Today in History–May 21–TPS-Barat features Clarissa “Clara” Barton, who founded the Red Cross on this date in 1881. A former teacher, Barton was working in the U.S. patent office at the start of the Civil War. Despite having little nursing training, Barton administered aid to soldiers at several battlefields. After the war she established the…
Discuss the Declaration of Independence. Why was it written? What meaning did it have in 1776? What meaning does it have today? Read the Declaration of Independence and highlight words and phrases that stand out to you. Read over the words and phrases you highlighted. In what ways does the language you selected help to…
Tracy K. Smith was appointed the Library’s 22nd Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry on June 14, 2017 and began serving on September 13, 2017. Her mission the Library’s chief poet is to bring poetry to rural areas. “I wanted to go into the more rural communities that don’t have programming on a consistent basis, where…
The Archive of Recorded Poetry and Literature at the Library of Congress contains recordings of poets and prose writers participating in literary events at the Library’s Capitol Hill campus as well as sessions at the Library’s Recording Laboratory. As of April, 2019, there are nearly 300 artists represented the digital collection. There is a biography…
These digitized works were written by and about African American women who lived during the U.S. Civil War and include autobiographies, biographies, children’s books, novels, poetry, speeches and more. The authors and the works are listed below; click the section headers to access links to the online works. Some authors also have related resource links….
Today in History–January 2–the Library of Congress features Haiti. On this date in 1893 Frederick Douglass, who once served as U.S. minister to this Caribbean country, delivered an address at the dedication of the Haitian Pavilion at the World’s Columbian Exposition. Learn more Douglass’ speech and the country by visiting the Today in History section, then click the links below to access…
The article, In a Lost Essay, a Glimpse of an Elusive Poet and Slave (The New York Times Sept. 25, 2017), tells the intriguing story of the discovery of a primary source text by Jonathan Senchyne, an assistant professor of book history at the University of Wisconsin. The essay, “Individual Influence” by North Carolina slave and poet George…
Billy Collins served as the U.S. Poet Laureate from 2001-2003 and then as New York State Poet Laureate from 2004-2006. Collins is the author of 11 books of poetry and was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2016. Integrating Tech: Poetry 180 a project of U.S. U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins Video…
Children of Spring 1888 verses and color illustrations Spring 1892 book of poetry Springtime and Other Verses 1910 The Springtime of Love and Other Poems 1914 Spring: historical newspaper articles & advertisements Spring oral history audio recordings Spring song recordings Springtime song recordings Spring sheet music Springtime sheet music Spring image set Springtime image set Celebrating…
Award-winning poet Stanley Kunitz was born in 1905 in Worcester, Massachusetts and died in 2006. Kunitz authored 12 poetry collections, one of which won a Pulitzer Prize in 1959 and another, which won the National Book Award in 1995; other honors include a National Medal of Arts, the Bollingen Prize, and the Robert Frost Medal. Kunitz also twice served…
Gabriela Mistral was born as Lucila Godoy Alcayaga in Vicuña, Chile in 1889. She is the author of over twelve books of poetry and was the first Hispanic writer awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Mistral also worked as an educator and a diplomat. Learn more about this passionate poet by investigating the resources below. Gabriela Mistral reading…
Primary Source sets with teacher guides Guided primary source analysis activities Lesson plans Collection Connections: primary source activity ideas Timely Connections: ideas for linking past to present Teaching with the Library: Primary Sources & Ideas for Educators More teaching resources Primary Source Spotlight: Black American History & Heritage