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Category: Thomas Jefferson Building

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

Iamb What I Am

Posted by: Jennifer Gavin

On Tuesday, April 20 at noon, 16 actors will appear at the Library of Congress’ Whittall Pavilion to deliver more world-famous iambic pentameter than you can shake a spear at. It’s the annual Shakespeare’s Birthday reading, a chapter in the “Poetry at Noon” series presented by the Library’s Poetry and Literature Center.  (It’s Shakespeare’s 446th.) …

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

“Read For Your Life!”

Posted by: Jennifer Gavin

Today Katherine Paterson, the author of “Bridge to Terabithia,” “Jacob Have I Loved,” “The Day of the Pelican” and more than 30 other children’s books, was named National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature by Librarian of Congress James H. Billington. She summarized her platform for the reading-promotion post in four words: “Read for your life.” …

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

The Joys of Jabbing Jefferson

Posted by: Jennifer Gavin

When revolutionary-turned-president Thomas Jefferson still walked the streets of Washington, D.C., there were people who wanted to give him a good jab with their index finger and hand him a piece of their minds. These days, here on Capitol Hill, you can give Thomas Jefferson a jab … and dig a little deeper into his …

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

Herblog

Posted by: Jennifer Gavin

From time to time, we ask ourselves: Where is the outrage? Well, for an amazing 72 years, it was on editorial pages, especially that of the Washington Post–in political commentary by the influential cartoonist Herblock (Herb Block), who made presidents and other public figures, from Herbert Hoover to George W. Bush, ink-stained and wretched. The Library …