August 22, 1997

Contact:
Craig D'Ooge (202) 707-9189

---

Library of Congress Publishes "Literary Companion" Calendar for 1998

"The preservation of literature through libraries has been and will ever be one of the most signal benefits of civilization." So stated Ainsworth Rand Spofford, Librarian of Congress from 1864 to 1897, and a noted literary man of his time.

Two literary calendars just published by Pomegranate Calendars & Books are based on the Library of Congress's rich literary collections. The calendars present photographic portraits of more than 60 authors, plus biographical profiles, anecdotes, dates and quotations that provide vivid glimpses of the authors' lives, books, and achievements.

In his introduction to the calendars, Center for the Book Director John Y. Cole provides information about the Library's Thomas Jefferson Building as a temple of literature, and describes how the Library celebrates literature today -- through its collections, readings, projects, publications, exhibits, and its home page on the World Wide Web.

Edgar Allan Poe is featured on the cover of the 1998 engagement calendar, which was compiled by Margaret E. Wagner of the Library's Publishing Office. She and free-lance writer Alan Bisbort wrote the captions. The 112-page spiral bound book sells for $13.95.

Langston Hughes is on the cover of the 1998 wall calendar, which was compiled by Ms. Wagner and Mr. Bisbort, who also wrote the brief biographical essays about each author. In addition to Langston Hughes, the writers portrayed are: William Styron, Dorothy Parker, Frank Yerby, Edmund Wilson, Rebecca West, Edgar Allan Poe, T.S. Eliot, Isabella Augusta (Lady Gregory), Boris Pasternak, and Gertrude Stein. The price is $12.95.

Both calendars are available in bookstores around the country, in the Library of Congress Sales Shop, and from Pomegranate Calendars & Books, Box 6099, Rohnert Park, CA 94927.

# # #

PR 97-137
8/20/97
ISSN 0731-3527