U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón, who is known for work that explores the human connection to the natural world, is crafting a new poem dedicated to NASA’s Europa Clipper mission. Her poem, to be released in the coming months, will be engraved on the Europa Clipper spacecraft. It will travel 1.8 billion miles on its …
This is a guest post by Sahar Kazmi, a writer-editor in the Office of the Chief Information Officer. It appears in the January-February issue of the Library of Congress Magazine. Before the internet meme, there were posters. Once upon a time, posters full of dazzling images and arresting slogans dominated the media landscape. They were displayed in …
Most folks know the ridiculously catchy instrumental theme song for the 1960s classic TV comedy “I Dream of Jeannie.” But how many can recite its lyrics — “Jeannie, fresh as a daisy!/Just love how she obeys me” — or even knew it had any? The theme for “Bewitched,” another ’60s favorite, briefly had its day: …
Meg Medina, a writer whose work explores how culture and identity intersect through the eyes of children and young adults, today was named as the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature for 2023-2024, the Library of Congress and Every Child a Reader announced. Medina, a Cuban-American, is the eighth author to hold the position and the first …
This is a guest post by Emily Moore, assistant curator of the Aramont Library. What is a book, exactly? Is it an object, made of paper and ink? Is it a portal to a different reality, an embodiment of memory or a method of communicating across space and time? Can it be art? “Making the …
This is the final guest post by Jason Reynolds, who is concluding his third term as the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. FIVE WAYS TO SAY GOODBYE (a farewell newsletter) SEE YOU SOON. This is not the same as, See you later. I repeat, this is not the same as, See you later. “See …
This is a guest post by Polina Lopez, Widening the Path intern in the Library’s Publishing Office. Can one detective successfully solve kidnapping, espionage and murder cases, uncover social poseurs and secret love affairs, all while maintaining the guise of psychic powers? In the newest addition to the Library of Congress Crime Classics series, Gelett Burgess’ Astro the …
Monica Varner is collections manager for the Rare Book and Special Collections Division.This article appeared in the Library’s Gazette. Tell us about your background. I grew up in Arlington, Virginia, and went to H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program (“Hippie High”) before heading down to Lynchburg, Virginia, to study art history at Randolph College. During college, I spent a …