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Category: Washington DC

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

Invitation to a Dream

Posted by: Jennifer Gavin

Book-lovers attending the 10th Annual National Book Festival on the National Mall Sept. 25 will have a chance to receive, free of charge, the official festival bookmark, reflecting the winning design in a contest for kids in grades K-8 sponsored by festival bookseller Borders. It’s a very special bookmark, far more than a mere placeholder …

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

A Man of the Folk

Posted by: Jennifer Gavin

This is a guest post by Carl Fleischhauer, program officer with the Library’s National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program In 1975, Alan Jabbour and I began a project to document the fiddle playing of Senator Robert C. Byrd, who passed away a few days ago at the age of 92.  Sen. Byrd was aware that …

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

… and Wonderful Wordsmiths!

Posted by: Jennifer Gavin

Saturday, Sept. 25 will mark the 10th anniversary of the Library of Congress National Book Festival – “A Decade of Words and Wonder.” If you’re among the hundreds of thousands of people who have attended the event in its first nine glorious years, or just want to know more about this celebration of books, the …

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

Businessman, Philanthropist, Reader

Posted by: Jennifer Gavin

Thursday, Librarian of Congress James H. Billington had an announcement sure to thrill hundreds of thousands of people who’ve loved the National Book Festival during its storied run, “a decade of words and wonder.” He announced that David M. Rubenstein, co-founder and managing director of the private equity firm The Carlyle Group, is donating $5 million …

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

Music … Ripped from the Headlines!

Posted by: Jennifer Gavin

One of the complaints heard from non-fans of classical music is that so much of it reaches back centuries. As one wag, who preferred jazz, put it: “Mozart hasn’t written anything decent in 200 years!” And yet classical, as a genre, continues to unfold even in our lifetimes.  Which means there may be among us the …

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

NAACP Online Exhibition, Symposium Coming

Posted by: Jennifer Gavin

As America prepares to celebrate the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday later this month, the Library of Congress also will have two offerings in February in commemoration of African American History Month.  On Feb. 3, the Library will launch a new online exhibition about the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), an …