To read a poem is a quiet joy. To read some authors’ prose is as wonderful as reading a poem. It’s just the poet, or the writer, and you. Right there, in black and white. What could be better? How about hearing it “in color” as a poet or author reads to you from his […]
“I cannot live without books,” Thomas Jefferson famously once said. The 15th National Book Festival last week provided evidence that plenty of others can’t, either. Thousands of book lovers descended on the Washington Convention Center on Saturday to see a record 170-plus authors and illustrators, pay tribute to America’s fighting men and women, explore the […]
The following post, written by Peter Armenti, was originally published on the blog From the Catbird Seat: Poetry & Literature at the Library of Congress. In 2001, the then U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins launched the online poetry project Poetry 180 as a way to introduce American high school students to contemporary poetry. Poetry 180 quickly […]
For more than a decade, the Library of Congress has been pleased to participate in an internship program sponsored by the Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities, or HACU. Talented young students work paid, 15-week internships with various Library divisions, getting a hands-on view of the options here and helping us get the work done […]
April Rodriguez, one of 36 Library of Congress Junior Fellow Summer Interns, wrote the following post while working in the Library’s American Folklife Center. Rodriguez recently received a master’s degree in library information studies from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. She also has a background in sound engineering and film archiving, and she was […]
(The following is a story written by Megan Harris of the Veterans History Project and featured in the Library of Congress staff newsletter, The Gazette. ) Last month, eighth-graders Benjamin King, Maria Ellsworth and Cristina Escajadillo – all students at the Singapore American School – performed an original 10-minute play at the Library of Congress inspired […]
The travel and tourism industry owes itself to many historical “firsts.” In 1782, Scottish engineer James Watt invented the first steam engine able to turn wheels. On May 10, 1869, the completion of the first transcontinental railroad was commemorated with the driving of a “golden spike.” In 1794, the City Hotel opened in New York […]
I’ve always been a sucker for a great hat. Before I came to work at the Library of Congress, I was a writer for a society magazine in Louisiana whose calling card was the hats we wore to cover local events. Needless to say, when given the opportunity to don a fashionable chapeau, I jump […]
For fun, members of my roller derby team figured out their astrological atlas, I suppose as a way to see how compatible each of us are and to understand our personality types for the purpose of working and competing together. The atlas is essentially a breakdown of your zodiac sign, including your rising sign, moon […]
“The hour of two had struck and most of the first cabin passengers were just finishing luncheon. Suddenly at an estimated distance of about 1,000 yards from the ship there shone against the bright sea the conning tower of a submarine torpedo boat. Almost immediately there appeared a churning streak in the water and the […]