February 13, 2008 The Library of Congress Announces Spring 2008 Poetry at Noon Series

Press Contact: Donna Urschel (202) 707-1639
Public Contact: Patricia Gray (202) 707-5394

The Spring 2008 Poetry at Noon readings will showcase poems about fathers and daughters, names and nicknames, and William Shakespeare. In addition, the series will include an open-mike event called “Poem in Your Pocket Day.” All readings will take place at noon in the Mary Pickford Theater on the third floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C. The events are free and open to the public; no tickets are needed. On Tuesday, March 11, “Family Names and Nicknames” will feature poets Mary Buchinger of Cambridge, Mass., who was selected for the 2005 Daniel Varoujan Award; James L. Foy of Kensington, Md., a faculty member of the Georgetown University School of Medicine; and Sheppard Ranbom of Washington, D.C., whose work has appeared in the Innisfree Poetry Journal and other literary magazines. On Tuesday, March 18, “Fathers and Daughters” will feature poets Jody Bolz, author of “A Lesson in Narrative Time;” Dan Logan, curator of the current poetry broadsides exhibition at Pyramid Atlantic Art Center; and Preston Pulliam, a retired insurance underwriter. On Thursday, April 17, “Poem in Your Pocket Day” will feature poetry readings by anyone who can show a published poem (not their own) at the door to the theater. This event is in conjunction with the Academy of American Poets’ “Poem in Your Pocket” project for National Poetry Month. Also on April 17, visitors to the Library of Congress Sales Shop will be entitled to a 20 percent discount when they show the cashier a published poem. On Tuesday, April 22, the annual “Shakespeare’s Birthday” program will be held. This event features professional actors reading sonnets or passages from the Bard’s work. Afterward, audience members will have the opportunity to read brief excerpts from Shakespeare.

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PR 08-032
2008-02-13
ISSN 0731-3527