Poetry & Literature News

Thursday, August 31, 4:00 PM
NATIONAL STUDENT POETS PROGRAM

Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden and Institute of Museum and Library Services Director Kathryn K. Matthew will appoint the sixth class of National Student Poets, five outstanding youth poets from across the United States, for their original work. Program to include a plaque ceremony and poetry reading. Public reception to follow. Free tickets required. 

Presented in partnership with the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers.

Location: Mumford Room, sixth floor, James Madison Building <view map>
Contact: (202) 707-5394

This event will be livestreamed via Facebook and YouTube (with captions).

Please click here for more information.

Saturday, July 29, 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM
ASIAN AMERICAN LITERATURE FESTIVAL

Two events concluding a city-wide, three-day festival celebrating Asian American literature.

• 11:00 AM: American Book Award winner Karen Tei Yamashita gives a lecture, “Literature as Community: The Turtle, Imagination, and the Journey Home,” followed by a fiction reading featuring Kundiman fellows Vt Hung, Mark Keats and Sejal Shah. Book sales and signing to follow.

• 2:00 PM: Poetry Society of America President Kimiko Hahn gives a lecture, “Angel Island: The Roots and Branches of Asian American Poetry,” followed by a poetry reading featuring July Poetry magazine contributors Kazim Ali, Mei-mei Berssenbrugge, Paisley Rekdal, Gerald Maa, Sally Wen Mao, Rajiv Mohabir, Khaty Xiong and John Yau. Book sales and signing to follow.

Free tickets required. Full festival schedule available here. Presented in partnership with Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center.

Location: Room 119, First Floor, Thomas Jefferson Building <view map>
Contact: (202) 707-5394

For more information, please click here.

Thursday, April 20, 6:30 PM
BOBBITT PRIZE READING: NATHANIEL MACKEY AND CLAUDIA RANKINE

The co-winners of the 14th Rebekah Johnson Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry—Nathaniel Mackey for Lifetime Achievement and Claudia Rankine for her book Citizen—read selections of their work. Book sales and signing to follow. This event is free and open to the public. Tickets available here.

Location: Mumford Room, sixth floor, James Madison Building <view map>
Contact: (202) 707-5394

Please click here for more information.

Thursday, April 20, 6:30 PM
BOBBITT PRIZE READING: NATHANIEL MACKEY AND CLAUDIA RANKINE

The co-winners of the 14th Rebekah Johnson Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry—Nathaniel Mackey for Lifetime Achievement and Claudia Rankine for her book Citizen—read selections of their work. Book sales and signing to follow. This event is free and open to the public. Tickets available here.

Location: Mumford Room, sixth floor, James Madison Building <view map>
Contact: (202) 707-5394

Please click here for more information.

Wednesday, April 26, 12:00 PM; 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM
POET LAUREATE CLOSING EVENTS: SPEAK THE PEOPLE/THE SPARK/EL POEMA

A host of acclaimed scholars, musicians, and community organizers join Juan Felipe Herrera to close his second term as U.S. Poet Laureate. All events are free and open to the public. 

• 12:00 PM: Fresno State Chamber Singers Concert | Tickets available
  The Fresno State Chamber Singers, under the direction of Dr. Cari Earnhart, perform newly commissioned pieces created with Juan Felipe Herrera.
  
  Location: Room 119, First Floor, Thomas Jefferson Building <view map>
  
  

• 7:00 PM: Panel Discussion and Quetzal Concert | Tickets required
  Panel discussion with Juan Felipe Herrera and Martha Gonzalez, Hugo Morales, and Louie Pérez, moderated by Rafael Pérez-Torres.  To close out the evening, Grammy Award-winning band Quetzal gives a concert
  
  Location: Coolidge Auditorium, Ground Floor, Thomas Jefferson Building <view map>

Book sales to follow panel discussion. Co-sponsored by the Library of Congress Music Division, Hispanic Division, and American Folklife Center. Presented in partnership with California State University, Fresno, and the Fresno State Chamber Singers.

Contact: (202) 707-5394, poetry@loc.gov

These events will be livecast via YouTube and Facebook.

Tuesday, April 4, 7:00 PM
THE LIFE OF A POET: DANA LEVIN

Poet Dana Levin will discuss her work with Ron Charles, editor of The Washington Post's Book World. This event is free and open to the public. Reservations are required. Co-sponsored by the Hill Center and the Washington Post.

Location: Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital (921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE)
Contact: (202) 707-5394

Please click here for more information.

Thursday, March 30, 4:00 PM
US/CA CAPITAL POETRY EXCHANGE

Canadian poets Suzanne Buffam, Liz Howard, and David O’Meara share and discuss selections of their work with Monty Reid, director of VERSeFest. The event is free and open to the public. Book sales and signing will follow. Co-sponsored by VERSeFest and the Embassy of Canada, Washington, D.C.  

Location: Mumford Room, sixth floor, James Madison Building <view map>
Contact: (202) 707-5394

Please click here for more information.

Thursday, February 16, 6:30 PM
INTERNATIONAL LITERATURE: IMMANUEL MIFSUD

Maltese poet and fiction writer, Immanuel Mifsud, will read and discuss his work with Lucia Wolf, Reference Librarian in the European Division. This event is free and open to the public. Co-Sponsored by Library of Congress European Division and presented in partnership with Embassy of the Republic of Malta supported by the Arts Council of Malta, New York. 

Location: Mumford Room, sixth floor, James Madison Building <view map>
Contact: (202) 707-5394; lwolf@loc.gov

Please click here for more information.

Friday, February 10, 1:00 PM
CONVERSATIONS WITH AFRICAN POETS AND WRITERS: AFRICAN POETRY BOOK FUND SPOTLIGHT

During the annual AWP Conference, African Poetry Book Fund board members Chris Abani, Matthew Shenoda, and Aracelis Girmay discuss contemporary African poetry with Mary Jane Deeb, chief of the African and Middle Eastern Division. Immediately following, Kwame Dawes will introduce African poets Yasmin Belkhyr, Chekwube O. Danladi, Safia Elhillo, Tsitsi Jaji, Mukoma Wa Ngugi, Ladan Osman, Hope Wabuke, and Patricia Jabbeh Wesley who will read from their work. This event is free and open to the public with book sales and signing to follow. Co-sponsored by the Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Division and presented in partnership with the Africa Society of the National Summit on Africa and Prairie Schooner.

Location: Whittall Pavilion, ground floor, Thomas Jefferson Building <view map>
Contact: (202) 707-5394

Please click here for more information.

Wednesday, December 7, 2016 – 6:30 PM
WITH BORGES: A CONVERSATION WITH MARÍA KODAMA

Jorge Luis Borges' widow, María Kodama, will be in conversation with professor of Spanish Saul Sosnowski (University of Maryland). This year marks the 30th anniversary of the author's death and this event will be part of a series of events coordinated by the Embassy of Argentine in Washington, DC. 

This event will be primarily in Spanish, though some translation will be available. Cosponsored by the Hispanic Division and the Poetry and Literature Center, in collaboration with the Embassy of the Republic of Argentina. Event is free and open to the public.

Location: Mumford Room, sixth floor, James Madison Building <view map>
Contact: cgom@loc.gov

Please click here for more information.

Friday, November 18, 12:00 PM
CONVERSATIONS WITH AFRICAN POETS AND WRITERS: KWAME DAWES

Ghanaian writer Kwame Dawes will read selections of his work and participate in a moderated discussion with Angel Batiste, Africa Area Specialist in the African and Middle Eastern Division. This event is free and open to the public. Co-sponsored by the Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Division, and presented in partnership with the Africa Society of the National Summit on Africa.

Location: African and Middle Eastern Division Reading Room, LJ-220, Thomas Jefferson Building <view map>
Contact: (202) 707-5394

Please click here for more information.

Thursday, November 3, 4:00 PM
INTERNATIONAL WRITING PROGRAM SPOTLIGHT

Program residents Khaled Alkhamissi (Egypt), Ukamaka Olisakwe (Nigeria), Yaroslava Pulinovich (Russia), and Zhou Jianing (China) read selections of their work and participate in a moderated discussion with Christopher Merrill, director of the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa. Presented in partnership with the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa, the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State, and PEN/Faulkner Foundation.

Location: Mumford Room, sixth floor, James Madison Building <view map>
Contact: (202) 707-5394

Please click here for more information.

Tuesday, October 18, 4:00 PM
POETRY, PUBLISHING AND RACE

Rob Casper, head of the Poetry and Literature Center, will lead a discussion with poets/editors Cathy Park Hong (New Republic), Don Share (Poetry Magazine), Evie Shockley (Feminist Studies), and Carmen Giménez Smith (Puerto del Sol/Noemi Press) on the ways poetry helps us navigate race in contemporary American culture.   

Location: Mumford Room, sixth floor, James Madison Building
Contact: (202) 707-5394

Please click here for more information.