Poetry Events

Poets Dolores Kendrick and Evie Shockley celebrate the birthday of American poet Langston Hughes by reading selections from his work and discussing his influence on their own writing.

Date: Wednesday, February 1, Noon
Location: Whittall Pavilion, Thomas Jefferson Building
Contact: (202) 707-5394

Pedro Serrano, Mexican translator, poet, and critic, joins Dominican poet and critic Rei Berroa in a discussion of the influence of Nobel Laureate Odysseas Elytis on Hispanic poetry and culture. This event is co-sponsored by the Hispanic Division of the Library of Congress.

Date: Friday, January 27, 6:30
Location: West Dining Room, James Madison Building
Contact: (202) 707-5394

Black Mountain Fellow Kelle Groom will present a talk on "The Quiet People (Hiljainen Kansa): A Memoir." This event is sponsored by the John W. Kluge Center of the Library of Congress.

Date: Tuesday, December 20, Noon
Location: Whittall Pavilion, Thomas Jefferson Building (ground floor)
Contact: (202) 707-3302

Bavarian Fellow Sascha Pohlmann will present a talk on "Walt Whitman's Future-Founding Poetry." This event is sponsored by the John W. Kluge Center of the Library of Congress.

Date: Thursday, December 15, Noon
Location: Whittall Pavilion, Thomas Jefferson Building (ground floor)
Contact: (202) 707-3302

Authors Jo Ann Beard and Maud Casey celebrate the birthday of American author Louisa May Alcott by reading selections from her work and discussing her influence on their own writing. This event is free and open to the public, and will feature a display from the Library’s collections. Co-sponsored by the Rare Books and Special Collections Division of the Library of Congress.

Date: Tuesday, November 29, Noon
Location: Whittall Pavilion, Thomas Jefferson Building (ground floor)
Contact: (202) 707-5394

To celebrate the African Studies Association Annual meeting, Ugandan poet and ASA Presidential Fellow Susan Kiguli reads her own work, with a moderated discussion to follow. This event is free and open to the public. A reception will precede the program. Co-sponsored by the African and Middle Eastern Division and the John W. Kluge Center of the Library of Congress, and the Africa Society of the National Summit on Africa, and with the generous support of Chevron.

Date: Wednesday, November 16, 6:00 PM
Location: Mumford Room, James Madison Building, Library of Congress (sixth floor)
Contact: (202) 707-5394

Robert Bringhurst, recipient of the Library of Congress's 14th annual Witter Bynner Poetry Fellowship, reads his poetry. This event is free and open to the public. Book sales and a signing will follow. Co-sponsored by the Library of Congress Center for the Book.

Date: Tuesday, November 15, 7:00 PM
Location: Microsoft Auditorium, Central Library, Seattle Public Library, 1000 4th Ave.
Contact: (202) 707-5394

Chinese poets Xi Chuan and Zhou Zan join Michael Wiegers, executive editor of Copper Canyon Press and special guest Carolyn Forché, for a reading and discussion on the forthcoming anthology "Push Open the Window: Contemporary Poetry from China."

Location: Mumford Room, James Madison Building (sixth floor)
Contact: (202) 707-5394

This event is free and open to the public. Book sales and a signing will follow.

Co-sponsored by the Asian Division of the Library of Congress and presented in partnership with Copper Canyon Press and the National Endowment for the Arts.

The Library of Congress will celebrate the birthday of American poet John Berryman, who would have been 97 this year, with a reading of his work by award-winning poets Mary Jo Bang and Michael Collier. The celebration will be held at noon on Tuesday, Oct. 25, in the Whittall Pavilion on the ground level of the Thomas Jefferson Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C. The event is free and open to the public; no tickets are needed.

The Library of Congress, in partnership with The Africa Society of the National Summit on Africa, is launching a new literary series, "Conversations with African Poets and Writers." The series will kick off with a discussion on contemporary African culture by Ali Mazrui on Oct. 7.

Noted scholar and political writer Ali Mazrui discusses the state of contemporary African culture, including poetry and literature.

Location: African and Middle Eastern Reading Room, Thomas Jefferson Building (2nd Floor)
Contact: (202) 707-5394

This event is free and open to the public. Book sales and a signing will follow.

Co-sponsored by the African and Middle Eastern Division of the Library of Congress and the Africa Society of the National Summit on Africa.

April and May poetry events at the Library include a Shakespeare Birthday Reading, a reading by Witter Bynner fellows Forrest Gander and Robert Bringhurst, and a May 4 reading by U.S. Poet Laureate W.S. Merwin to conclude the Library's spring literary season.

View a current schedule of upcoming poetry readings and events for the Library's Fall 2010 and Spring 2011 literary seasons.

"Love" is the Poetry at Noon theme. Featured poets are Poet-Attorney Edwin Zimmerman of Washington, DC; Kristin Berkey-Abbott of Hollywood, FL; and Judith Offer of Oakland, CA. Whittall Pavilion, noon-1 p.m.

Poet Laureate Charles Simic will introduce Mark Strand and Charles Wright in the Montpelier Room, on the 6th floor of the James Madison Building, at 6:45 p.m.

Reading takes place February 7, 6:45 p.m., Montpelier Room, 6th Floor, James Madison Building.

Charles Simic will open the Library's Fall literary season on October 18. Other award-winning poets visiting the Library this season include Marjory Wentworth, James Tate, and Jorie Graham.

Philip Levine, whose poetry has honored the working man for almost half a century, will give his inaugural reading as the 18th Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry at the Library of Congress on Oct. 17.

The reading, which will kick off the Library’s 2011-2012 literary season, will start at 7 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 17, in the Coolidge Auditorium on the ground floor of the Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. S.E., Washington, D.C. The reading is free and open to the public, and a book-signing will follow. Tickets and reservations are not required, but early arrival is strongly recommended.

On Oct. 4, a panel of experts will discuss the poetry traditions of the United States and Mexico and the literary exchanges between the two countries, shedding light on the historical, political and cultural heritages of both nations.

The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress is sponsoring a symposium titled "Literatura de Cordel: Continuity and Change in Brazilian Popular Literature," Monday, Sept. 26 and Tuesday, Sept. 27.