Here’s a roundup of what’s been going on in the Library of Congress blogosphere in June. In the Muse: Performing Arts Blog “How to Find Your Snooky Ookums: A Guide to the Irving Berlin Collection” Pat Padua presents a guide to the Irving Berlin Collection. The Signal: Digital Preservation “Every Format on the Face of …
June marked a pretty busy time here at the Library of Congress with some big-ticket announcements. From naming a new Poet Laureate and pivotal books in America’s history to recent collection acquisitions, the institution was making regular headlines. In announcing Mississippi native and Pulitzer Prize-winning Natasha Trethewey as Poet Laureate, Librarian of Congress James H. …
In conjunction with the Monday launch of an exhibition at the Library of Congress titled “Books That Shaped America” as part of its overarching Celebration of the Book, the Library of Congress is making public a list of 88 books by Americans that, it can be argued, shaped the nation over its lifetime. It’s not …
In addition to the Library of Congress blog that you’re reading right now, the institution has brought several other blogs into the fold. And, let me tell you, they are writing about some great things. From time to time, I hope to give a shout out to these blogs and direct your attention to what …
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 …
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” …
Here’s what you book fiends have been waiting for – the author lineup for the 2012 Library of Congress National Book Festival, Sept. 22 and 23 on the National Mall. Authors will include towering American novelist Philip Roth and Nobel Prize-winner Mario Vargas Llosa; the irrepressible T.C. Boyle (some of you know him as T. …
(This post comes to us from Taru Spiegel, reference specialist in the European Division, which is cosponsoring the event along with the Poetry and Literature Center.) What does a serious, award-winning author do when he is chosen “sexiest man of the year” by a leading women’s magazine? (He received the accolades from ELLE Norway in …
April marks National Poetry Month, a time for poets and lovers of poetry everywhere to unite, recite and delight in the art and in those who have created it. The annual commemoration was inaugurated in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets. Some of my favorite poets include Byron, Tennyson, Yeats and Neruda. And I …