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Posted by: Mark Hartsell
Before he boarded the ship carrying prisoners of war across the ocean to a forced-labor camp, George Washington Pearcy divided his diary and gave the pieces to two comrades staying behind. If he didn’t survive the journey, Pearcy hoped, his story somehow would. Pearcy, a POW held by the Japanese during World War II, never …
Posted in: American Folklife Center, Collections, History, Manuscripts, Veterans History Project
Posted by: Erin Allen
The American Folklife Center (AFC) hosted a reception in celebration of its 40th anniversary last Wednesday. Special guests giving remarks were David Mao, acting Librarian of Congress; Kurt Dewhurst, chairman of AFC’s board of trustees; Betsy Peterson, AFC’s current director; and David Isay, founder of StoryCorps. The reception included a special performance by Nakotah LaRance, …
Posted in: American Folklife Center, Capitol Hill, Folksonomies, Photos, Pic of the Week, Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington DC
Posted by: Erin Allen
April headlines covered a wide range of stories about the Library of Congress. Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera continues to make the news, especially with the April announcement of his returning for a second term. Herrera told Sara Catania of Reuters that poetry fans provided an “inspiration tsunami” during his first year in which he …
Posted in: American Folklife Center, Capitol Hill, Collections, Folksonomies, News, Newspapers, Poetry, Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington DC
Posted by: Erin Allen
In May 2005, two StoryCorps MobileBooths left the Library of Congress to travel across the United States—one taking an Eastern route and the other covering the Western states. This inaugural tour stopped at 34 cities, and visits lasted two and three weeks, with about 100 interviews collected at each location. The MobileBooth returned to the …
Posted in: American Folklife Center, Audiovisual, Capitol Hill, Collections, Events, Folksonomies, History, Photos, Pic of the Week, Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington DC
Posted by: Erin Allen
(The following is an article by Stephen Winick from the March/April 2016 issue of the Library of Congress Magazine, LCM. You can read the issue in its entirety here.) Changes in technology have facilitated global access to the Library’s folklife collections. This year, the Library’s American Folklife Center turns 40. During that time, the world …
Posted in: American Folklife Center, Collections, Congress, Education, Folksonomies, History, LCM, Music
Posted by: Erin Allen
(The following is an article by Nicole Saylor of the American Folklife Center for the March/April 2016 issue of the Library of Congress Magazine, LCM. You can read the issue in its entirety here.) The StoryCorps oral history collection is growing through a new mobile app and website. In a matter of months last fall, …
Posted in: American Folklife Center, Audiovisual, Collections, Folksonomies, LCM, Preservation
Posted by: Erin Allen
In celebration of its 40th anniversary, the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress (AFC) has launched year-long campaign asking Americans to share photos of their folk traditions. The campaign kicks off a year of events that will commemorate AFC’s four decades as the institution of record for American folk traditions and ensure that it …
Posted in: American Folklife Center, Collections, Folksonomies, Photos, Pic of the Week, Social Media
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
This year’s list of 25 noteworthy films named to the Library of Congress National Film Registry is out, and it includes some well-known favorites: “Ghostbusters,” “The Shawshank Redemption,” “Top Gun,” even the original Douglas Fairbanks vehicle “Zorro.” Films are annually named to the registry that are culturally, historically or aesthetically important; the object is preservation …
Posted in: American Folklife Center, Audiovisual, Film, History, Preservation
Posted by: Erin Allen
Willie Nelson was the talk of the town as the Library celebrated his work and career during a concert in November, as he received the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. “When Willie took the stage to accept the Gershwin prize, you could see the pride on his face,” wrote Brendan Kownacki for Hollywood on the …
Posted in: American Folklife Center, Capitol Hill, Collections, Concerts, Events, Folksonomies, Music, News, Newspapers, Veterans History Project, Washington DC