The collections of the Library of Congress are vast and varied. And, what better way to get to know them but through our many wonderful curators. In this inaugural edition of “Curator’s Picks,” jazz curator Larry Appelbaum discusses a few prized items housed in the Music Division. A hand-written letter from Leonard Bernstein to …
I was reading an article the other day on the possibility of a prequel to “The Shining” (1980), Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of the Stephen King novel. Apparently, the project is in its early stages of development but would focus on what happened at the haunted Overlook Hotel before the Torrance family arrived. While I’m not …
“Look before you leap.” “Do not believe everything you hear.” “A kindness is never wasted.” “Heaven helps those who help themselves.” “You are judged by the company you keep.” Sound familiar? Sage advice given to you at one time or another likely by your parents or other loved ones, right? I know I can hear …
Today, on what would have been Amelia Earhart’s 115th birthday, news reports are trending about a recent expedition to discover what truly happened to the famed aviator on July 2, 1937, when she and Fred Noonan mysteriously disappeared over the Pacific Ocean. A $2.2 million expedition that hoped to find wreckage from the famed aviator’s …
Fernando Henrique Cardoso, one of the leading scholars and practitioners of political economy in recent Latin American history, received the 2012 John W. Kluge Prize for lifetime achievement in the study of humanity in a special ceremony Tuesday at the Library of Congress. “I feel honored, and humbled, to receive this most prestigious prize. I …
May was a musical month with the Library of Congress recognizing song and sounds in a major way. The Library honored Burt Bacharach and Hal David with the 2012 Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. You can read more about it here. The two were celebrated with concerts at both the Library and the White House. …
It’s probably one of the most iconic photographs of our time – a nurse seen swept into the arms of a sailor as the two get lost in a kiss. Sigh. The photo was taken on Victory Over Japan Day (V-J Day) at the end of World War II. But the identity of the subjects …
Something about his fan mail disturbs Walter Dean Myers. Myers, the author of critically acclaimed books for young people such as “Monster,” “Fallen Angel” and “Lockdown,” appreciates the gesture. But in too many of the letters, evidence of a serious decline in the reading and writing skills among the youth of America is painfully obvious. …
April seemed to be a picture-perfect month for the Library of Congress in the headlines. Its release of a rare collection of images by Frances Benjamin Johnston, one of the first female professional photographers, made it into several high-profile media outlets, including The Washington Post, The New York Times and the Associated Press. “On one …