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March 30, 2000
Press Contact: Donna Urschel (202) 707-9191
Public Contact: Center for the Book (202) 707-5221

Library of Congress Will Celebrate New American Poetry Anthology

Poets John Hollander and Carolyn Kizer will be among the readers at a celebration of the publication of the Library of America's new two-volume anthology, American Poetry: The Twentieth Century, on Wednesday, April 26, in the Mumford Room, sixth floor, James Madison Memorial Building, at 6 p.m. The program is free and open to the public.

The event is a continuation of the Library's celebration of National Poetry Month, and is co-sponsored by the Poetry and Literature Center and, as part of its "Books & Beyond" series, the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress.

American Poetry: The Twentieth Century was published with generous support from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Each volume is approximately 1,000 pages in length and organized chronologically by the poets' birthdates. Volume 1 takes the reader from Henry Adams (1838-1918) to Dorothy Parker (1893-1967); volume 2, from E.E. Cummings (1894-1962) to May Swenson (1913-1989).

The editorial advisory board for American Poetry: The Twentieth Century includes the distinguished poets and scholars Robert Hass, John Hollander, Carolyn Kizer, Nathaniel Mackey, and Marjorie Perloff.

The Library of America, a reading promotion partner of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, helps to preserve the nation's literary heritage by publishing and keeping in print authoritative editions of America's best and most significant writing. The price of each American Poetry volume is $35. For information about the Library of America and previous titles in the series, visit its Web site at http://www.loa.org.

The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress was established in 1977 to stimulate public interest in books, reading, and libraries. For information about its program and the activities of its 39 affiliated state centers, visits its Web site at http://www.loc.gov/loc/cfbook.

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PR 00-050
3/30/00
ISSN 0731-3527