Teachers: Identifying Books for Live and Recorded Storytimes with Students
Posted by: Peter Armenti
This post helps teachers and other educators determine which contemporary children's books they can stream or record themselves reading to students as part of virtual storytime programming.
Posted in: Ask a Librarian
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. …
Posted in: Ask a Librarian, Collections, Guest Posts
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 …
Posted in: Ask a Librarian
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 …
Posted in: Ask a Librarian, Poets Laureate
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 …
Posted in: Ask a Librarian
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 …
Posted in: Ask a Librarian
Shakespeare Is For The Birds
Posted by: Peter Armenti
The following is a guest post by Abby Yochelson, English and American Literature reference specialist at the Library of Congress’s Main Reading Room, Humanities and Social Sciences Division. This is the third in a small series of blog posts on Shakespeare at the Library of Congress. During my years as a reference librarian at the …
Posted in: Ask a Librarian, Digital Resources, Guest Posts