The following is a blog post about Veterans History Project (VHP)’s 18th birthday. Do you remember your 18th birthday? Birthdays, especially milestone birthdays,are often a time of celebration paired with reflection. You consider how far you have come, and yet dream of the next chapters. As the Veterans History Project (VHP) turns 18 we find ourselves …
The following is a guest blog post by Owen Rogers, a Liaison Specialist for the Veterans History Project (VHP). In Memoriam: The Honorable John S. McCain III We mourn the loss of the Honorable John S. McCain III, whose service in U.S. military and Congress yielded particularly meaningful contributions to the Library of Congress. As …
Here at the American Folklife Center, we’ve always had an appreciation for radio. As the home of an archive with a lot of fantastic audio recordings, the “folk archive” has been ripe for use on the radio since its earliest days. John and Alan Lomax, heads of the archive back in the 1930s and 1940s, …
When I was growing up going swimming near home usually meant going to a public pool, or possibly a nearby man-made lake. But when we visited relatives in the summer swimming more often was at the beach, at a lake, or at a quiet section of a river. I liked swimming in natural waters, but …
The American Folklife Center is sad to pass on the news that San Diego folk arts promoter Louis F. Curtiss has died. He passed away at home on July 8. Curtiss was a founder of the San Diego Folk Festival, the owner of Folk Arts Rare Records, and a longtime festival and concert promoter and …
On March 27, 2018, at Cecil Sharp House in London, the English Folk Dance and Song Society and the Elphinstone Institute of the University of Aberdeen hosted the public event ”40,000 Miles in Quest of Tradition: A Celebration of Carpenter Folk Online.” The event celebrated the launch of AFC’s James Madison Carpenter Collection at the Vaughan …
The following is the third of a three-part blog post focusing on Military Photographers. You can read the original post HERE and the second post HERE. During the tremendous upheaval of the 1960s and with the Vietnam War in full effect, the country was in desperate need of emotive displays of patriotism while still accurately recording …
Every year, in the week of the Library’s holiday party, staff members of the American Folklife Center put on a play based on ancient traditions, dressed up with a modern twist. Dressed in costumes that range from striking to silly, we sing, act, rhyme, and dance for other Library staff members and for members of the …
Earlier today, the great gospel quartet The Fairfield Four graced the stage of the Coolidge Auditorium, and I was fortunate enough to take photos of them. I thought I’d share a few of them here as “pics of the week.” A Cappella singing groups are often hard to photograph, because they stand in a straight …
