District of Literature
The District of Literature was the first annual free, full day of readings and panel discussion featuring DC poets, fiction writers, and literary critics. Held on September 30, 2013, events took place on Capitol Hill at both the Library of Congress and the Folger Shakespeare Library.
Order of the day
Opening remarks
9:30am-10am: Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Building, room LJ-119 The opening remarks of District of Literature featured a reading by DC Poet Laureate Dolores Kendrick.
Sterling Brown, DC's First Poet Laureate
10am-11am: Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Building, room LJ-119 This reading was curated by the American Poetry Museum. Haile Gerima's documentary After Winter: Sterling Brown revolves around the life of DC's first poet laureate. This reading investigates Brown's legacy with poet A. B. Spellman, a former student of Brown's, Howard University professor Tony Medina, and Shakeema Smalls, a young poet at Howard University who is coming to terms with Brown and his influence through the other poets she has studied.
American Poetry Museum is a virtual space for exhibitions and education centered on the subject of American poetry. The Museum also collects objects centered around American poetry and presents events and educational poetry writing workshops for learners of all ages. The Museum also hosts an annual exhibition each year comprised of art, photography and video about different subject matter using poetry as a tool for discussion.
Possessed of This City: Bringing the Spirit of DC Poetry to the Nation
11:15am-12:15pm: Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Building, room LJ-119 This panel was hosted by Split This Rock. DC's poets have long engaged the wider world in their work while creating community here at home, supporting one another's writing and activism. Split This Rock was founded in 2008 in this tradition, calling poets to the center of public life and fostering a national network of socially engaged poets. Split This Rock is dedicated to revitalizing poetry as a living, breathing art form with profound relevance in our daily lives and struggles. Building the audience for poetry of provocation and witness from our home in the nation's capital, Split This Rock celebrates poetic diversity and the transformative power of the imagination. Their programs integrate poetry of provocation and witness into movements for social justice, and support the poets of all ages who write and perform this vital work.
Panelists, which included four founders and key leaders-- Sarah Browning, Regie Cabico, Melissa Tuckey, and Dan Vera-- discussed what is uniquely DC about Split This Rock and the impact our city is thereby having on the literary life of our nation.
Presentations from DC Writers' Homes and 826DC
12:30pm-1:30pm: Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Building, room LJ-119 During the District of Literature complimentary lunch break, both DC Writers' Homes and 826DC presented. Student poets from 826DC DC Writers' Homes provides an online guide to where writers lived in Washington DC.
presented student poets during the District of Literature lunch break.
826DC is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting students ages 6-18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write. Our services are structured around our understanding that great leaps in learning can happen with one-on-one attention and that strong writing skills are fundamental to future success.