September 5, 2011 (REVISED September 14, 2011) Poetry Traditions of Mexico and the U.S., Oct. 4

A panel of experts will discuss the poetry traditions of the United States and Mexico and the literary exchanges between the two countries, shedding light on the historical, political and cultural heritages of both nations.

The panel discussion at the Library of Congress, titled “Frontera Sin Frontera,” will start at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 4, in the Mumford Room on the sixth floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C. Book sales and a signing will follow the discussion.

The event is sponsored by the Library’s Poetry and Literature Center and co-sponsored by the Library’s Hispanic Division. The discussion is free and open to the public; no tickets or reservations are needed.

Panelists include Jeannette Clariond, co-editor (with Harold Bloom) of a forthcoming anthology of American poets; Mónica de la Torre, co-editor of “Reversible Monuments: Contemporary Mexican Poetry”; Rafael Pérez-Torres, author of “Movements in Chicano Poetry: Against Myths, Against Margins” and co-editor of “The Chicano Studies Reader: An Anthology of Aztlán 1970-2000”; and Mexican poet Pedro Serrano. The panel will be moderated by Luis Alberto Ambroggio, poet and member of the Academia Norteamericana de la Lengua Española (North American Academy of the Spanish Language).

Panelists will focus on the ways in which American poets reach Mexican audiences and vice versa, through the publication of recent anthologies in both countries. It will also address the particular challenge Chicano poets face, with the influence of both traditions.

The Poetry and Literature Center is the home of the Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry, a position that has existed since 1937, after the late Archer M. Huntington endowed the Chair of Poetry at the Library of Congress. Since then, more than 40 of the nation’s most eminent poets have served as either Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress or, after the passage of Public Law 99-194 in 1985, as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry. The Poet Laureate suggests authors to read in the literary series and plans other special literary events during the reading season. For more information, visit www.loc.gov/poetry/.

The Hispanic Division, established in 1939, is the Library’s center for the study of the cultures and societies of the Iberian Peninsula, Latin America, the Caribbean, and other areas with significant Spanish or Portuguese influence. For more information about the division’s resources and programs, visit www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/.