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Archive: 2021 (124 Posts)

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

World War II: The Debut of G.I. Joe

Posted by: Neely Tucker

David Breger, a successful freelance cartoonist, drafted into the Army in 1941, created the "Private Breger" cartoon during his off-duty hours at Camp Livingston. Once it caught on, the name (but little else) was changed to "G.I. Joe." From there, it became a cultural icon.

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

My Job: Michele Glymph

Posted by: Mark Hartsell

The Library's concert producer Michele Glymph helps bring music to the masses, producing concerts by some of the biggest names in popular music: Stevie Wonder, Dolly Parton, Paul McCartney, Garth Brooks, Willie Nelson, Shirley Caesar, Billy Joel and Gloria and Emilio Estefan.

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

“A Christmas Memory,” Truman Capote’s Classic, Handwritten at the Library

Posted by: Neely Tucker

"A Christmas Memory," Truman Capote's bittersweet short story about his small-town Alabama childhood with his eccentric elderly cousin, has been one of the nation's most beloved tales in the holiday canon since it was first published in 1956. The Library has Capote's handwritten draft of the story, which reveals much about the young Capote.

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

“Return of the Jedi,” Mark Hamill and the 2021 National Film Registry

Posted by: Neely Tucker

The National Film Registry's 2021 class is the most diverse in the program's 33-year history, including blockbusters such as "Return of the Jedi," "Selena" and "Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring," but also the '70s midnight-movie favorite "Pink Flamingos" and a 1926 film featuring Black pilots in the daring new world of aviation, "The Flying Ace." The Library interviewed a dozen key players about their role in inducted films, including Mark Hamill, Edward James Olmos, John Waters, and documentary filmmakers Cheryl Dunye and Sylvia Morales.