January 23, 1995

Contact: Helen Dalrymple (202) 707-1940

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Media Advisory: Public Events at the Library of Congress January 28 - April 30, 1995

January 28
Saturday
EXHIBITION
Frank Loesser and his work will be celebrated in an exhibition, "Frank Loesser: Trying and Succeeding," that will open in the Performing Arts Library on the second floor of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The exhibition, which coincides with performances of Loesser's Pulitzer Prize-winning show "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" (at the Kennedy Center from Jan. 29 to Feb. 26), will include sheet music, posters, playbills and script material drawn from the collections of the Library of Congress. The exhibition will be on view through May 27, from noon to 8 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday.

February 7
Tuesday
SYMPOSIUM
A symposium on "The Adaptable Brain," one of a continuing series of Decade of the Brain programs at the Library of Congress, will be held in the Great Hall of the Thomas Jefferson Building, from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Plasticity, the capacity of the neuronal circuits in the brain to make up for deficits by substituting alternative circuits, is the subject. Four experts in the field are featured speakers: Michael Merzenich, Department of Otolaryngology and Physiology, and Roger A. Nicoll, Department of Pharmacology, both from the University of California at San Francisco; Richard Tsien, George D. Smith Professor, Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine; and Anthony Damasio, Van Allen Professor and Head, Department of Neurology, University of Iowa College of Medicine.

February 14
Tuesday
READING
"Love Poems" is the theme of the Poetry at Noon program on Valentine's Day. E. Ethelbert Miller, author of In Search of Color Everywhere, and Jean Nordhaus, whose most recent book is My Life in Hiding, will read from their work in the Pickford Theater, third floor, Madison Building, at noon.

February 16
Thursday
READING
Poet Laureate Rita Dove introduces Nina Cassian and Sandra Cisneros for the first program of the second half of the 1994-1995 literary season at the Library of Congress. They will read their poems in a program sponsored by the Gertrude Clarke Whittall Poetry and Literature Fund. Nina Cassian, born in Galati, Romania, has published more than 50 books, including works of fiction and books for children. A volume of her selected poems, Life Sentence, was published recently by W. W. Norton. Sandra Cisneros has written two collections of poetry and two books of fiction, including The House. The program is in the Mumford Room, sixth floor of the Madison Building, 6:45 p.m.

February 22
Wednesday
LECTURE
Authors Gay Talese and Jay Parini discuss the Italian influence on American literature in a program sponsored by the Library's Rare Book and Special Collections Division and the Embassy of Italy, the Italian Cultural Institute and the National Italian American Foundation. Gay Talese wrote a best-selling book about The New York Times called The Kingdom and the Power in 1969; his most recent book is Unto the Sons (1992). Jay Parini has just published John Steinbeck: A Biography (Holt, 1995) and has also written and edited books of poetry, biographical works and novels. The event will be held in the Mumford Room, sixth floor of the Madison Building, at 6:30 p.m.

February 23
Thursday
READING
Young poets from Washington area schools in the fourth through eighth grades will read their own poetry in a program called "Young Voices at the Library of Congress," introduced by Rita Dove, Poet Laureate, in the Mumford Room, sixth floor of the Madison Building. The time for the program will be announced later.

February 24
Friday
EXHIBITION
"Temple of Liberty: Building the Capitol for a New Nation" opens in the Madison Gallery, first floor of the Madison Building. The exhibition includes architectural drawings, works of art and manuscript materials from the vast collections of the Library of Congress, the Architect of the Capitol and other national institutions. Much of the material, newly restored, has not been exhibited for 100 years. Architectural models, some built specially for this exhibition, are a highlight and show how the Capitol building has changed in the past 200 years. "Temple of Liberty" will remain on view through June 24.

March 2
Thursday
LITERARY PROGRAM
Actor Anthony Zerbe in "It's All Done With Mirrors...the Writings of e. e. cummings," Mumford Room, sixth floor of the Madison Building, 6:45 p.m.

THE PROGRAM IS FREE BUT TICKETS WILL BE REQUIRED. TO OBTAIN FREE GENERAL ADMISSION TICKETS, CALL (202) 707-5394 AND LEAVE A MESSAGE.

March 9
Thursday
READING
Poet Laureate Rita Dove introduces a literary program with Lynn Emanuel and Molly Peacock reading their poems, Mumford Room, sixth floor of the Madison Building, 6:45 p.m.

March 14
Tuesday
DISCUSSION
The Library's Hispanic Cultural Society presents a "Tertulia," or roundtable discussion, on current events in Mexico with Dr. Arturo Valenzuela, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs, in Dining Room A, sixth floor of the Madison Building, beginning at noon.

March 16
Thursday
READING
Poet Laureate Rita Dove introduces Jamaica Kincaid, who will read from her work in a literary program in the Mumford Room, sixth floor of the Madison Building, 6:45 p.m.

March 21
Tuesday
READING
The March Poetry at Noon program will feature poems on the theme of "Rebirth and Renewal" on the occasion of the vernal equinox, Pickford Theater, third floor of the Madison Building, noon.

March 30
Thursday
SYMPOSIUM
The Library of Congress and the National Park Service will present a joint centennial celebration of Frederick Douglass with an all-day symposium at the Library. The three sessions will cover autobiographies and the self-conception of Frederick Douglass; social history as seen through his home, Cedar Hill; and the legacy of Frederick Douglass. Principal speakers are David Blight, Amherst College; William McFeely, University of Georgia; and Waldo E. Martin Jr., University of California at Berkeley. The day will conclude with a special tour and reception at Douglass's home, courtesy of the National Park Service. The symposium will begin at 9 a.m. in the West Dining Room, sixth floor, Madison Building.

March 30
Thursday
LECTURE
William Julius Wilson, Lucy Flower University Professor and chairman, Sociology Department, University of Chicago, will deliver the third annual Joanna Jackson Goldman lecture at 6:30 p.m. The Goldman Memorial Lecture series is made possible by a gift from the estate of the late Eric F. Goldman, who taught at Princeton University. Established in 1993, the series fulfills Mr. Goldman's desire to honor the memory of his wife, Joanna Jackson Goldman. Each year an individual of high achievement and literary skill is selected to deliver a lecture at the Library on a significant issue facing American democracy. The lectures are derived from larger manuscripts to be published in a series by the Harvard University Press. The event will be held in the Mumford Room, sixth floor of the Madison Building.

April 3
Monday
READING
In a special program sponsored by the Library's Gertrude Clarke Whittall Poetry and Literature Fund, the Goethe-Institut Washington, and the Literarisches Colloquium Berlin, four poets from Berlin will read from their work in German and in English. The program is part of a Berlin-Washington Poetry Exchange sponsored by the Goethe-Institut Washington and the Literarisches Colloquium Berlin; four American poets will travel to Berlin to read from their work in the spring of 1996. Time and location of this reading will be announced later.

April 13
Thursday
CONCERT
The Library's Am first outdoor concert of the season with zydeco music from Louisiana on Neptune Plaza, west front of the Jefferson Building, from noon to 1 p.m.

April 19-20
Wednesday/Thursday
CONFERENCE
"Oil on the Waters: The Black Diaspora" is a two-day conference coordinated and hosted by Poet Laureate Rita Dove. It will look at American history from the perspective of the effects of African enslavement and dispersal; eminent writers and scholars will participate. There will be afternoon symposia each day and readings in the evenings. The afternoon session on April 19 will explore "Facets of the Diaspora," and the session on the afternoon of April 20 will address "Women in the Diaspora." The program will be held in the Mumford and Montpelier Rooms, sixth floor of the Madison Building. Times will be announced.

April 25
Tuesday
SYMPOSIUM
Decade of the Brain symposium with a mid-decade "Report Card on the Decade of the Brain." Time and location to be announced.

The Library of Congress occupies three buildings on Capitol Hill. The Thomas Jefferson Building is the original Library of Congress building; it is located at 10 First Street S.E., across First Street from the U.S. Capitol. The John Adams Building is directly behind the Jefferson Building to the east on Second Street S.E.; and the James Madison Memorial Building, at 101 Independence Avenue S.E., is just south of the Jefferson Building.

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PR 95-003
1/23/95
ISSN 0731-3527