February 5, 2013 Library of Congress Announces Literary Birthday Celebrations
Press Contact: Donna Urschel (202) 707-1639
Public Contact: Rob Casper (202) 707-5394
Contact: Request ADA accommodations five business days in advance at (202) 707-6362 or ada@loc.gov
Request ADA accommodations five business days in advance at (202) 707-6362 or ADA@loc.gov
The Poetry and Literature Center at the Library of Congress announces its series of literary birthday celebrations, commemorating America’s most influential authors.
All events will occur at noon and will be free and open to the public. Tickets are not needed. All events will take place in the Whittall Pavilion, unless otherwise noted. The Whittall is located on the ground level of the Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. S.E., Washington, D.C.
Each event will feature two poets or writers who will discuss the celebrated author and read from his or her work. In addition, materials from the Library’s collections pertaining to the author will be on display.
Edna St. Vincent Millay, Friday, Feb. 22
Poets Claudia Emerson and Alicia Ostriker will read from the work of Millay; the Prints and Photographs Division will display materials.
Robert Frost, Tuesday, March 26
Poets Dana Gioia and Eric Pankey will read from the work of Frost, and the Manuscript Division will present materials from the Robert Frost collection.
Robert Penn Warren, Wednesday, April 24
Novelist Alan Cheuse and poet Maurice Manning will read from the work of Warren, and the Rare Book and Special Collections Division will present materials from the Robert Penn Warren collection.
Katherine Anne Porter, Wednesday, May 15
Novelists Mary Gaitskill and Janet Peery will read from the work of Porter, and the Manuscript Division will present material from the Porter collection.
Walt Whitman, Friday, May 31
Poets Mark Doty and Sally Keith will read from the work of Whitman, and the Rare Book and Special Collections Division will present materials from the Whitman collection.
Paul Laurence Dunbar, Thursday, June 27
Poets Al Young and Holly Bass will read from the work of Dunbar, and the Rare Book and Special Collections Division will present materials from the Dunbar collection. This event will take place in Dining Room A on the sixth floor of the Library’s James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave., S.E., Washington, D.C.
The Rare Book and Special Collections Division holds more than 800,000 books, broadsides, pamphlets, theater playbills, title pages, prints, posters, photographs, and medieval and Renaissance manuscripts. More than 100 collections are maintained, including the personal libraries of Harry Houdini and Susan B. Anthony, author collections of Walt Whitman and Hans Christian Andersen, subject collections on gastronomy and cryptography, and generic collections such as dime novels and Bibles. For more information, visit www.loc.gov/rr/rarebook/.
The Manuscript Division holds more than 66 million items, including the papers of 23 U.S. presidents, from George Washington to Calvin Coolidge. For more information, visit www.loc.gov/rr/mss/.
The Prints and Photographs Division includes approximately 14.4 million photographs, drawings and prints from the 15th century to the present day. International in scope, these visual collections represent a uniquely rich array of human experience, knowledge, creativity and achievement, touching on almost every realm of endeavor: science, art, invention, government and political struggle, and the recording of history. For more information, visit www.loc.gov/rr/print/.
The Poetry and Literature Center fosters and enhances the public’s appreciation of literature. The center administers the endowed poetry chair (the U.S. Poet Laureate), and coordinates an annual literary season of poetry, fiction and drama readings, performances, lectures and symposia. For more information, visit www.loc.gov/poetry/.
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PR 13-022
2013-02-06
ISSN 0731-3527