May 2, 2006 Former U.S. Sen. Alan Simpson to Discuss Humor in Public Life May 10

Former U.S. Sen. Alan Simpson will give a lecture titled “Politics as a Contact Sport: Humor in Public Life” at the Library of Congress at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, May 10, in Room 119 of the Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. S.E., Washington, D.C.

The event, which is sponsored by the Library’s John W. Kluge Center, is free and open to the public; no reservations are required.

Simpson, who served as Republican senator from Wyoming from 1979 to 1997, is a Distinguished Visiting Scholar in the Kluge Center, at the invitation of Librarian of Congress James H. Billington. Known as a humorist in the U.S. Senate, Simpson wrote and collected jokes throughout his career. Simpson will sort and record a selection of his jokes to join the Library’s archive of American humor.

Through a generous endowment from John W. Kluge, the Library established the Kluge Center in 2000. The center brings leading scholars together with key Washington policymakers to discuss important world issues, drawing on the Library’s incomparable collections. For further information, visit www.loc.gov/kluge.