August 18, 1998
Contact:
Press Contact: Yvonne French (202) 707-9191
Library Announces Fall 1998 Literary Series
Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky to Kick Off Season
The Library of Congress literary season begins at
6:45 p.m. Oct. 8, with a reading by 1997-99 Poet Laureate
Consultant in Poetry Robert Pinsky, in the Mumford Room.
Mr. Pinsky's Favorite Poem Project, part of the Library's
bicentennial celebration in the year 2000, continues to
encourage Americans to read or recite a favorite poem;
readings have occurred across the United States, and the
production of an archive of recordings of people reading
their favorite poems is under way. Individuals interested
in submitting suggestions may write to Mr. Pinsky, Creative
Writing Department, Boston University, 236 Bay State Road,
Boston, MA 02215.
The 1998 series of public literary events, sponsored by
the Gertrude Clarke Whittall Poetry and Literature Fund,
will offer a variety of programs, including poetry readings
by this year's Witter Bynner Fellows and by the winner of
the 1998 Rebekah Johnson Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry;
and a day-and-a-half series of lectures, seminars, readings,
and musical performances, "Sterling Brown: American Poet and
Cultural Worker."
On Oct. 14, poets David Ferry and Thom Gunn will read
at 6:45 p.m. in the Montpelier Room. Mr. Ferry, who teaches
at Wellesley College, is the author of many collections of
poetry, critical works and works of translation. Mr. Gunn's
Collected Poems appeared in 1994; he is on the faculty of
the University of California, Berkeley.
On Oct. 16, the two 1998 Witter Bynner Fellows, Carol
Muske and Carl Phillips, will read in the Montpelier Room.
The Witter Bynner Fellowships, from the Witter Bynner
Foundation in conjunction with the Library of Congress, are
to be used to support the writing of poetry. The Fellows
are chosen by the incumbent Poet Laureate Consultant in
Poetry. Only two tasks are asked of the Fellows: that each
one organize a local poetry reading in his or her community
and that each participate in a poetry reading at the Library
of Congress. Ms. Muske and Mr. Phillips were the first
Witter Bynner Fellows to be named. They were selected by Mr.
Pinsky on Nov. 25, 1997.
On Oct. 22, the winner of the 1998 Rebekah Johnson
Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry will read from his or her
prize-winning book of poems. The winner will be chosen by a
three-person jury in September, after which an announcement
will be made. In addition to the winner, former Bobbitt
Prize winners Louise Glück, Kenneth Koch and Mark Strand
will read in celebration of the awarding of the fifth of
these biennial prizes. The program will be in the
Montpelier Room.
"Sterling Brown: American Poet and Cultural Worker," a
series of readings, seminars and musical performances based
on Mr. Brown's work, will be held on Oct. 23-24. All events
will take place in rooms on the sixth floor of the James
Madison Building. This fall, a special issue of the
magazine Callaloo will be published on the work of Sterling
Brown. Its editor, Charles Rowell, and its contributors are
gathering for the cultural series. Participants will
include Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky and former Poet Laureate
Rita Dove; poets Kenneth Carroll, Lucille Clifton, Toi
Derricotte, Michael S. Harper, Yusef Komunyakaa, E.
Ethelbert Miller and Sonia Sanchez; filmmaker Haile Gerima;
scholars Kimberly Benston, Joanne V. Gabbin, Mark A. Sanders
and John Edgar Tidwell; and musicians Kyra Gaunt and the
Emory Diggs Quartet.
On Nov. 4, in the Coolidge Auditorium of the Library's
Jefferson Building, seven Washington, D.C., area poets will
read. They are: Michael Collier, Carolyn Forché, E.
Ethelbert Miller, Linda Pastan, Stanley Plumly, Jane Shore,
and Henry Taylor. The program, introduced by Poet Laureate
Robert Pinsky, will celebrate the wealth of eminent poets to
whom Washington, D.C., and its environs are home.
On Dec. 2, Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai will read from
his work in the Mumford Room. This reading, presented in
cooperation with the Embassy of Israel, is one of several
events at the Library of Congress marking Israel's 50th
anniversary; "Zion's Call: A Library of Congress Exhibition
Marking Israel's 50th Year," will open to the public on
Sept. 17 and run through Dec. 19; other events include a
film series and an evening of Israeli ethnic music. To
obtain tickets for Mr. Amichai's reading, telephone the
Poetry and Literature Center, (202) 707-5395, after Nov. 1.
The final program of the fall 1998 literary series will
be on Dec. 3; John Hollander and Alan Williamson will read
their poems in the Montpelier Room. John Hollander's most
recent collection of poetry is Tesserae, and Other Poems
(1993). He is A. Bartlett Giamatti Professor of English at
Yale University. Mr. Williamson is the author of the poetry
collection The Muse of Distance (1988) and Eloquence and
Mere Life: Essays on the Art of Poetry (1994). He teaches
at the University of California, Davis.
Unless otherwise noted, readings will begin at 6:45
p.m. and, for most events, tickets will not be required.
All of the events are free.
The Poetry and Literature Center, which administers
the poetry series, is also the home of the Poet Laureate
Consultant in Poetry, a position that has existed since
1936, when the late philanthropist Archer M. Huntington
endowed the Chair of Poetry at the Library of Congress.
Archibald MacLeish, who was Librarian from 1939 to 1944,
determined the Consultant in Poetry should be an annual
appointment. Since then, many of the nation's most eminent
poets have served as Consultant in Poetry to the Library of
Congress and, after the passage of Public Law 99-194 in
1985, as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry. The Laureate
suggests authors to read in the literary series, plans other
special events during the literary season, and usually
introduces the programs.
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.
The spring 1999 literary series will begin in February
1999 and will be announced at a later date.
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PR 98-123
8/18/98
ISSN 0731-3527