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Archive: June 2012 (14 Posts)

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

A Southern Stanza

Posted by: Erin Allen

The writing of Natasha Trethewey explores a past that often is unsettling – growing up biracial in 1960s Mississippi, the lives of forgotten African-American soldiers during the Civil War, the murder of her mother, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. “When you begin to think about the past, you realize how much of it is lost …

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

Ray Bradbury and Pogo

Posted by: Jennifer Gavin

Ray Bradbury, the towering writer of science fiction, died today at age 91. Talk about an author who will be missed … In the United States, our lives have been steeped in science fiction, from the days of “Buck Rogers” and the cheesy B-movies of the 1950s to the phenomena of “Star Trek,” “The Matrix” …

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

Like a Phoenix, From the Ashes

Posted by: Jennifer Gavin

Two hundred years ago today, President James Madison set pen to paper to write a message to Congress.  His intent was to talk them into making the nation’s first formal declaration of war – on Great Britain, which was squashing U.S. exports as a side effect of a British naval blockade against Napoleon’s France. But …

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

Jewish Heritage

Posted by: Erin Allen

For the third consecutive year, special items from the Library of Congress’ Jewish American collections have been put on display at the White House. In honor of Jewish American Heritage Month, President Barack Obama hosted a reception at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. on Wednesday evening. “Generations of Jewish Americans have brought to bear some of our …