Poetry and Literature News

Wednesday, November 20, 7:00 PM
LIFE OF A POET: REGINALD DWAYNE BETTS 

Poet Reginald Dwayne Betts will discuss his work with Ron Charles, book critic at The Washington Post. This event is free and open to the public. Reservations are required. Co-sponsored by Hill Center and The Washington Post.

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

Wednesday, November 6, 1:00 PM
OCCUPATIONAL POETRY ROUNDTABLE

Occupational poets Jerry Brooks (miner), Meezie Hermansen (fisher), Bill Jones (veteran), Vess Quinlan (cowboy), and Dave Richmond (judge) will read and discuss their work with John Fenn, head of research and programs at the Library of Congress American Folklife Center. Co-sponsored by Veterans History Project.

Location: LJ-119, first floor, Thomas Jefferson Building <view map>
Contact: vhp@loc.gov (include the subject line “occupational poetry”) or (202) 707-1196

Wednesday, November 20, 7:00 PM
LIFE OF A POET: REGINALD DWAYNE BETTS 

Poet Reginald Dwayne Betts will discuss his work with Ron Charles, book critic at The Washington Post. This event is free and open to the public. Reservations are required. Co-sponsored by Hill Center and The Washington Post.

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

Saturday, November 23, 2:00 PM
MIAMI BOOK FAIR: JOY HARJO IN CONVERSATION

23rd U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo will discuss her work with Rob Casper, head of the Poetry and Literature Center. Tickets required. Co-sponsored by O, Miami.

Location: Miami Dade College, 300 NE 2nd Ave, Miami, FL 33132, Auditorium (Building 1, 2nd Floor)
Contact: (305) 237-3258

Please visit the Poetry and Literature Center's website for more information about upcoming events.

Tuesday, September 24, 7:00 PM
NATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL PRESENTS: EDWIDGE DANTICAT

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Author Edwidge Danticat will discuss her new short story collection, Everything Inside. This event is free and open to the public. Free tickets required; signed copies are also available for pre-purchase. Presented in partnership with National Book Festival Presents.

Location: Coolidge Auditorium, ground floor, Thomas Jefferson Building
Contact: specialevents@loc.gov

Thursday, September 19, 7:00 PM
POET LAUREATE INAUGURAL READING

Joy Harjo will give her inaugural reading as 23rd Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry. She will be joined by Howard Cloud and Robert Muller in a special musical performance. Free tickets required. Book sales and signing to follow. Co-sponsored by Library of Congress National Book Festival Presents.

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

Please visit the Poetry and Literature Center's website for more information.

Saturday, August 3, 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
2019 ASIAN AMERICAN LITERATURE FESTIVAL

Four events at the Library of Congress celebrating Asian American literature during second day of city-wide, three-day festival (read full schedule of events):

• 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM: Novelist Monique Truong gives a personal tour of Asian American literature through a mix of social/intellectual history, anecdotes, and short readings by writers both celebrated and overlooked.
• 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM: Poets Jennifer Chang and Cathy Park Hong uncover the work of lesser-known senior poets who have importantly shaped Asian American literary culture. Mini-lectures will be followed by readings of poets’ own work inspired by these secret histories.  
• 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM: Poet Arthur Sze gives a personal tour of Asian American literature through a mix of social/intellectual history, anecdotes, and short readings by writers both celebrated and overlooked.
• 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM: Poets Kazim Ali and Ching-In Chen uncover the work of lesser-known senior poets who have importantly shaped Asian American literary culture. Mini-lectures will be followed by readings of poets’ own work inspired by these secret histories.

Free tickets strongly encouraged. Books sold before/after day-long event; book signing after day-long event only. Co-sponsored by Library of Congress Asian Division and Asian American Association. Presented in partnership with Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center and the Poetry Foundation.

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

Monday, June 3, 2:30 PM - 5:00 PM
WALT WHITMAN OPEN HOUSE

To celebrate the 200th birthday of Walt Whitman, the Library of Congress will present an open house featuring rarely seen collection items including draft poems, artistic renderings, and rare editions of Leaves of Grass. Filmmaker Haydn Reiss will also screen the short film “Walt Whitman: Citizen Poet,” featuring 22nd U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith and 8th U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Hass. This event is free and open to the public; tickets are not required. Co-sponsored by the Library of Congress Manuscript Division, Rare Book & Special Collections Division, Music Division, Prints & Photographs Division, Serials and General Collections Division, and presented in partnership with Zinc Films, the Poetry Foundation, the Whitman 200 Festival, and Folger Poetry.

Location: LJ-119, first floor, Thomas Jefferson Building <view map>
Contact: (202) 707-5394

Please visit the Poetry and Literature Center's website for more information on upcoming events.

Tuesday, May 14, 7:00 PM
LIFE OF A POET: DIANE SEUSS

Poet Diane Seuss will discuss her work with Ron Charles, book critic at The Washington Post. 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

For more information about upcoming events, please visit the Poetry and Literature Center's website.

Monday, April 15, 7:00 PM
AMERICAN CELEBRATION: POET LAUREATE CLOSING EVENT

22nd U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith will celebrate the conclusion of her laureateship in a conversation with state, city and county poets laureate Jeanetta Calhoun Mish (Oklahoma), Kealoha (Hawaii), Adrian Matejka (Indiana), Tina Chang (Brooklyn, NY) and Vogue Robinson (Clark County, NV). Conversation will be moderated by Jennifer Benka, president and executive director of the Academy of American Poets. Book sales and signing to follow. Free tickets required. Presented in partnership with the Academy of American Poets.

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

Please visit the Poetry and Literature Center's website for more event information. 

Thursday, April 4, 6:30 PM
NATIONAL YOUTH POET LAUREATE COMMENCEMENT

The 2019 National Youth Poet Laureate will be announced. Regional Youth Poets Laureate Kara Jackson (Chicago, IL), Haviland Nona Gai Whiting (Nashville, TN), Jackson Neal (Houston, TX) Azura Tyabji (Seattle, WA), and Maren Wright-Kerr (Baltimore, MD) will participate. Event will be hosted by Mahogany L. Browne and feature Washington, D.C./Prince George's County Youth Poets Laureate. Book sales and signing to follow. Free tickets required. Presented in partnership with Urban Word.

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

Monday, April 8, 5:00 PM
INTERNATIONAL LITERATURE: ANA LUÍSA AMARAL

Poet Ana Luísa Amaral will share her work and participate in a moderated discussion with Talía Guzmán-González, Luso-Brazilian Specialist in the Hispanic Division. Book sales and signing to follow. Co-sponsored by the Hispanic Division.

Location: Hispanic Division Reading Room, second floor, Thomas Jefferson Building, LJ-240 <view map>
Contact: (202) 707-5397

Monday, April 15, 7:00 PM
AMERICAN CELEBRATION: POET LAUREATE CLOSING EVENT

22nd U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith will celebrate the conclusion of her laureateship in a conversation with state, city and county poets laureate Jeanetta Calhoun Mish (Oklahoma), Kealoha (Hawai'i), Adrian Matejka (Indiana), Tina Chang (Brooklyn, NY), and Vogue Robinson (Clark County, NV). Conversation will be moderated by Jennifer Benka, president and executive director of the Academy of American Poets. Book sales and signing to follow. Free tickets required. Presented in partnership with the Academy of American Poets.

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

Tuesday, April 23, 7:00 PM
POETRY OFF THE SHELF: NATASHA TRETHEWEY & CHARLES WRIGHT

19th U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey and 20th U.S. Poet Laureate Charles Wright will read and discuss their prize-winning work. Free tickets are first come, first served. Co-sponsored by the Poetry Foundation.

Location: Poetry Foundation, 61 W Superior St, Chicago, IL 60654
Contact: (202) 707-5394

Monday, April 29, 6:30 PM
LIBRARIAN AND LAUREATE: A CONVERSATION

Director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture Kevin Young will lead a conversation between 22nd U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith and Librarian of Congress Carla D. Hayden. Free tickets are not required but strongly recommended; ticketed guests are given priority. Co-sponsored by Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

Location: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Langston Hughes Auditorium (515 Malcolm X Blvd, New York, NY 10037)
Contact: (202) 707-5394; nyplevents@nypl.org

For more information about upcoming events, visit the Poetry and Literature Center's website.

Thursday, March 14, 12:00 PM
CONVERSATIONS WITH AFRICAN POETS AND WRITERS: MAKENA ONJERIKA

Kenyan author and 2018 Caine Prize winner Makena Onjerika will read from her prize-winning short story “Fanta Blackcurrant” and will participate in a moderated discussion with Eve Ferguson, Africa Area Specialist in the African and Middle Eastern Division. Co-sponsored by the Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Division. Presented in partnership with the Africa Society of the National Summit on Africa, the Caine Prize for African Writing, the Center for African Studies at Howard University, the Lannan Center for Poetics and Social Practice, and Department of English at Georgetown University.

Location: Mary Pickford Theater, third floor, James Madison Building <view map>
Contact: (202) 707-5394

Wednesday, March 20, 7:00 PM
CLIMATE CHANGE, NATURE, AND THE WRITER’S EYE

Science writer Peter Brannen and internationally acclaimed novelist Amitav Ghosh will join 2018 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction winner Annie Proulx to discuss pressing issues of environmental change and a writer’s responsibilities to them. Book sales and signing to follow. Free tickets required.

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

For more event information, visit the Poetry and Literature Center's website.

Thursday, February 28, 6:30 PM 
US/CA CAPITAL POETRY EXCHANGE

Canadian poets Billy-Ray Belcourt, Brecken Hancock, and Erín Moure will share their work and participate in a moderated discussion with Rob Casper, head of the Poetry and Literature Center. This event is free and open to the public. Presented in partnership with the Embassy of Canada, Washington, D.C. and VERSeFest Ottawa.

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

Please visit the Poetry and Literature Center's website for more information.

The following event has been postponed to tomorrow, Wednesday, January 30 at 7:00 PM due to inclement weather. All tickets will be honored. 

Tuesday, January 29, 7:00 PM Wednesday, January 30, 7:00 PM
LIFE OF A POET: ADA LIMÓN

Poet Ada Limón will discuss her work with Ron Charles, book critic at The Washington Post. 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 visit the Poetry and Literature Center's website for more information.

The Library’s resolution for 2019 is to offer more opportunities to engage lifelong learners like you with our unique treasures and programs. Make your gift before we close the books on 2018!

Your gift supports FREE exhibitions, events, programs, and activities that connect millions of people across the nation and around the world with our unique collections, experts, and services.

The Library of Congress is your library, your gateway to understanding the world. There is so much to discover, not only the nation’s memory, but the world’s—information from all corners of the earth, in more than 470 languages. With millions of items available online, you can access the Library’s treasures from anywhere and connect with us in ways that are personally relevant and valuable.