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February 11, 1999
Press Contact: Yvonne French (202) 707-9191
Public Contact: Center for the Book (202) 707-5221

New Biography of Walt Whitman To Be Discussed at Library on March 22

Jerome Loving, author of the first full-length critical biography of Walt Whitman in more than 40 years, will discuss his new book at the Library at 6 p.m. March 22, in the Mumford Room on the sixth floor of the Madison Memorial Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E. The program is part of the Center for the Book's "Books & Beyond" author series. It is free and open to the public.

Mr. Loving's book, Walt Whitman: The Song of Himself, relies heavily on recently unearthed archival material in the Library of Congress's Walt Whitman collection and in other libraries. Several items from the Library's Whitman collection will be on display during the discussion. The biography will be published in March by the University of California Press.

A professor of English at Texas A&M University, Jerome Loving is the author of four books: Lost in the Customhouse: Authorship in the American Renaissance (1993); Emily Dickinson: The Poet on the Second Story (1986); Emerson, Whitman, and the American Muse (1982); and Walt Whitman's Champion: William Douglas O'Connor. He has edited, among other works, an edition of Whitman's Leaves of Grass that was published in 1990 by Oxford University Press.

The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress was established in 1977 to stimulate public interest in books, reading, and libraries. Its program, which is supported mostly by private funds, reaches into every region of the country through a network of 36 affiliated state centers and more than 50 national educational and civic organizations. For more information about the Center for the Book and its activities, visit its Web site at http://www.loc.gov/loc/cfbook/.

Interpreting services (American Sign Language, Contact Signing, Oral and/or Tactile) will be provided if requested five business days in advance of the event. Call (202) 707-6362 TTY and voice to make a specific request. For other ADA accommodations, contact the Disability Employment office at (202) 707-9948 TTY and (202) 707- 7544 voice.

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PR 99-018
2/11/99
ISSN 0731-3527