Poetry Room Gallery

The Poetry Room in the Thomas Jefferson Building is used by the Poet Laureate at his or her discretion and by the Poetry and Literature Center to receive visiting writers, publishers, teachers, and guests. Until 1944, when Librarian of Congress Archibald MacLeish appointed the space to Consultant in Poetry Robert Penn Warren, it had been used primarily by the Librarian for meetings and private gatherings.

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    Poetry Room The Poetry Room in the Library of Congress’s Thomas Jefferson Building is a small room on the northwest corner of the attic floor. One of the last spaces in the building to be renovated, the room and an adjoining office constitute the Library’s Poetry and Literature Center.
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    Gertrude Whittall Portrait The Poetry Room was formally dedicated in 1951, on April 23—William Shakespeare''s birthday. The guest of honor was Library benefactor Gertrude Clarke Whittall, who gave funds for the development of a poetry center in December 1950. Today Whittall’s portrait hangs in the eastern end of the room, overlooking the legacy of her charity.
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    Eastern Corner of the Room The furniture in the room was donated by Whittall and includes pieces from the English Edwardian and American Colonial Revival periods.
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    Best View in Town The room’s west-facing window offers one of the best views of Washington, overlooking the east front of the United States Capitol Building and out to the Washington Monument and beyond. The furniture in the room was donated by Whittall and includes pieces from the English Edwardian and American Colonial Revival periods, the majority in the Neo-Classical style.
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    Writing Desk A bust of Dante peers above a writing desk of burled veneer inlaid with tromp l'oeil decoration.
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    Pastoral Scenes The room’s décor reflects the spirited nature of its benefactor, a woman said to appreciate equally the verse of Shakespeare, the elegance of Stradivari’s violins (five of which are displayed in the Jefferson Building’s Whittall Pavilion), and a well-mixed Manhattan. A vibrant jade coats the walls and lines the floor, while painted pastoral scenes complement the room’s caned and gilded furnishings.
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    Rebekah Johnson Bobbitt A bust of Rebekah Johnson Bobbitt, in whose honor the Library of Congress bestows the Bobbitt Prize, smiles from the western corner of the room. Her bronzed face is illuminated by a pair of cast brass candelabras on either side of the doorway.
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    Detail of Candelabra Bobbitt's bronzed face is illuminated by a pair of cast brass candelabras on either side of the doorway.
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    Rococo-revival An elaborate mirror hangs next to the entrance to the Poetry Room, in the Poetry and Literature Center office.
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    Poets Laureate Portraits of Consultants and Poets Laureate line the office, reminding visitors of the Center’s great history. The space is similarly outfitted with 19th century revival style furnishings, which hearken back to the country’s beginnings.