Top of page

Archive: March 2014 (13 Posts)

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

A Millennium of Persian Literature

Posted by: Erin Allen

Persian first gained prominence a thousand years ago, a language of literature, poetry and folklore that connected people across vast stretches of Asia, Eastern Europe and the Middle East. The Library of Congress today opens “A Thousand Years of the Persian Book,” the first major U.S. exhibition to make such a wide-ranging study of the Persian language and literature. The landmark exhibition features 75 items drawn …

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

Where Literacy Lives (and Doesn’t)

Posted by: Erin Allen

(The following is a guest post by Guy Lamolinara, communications officer in the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress.) The number of organizations dedicated to eradicating illiteracy, raising time spent reading and increasing reading proficiency is legion because the problems are legion. These groups can be found throughout the world, including the …

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

Where Poetry Lives

Posted by: Erin Allen

The Library of Congress’s poetry blog, From the Catbird Seat,” has run a few posts on Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey’s second-term project, “Where Poetry Lives.” For her project, Trethewey has joined NewsHour Senior Correspondent Jeffrey Brown for a series of on-location reports in various cities across the United States to explore several large societal issues, through …

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

Celebrating Women’s History: Still Standing – The Story of Tammy Duckworth

Posted by: Erin Allen

(The following is a guest post by Lisa A. Taylor, liaison specialist with the Veterans History Project.) Disabled combat hero, veterans’ advocate, politician, woman. U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) is many things, most strikingly, a person who has not only survived but thrived. Her story is among thousands of other women veterans’ stories in the …

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

(Motion) Pic of the Week: An Award-Winning Memoir

Posted by: Erin Allen

  “12 Years a Slave” won the Oscar for best picture at this year’s Academy Awards. The film, based on the 1853 memoir of Solomon Northup, made history as the first movie from a black director (Steve McQueen) to win the film industry’s highest honor in 86 years of the awards ceremony. In his memoir, …

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

Sports Gold

Posted by: Erin Allen

(The following is a guest post by Matthew Barton, curator of recorded sound in the Library’s Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division.) Last year, the Library of Congress acquired the first of more than 10,000 radio interviews conducted by Ron Barr, founder and host of radio’s Sports Byline USA. The interviews date from 1988 …

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

A Grand Hotel on the Cycle of Creativity

Posted by: Gayle Osterberg

I have been reading with enthusiasm recent interviews with the screenwriter/director Wes Anderson about his forthcoming film “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” not only because I am a fan of Mr. Anderson’s work, but because he has been talking about the Library of Congress. Specifically, he’s been talking about how he has recently used the Library. …