November 5, 2012 Library of Congress Presents a Stage Reading of “The Radiant Love of Maria S.C.,” Nov. 20

In celebration of the 145th anniversary of the birth of Maria Sklodowska-Curie, the Library of Congress will present a stage reading of a new play about her life and scientific work.

Maria Sklodowska-Curie, more commonly known as Marie Curie, won the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics for pioneering research on radioactivity and the 1911 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discovering the chemical elements polonium and radium.

“The Radiant Love of Maria S.C.” will be presented from noon to 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 20, in the Mary Pickford Theater on the third floor of the Library’s James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C.

Free and open to the public, the stage reading is sponsored by the Library’s European Division, the Library of Congress Professional Association’s Polish Language Table and the Poiesis Theatre Project. Tickets are not needed.

“The Radiant Love of Maria S.C.” is described as a phantasmagoric play based on real events. Written by Mimoza Ristova and directed by Naum Panovski, the play was originally written and published in Macedonia. The Nov. 20 event is the first presentation of the play in the United States.

In the play, Curie grapples with her scientific research, her sense of justice, her fight for civil and women’s rights, and her passionate love.

The European Division is responsible for providing reference and for developing the Library’s collections relating to continental Europe except for Iberia. Its European Reading Room should be the starting point for readers whose interests concern European countries other than Spain, Portugal, Great Britain, and Ireland. For more information on the European Division’s resources and services, visit www.loc.gov/rr/european/.

The Library of Congress, the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution and the largest library in the world, holds more than 151 million items in various languages, disciplines and formats. The Library serves the U.S. Congress and the nation both on-site in its reading rooms on Capitol Hill and through its award-winning website at www.loc.gov.