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Archive: 2009 (80 Posts)

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

National Book Festival: For Your Listening Pleasure

Posted by: Matt Raymond

#nbf Heads up: The first batch of podcast interviews with 2009 National Book Festival authors are now online here, on iTunes here (link opens in iTunes client) and on iTunes U here (link opens in iTunes client). Included in the first round are Junot Diaz, Rickey Minor, James Patterson, George Pelecanos, Nicholas Sparks and David Wroblewski–with more …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

O Shenandoah, I Long to Map You

Posted by: Jennifer Gavin

In a world where we can keep tabs on our own backyards from our desks at work, via satellite, it’s difficult to imagine the impact one man armed with notebooks and pencils could have in 1861 as the Civil War began to rend our young nation.  Generals on both sides of that conflict desperately needed good topographical information …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

The Joys of Jabbing Jefferson

Posted by: Jennifer Gavin

When revolutionary-turned-president Thomas Jefferson still walked the streets of Washington, D.C., there were people who wanted to give him a good jab with their index finger and hand him a piece of their minds. These days, here on Capitol Hill, you can give Thomas Jefferson a jab … and dig a little deeper into his …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

But Wait … There's More!

Posted by: Jennifer Gavin

This year’s Library of Congress National Book Festival already promises the biggest lineup of literary stars this side of the Crab Nebula. Book-lovers can look forward, on Saturday, Sept. 26, to hearing from David Baldacci, John Grisham, John Irving, Julia Alvarez, Judy Blume, Ken Burns, Gwen Ifill and Jodi Picoult–not to mention celebrity chef Paula …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Merce Cunningham, Dance Great, Dies at 90

Posted by: Jennifer Gavin

What is dance? Is it storytelling, using human forms to advance the storyline? Is it movement with music? Is it movement alone? Merce Cunningham, a giant of modern dance, asked these questions and answered them–affirmatively in each case–over seven decades.  He died, at age 90, on Sunday in Manhattan.  From his introduction to the avant-garde composer …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

How Green These Valleys Were, As Well …

Posted by: Jennifer Gavin

Take a moment out of this busy day to relax at the side of a waterfall at Fairy Glen in Bettws-y-Coed Wales or go explore the castle ruins at Aberystwith, Wales. We’ve loaded 167 new color Photocrom travel views of Wales from 1890-1900 on our Flickr photostream at www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/. The set is full of castles …