Poetry and Literature News

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The Library of Congress depends on donations from people like you to produce exhibitions, events, programs, and activities that connect millions of people across the nation and around the world with our unique collections, experts, and services.

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Help spread the word today and encourage your friends and family to make a gift to the nation’s library, your gateway to understanding the world!

#GivingTuesday is a global day of giving fueled by the power of social media and collaboration.

This year is the second year the Library of Congress is participating in #GivingTuesday—a global giving movement. On Tuesday, November 27, we are asking you to make a gift to spark a lifelong adventure of learning.

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.

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Save the Date to Make Your Gift!

Celebrated on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving (in the U.S.) and the widely recognized shopping events Black Friday and Cyber Monday, #GivingTuesday kicks off the charitable season, when many focus on their holiday and end-of-year giving.

Friday, November 2, 12:00PM
INTERNATIONAL WRITING PROGRAM: CELEBRATING WOMEN’S VOICES

Program residents Kateryna Babkina (Ukraine), Alisa Ganieva (Russia), and Rumena Bužarovska (Macedonia) will read selections of their work and participate in a moderated discussion with Christopher Merrill, director of the International Writing Program. This event is free and open to the public. Co-sponsored by the Library of Congress European Division and presented in partnership with the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa and the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State. 

Location: Montpelier Room, sixth floor, James Madison Building, Library of Congress <view map>

Wednesday, November 7, 4:00 PM
INTERNATIONAL LITERATURE: URUGUAYAN POETS

Poet Silvia Guerra will read excerpts of her work and translators Jesse Lee Kercheval, Jeannine Pitas, Anna Deeny, and Seth Michelson will share new translations of Circe Maia, Marosa di Giorgio, Amanda Berenguer, and Melisa Machado. This event is free and open to the public. Co-sponsored by the Hispanic Division of the Library of Congress. Presented in collaboration with the Embassy of Uruguay.

Location: Whittall Pavilion, ground floor, Thomas Jefferson Building, Library of Congress <view map>

Saturday, November 10, 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
THE ROAD BACK: VETS AND LITERARY WRITING

In honor of Veterans Day, a day-long symposium featuring two panels and a screening of the newly restored film “The Road Back.” All events are free and open to the public. Tickets required for film screening. Co-sponsored by the Library of Congress Exhibits Office and Veterans History Project. Presented in collaboration with Echoes of the Great War: American Experiences of World War I exhibit.

11:00 AM - Kristin Windbigler, executive director of the Western Folklife Center; Niyati Dhokai, program manager of the Veterans and the Arts Initiative, Hylton Performing Arts Center; and Mohammed Sheriff, division coordinator of the National Endowment for the Art’s Literature & Arts Education Division will discuss writing and literature as a means of coping with service experience.

Location: LJ-119, first floor, Thomas Jefferson Building, Library of Congress <view map>

1:30 PM - Poets Bill Jones, Vess Quinlan, Dave Richmond, and Bruce Weigl will discuss their favorite World War I writers, share selections of their work, and participate in a discussion moderated by Anya Creightney, programs manager of the Poetry and Literature Center.

Location: LJ-119, first floor, Thomas Jefferson Building, Library of Congress <view map>

3:00 PM - Film screening of “The Road Back,” sequel to “All Quiet on the Western Front.” Restored by the Library of Congress in association with UCLA Film & Television Archive, Universal Studios, and The Film Foundation. Restoration funding provided by The Film Foundation and the Library of Congress. Screening rights provided by New York University, executor of the Erich Maria Remarque Estate. 

Location: Mary Pickford Theater, third floor, James Madison Building, Library of Congress <view map>

Sunday, November 18, 1:30 PM 
TWO POETS LAUREATE: READING AND CONVERSATION

Former U.S. Poets Laureate Billy Collins and Juan Felipe Herrera will read selections from their recent books and discuss the necessity of poetry with Robert Casper, head of the Poetry and Literature Center.

Location: Miami Dade College - Wolfson Campus, Building 1, second floor, #1261 (300 NE 2nd Ave, Miami, FL 33132) 

For more information about these events, please visit the Poetry and Literature Center's website or call us at (202) 707-5394.

Tuesday, October 30, 6:30 PM
BAGLEY WRIGHT LECTURE: POETS ON CRITICISM

Poet-critics Maureen McLane, Srikanth Reddy, and Matthew Zapruder will discuss the role of criticism in contemporary American poetry in a conversation moderated by Robert Casper, head of the Poetry and Literature Center. This event is free and open to the public. Presented in partnership with the Bagley Wright Lecture Series.

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

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

Monday, October 1, 7:00 PM
THE LIFE OF A POET: MARILYN CHIN

Poet Marilyn Chin 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.

Wednesday, September 12, 4:00 PM
INTERNATIONAL LITERATURE: CATHERINE FILLOUX

Playwright and librettist Catherine Filloux will read from MANOA special feature Eyes of the Heart followed by a moderated discussion with MANOA series editor Frank Stewart. Free tickets are available via Eventbrite. Presented in partnership with MANOA: A Pacific Journal of International Writing.

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

Please click here for more information. 

Wednesday, September 12, 4:00 PM
INTERNATIONAL LITERATURE: CATHERINE FILLOUX

Playwright and librettist Catherine Filloux will read from MANOA special feature Eyes of the Heart followed by a moderated discussion with MANOA series editor Frank Stewart. Free tickets are available via Eventbrite. Presented in partnership with MANOA: A Pacific Journal of International Writing.

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

Please click here for more information. 

Thursday, August 30, 4:00 PM
NATIONAL STUDENT POETS PROGRAM APPOINTMENT CEREMONY

Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden and Institute of Museum and Library Services Director Kathryn K. Matthew will appoint the seventh 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 Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers.

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

Please click here for more information. 

Saturday, June 30, 2018

LA VOZ LATINA—THE LATIN VOICE IN THE AMERICAS: A SPLENDID DIVERSITY

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, in collaboration with the Hispanic Division and the Poetry and Literature Center of the Library of Congress, presents a series of programs on Latin American and Hispanic American literature. Events are free and open to the public. Free tickets are required and will be distributed 30 minutes prior to the event in front of the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater.

11:00 AM: HARLEM TO HAVANA—Langston Hughes and Nicolas Guillen: Two Poets, Two Worlds, One Friendship

Featuring Cuban American playwright Jorge Ignacio Cortiñas (Sleepwalkers and Maleta Mulata) and Pulitzer Prize–winning U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey, this is a re-enactment of the friendship and literary collaboration between two great jazz-age poets, Cuban Nicolás Guillén and American Langston Hughes. Cortiñas and Trethewey will present the poets’ verses, correspondence, and anecdotes, as well as talk about their influence on their own art. Learn more on the Kennedy Center website

2:00 PM: LA VOZ LATINA—Six Literary Stars of the Americas

Six of the most eclectic and revered Latino writers from the Americas—North and South—talk about their work, their inspiration, and their enormously diverse cultures, moderated by writer and critic Marie Arana, along with writer Ruth Behar. Featured are the legendary Mexican American writer Sandra Cisneros, Chilean American playwright and novelist Ariel Dorfman, Bolivian novelist and essayist Rodrigo Hasbún, Peruvian journalist and novelist Santiago Roncagliolo, and Puerto Rican American novelist and memoirist Esmeralda Santiago. Learn more on the Kennedy Center website

Location: Terrace Theater, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Contact: (202) 467-4600

As April winds down, our celebration of National Poetry Month at the Library of Congress is still going strong: Today we launch From the Catbird Seat, a new poetry podcast series from the Poetry and Literature Center. Each Thursday for the next eight weeks, we’ll explore poetry’s past, present and future. Read more about the series on our blog. Photo: U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith and Rob Casper.

To listen and subscribe to From the Catbird Seat, visit our podcast site or find it on iTunes. 

Thursday, April 19, 7:00 PM
STAYING HUMAN: POETRY IN THE AGE OF TECHNOLOGY

22nd U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith will celebrate the conclusion of her first term as laureate in a conversation with Ron Charles, editor of Washington Post’s Book World and host of the Library’s “Life of a Poet” series. This event is free and open to the public. Tickets are required via Eventbrite. Book sales and signing will follow.

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

This event will be livestreamed via YouTube and Facebook. 

Wednesday, April 11, 7:00 PM
THE LIFE OF A POET: MATTHEW ZAPRUDER

Poet Matthew Zapruder will discuss his 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, April 19, 7:00 PM
STAYING HUMAN: POETRY IN THE AGE OF TECHNOLOGY

22nd U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith will celebrate the conclusion of her first term as laureate in a conversation with Ron Charles, editor of Washington Post’s Book World and host of the Library’s “Life of a Poet” series. This event is free and open to the public. Tickets are required via Eventbrite. Book sales and signing will follow.

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

This event will be livestreamed via YouTube and Facebook.