The following is a guest post by Abby Yochelson, English and American Literature Reference Specialist at the Library of Congress’s Main Reading Room. “Capitol Hill is not just a place of politics but of language.”—Emma Snyder, Executive Director, PEN/Faulkner Foundation On September 30th—one day before the maelstrom of the federal government shutdown—our corner of Capitol …
For all of my adult life, I have felt connected to poetry. I started as a poet, then became a poetry publisher, then worked as a literary presenter, and am now here at the Poetry and Literature Center. And so, when PBS NewsHour shot the first segment for the Laureate’s second-year project a few weeks …
The following is a guest post by Abby Yochelson, English and American Literature Reference Specialist at the Library of Congress’s Main Reading Room. While the upcoming District of Literature program on September 30th celebrates literature throughout the District of Columbia, my district on Capitol Hill is astonishing. I both work at the Library of Congress …
Yesterday marked the 100th birthday of Robert Hayden, who was the first African American to be named to the Library of Congress Consultant in Poetry position–what we today would call the Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry–in 1976. NPR commemorated Hayden’s birthday by featuring an archived recording: “In His Own Words.” Over at the Los Angeles …
The Bank of England announced last week that beginning in 2017 Jane Austen will replace Charles Darwin on the 10-pound note. The Times asks the question: which American authors would you choose to grace the dollar bill? You might want to start with a perusal of the Library’s Books That Shaped America beforehand. Wouldn’t want …
Last Saturday was Cormac McCarthy’s birthday, and BookRiot celebrated with “A Beginner’s Guide to Cormac McCarthy.” We don’t have all the YouTube videos, but the Library does have quite a stash on Mr. McCarthy. You can come listen to Cormac read from The Crossing or just follow the links to the sample text here for …
The following is a guest post by staffer and blogger Caitlin Rizzo, who is on vacation this week. My family has a long history in Washington, D.C. My maternal grandmother and grandfather spent their early years as a family in Anacostia; my paternal grandfather was an Emmy-winning TV news editor for the local Fox 5 …
According to the Smithsonian’s “Surprising Science” blog, a life of reading and writing can help you stave off mental decline as you age. This is fantastic news for us at the Poetry and Literature Center, or was until we read the part about reaching peak mental agility at 22. On the plus side, our non-peak …
Last Friday, Julio Cortazar’s groundbreaking novel Hopscotch turned 50. For a slightly late Monday morning celebration, Cortazar fans should head to the Los Angeles Review of Books to read Ted Gioia’s essay “How to Win at Hopscotch.” Of course, if you’ve only read Cortazar’s short story collection you received for Christmas two years ago, you …