LitFest Pasadena
The first LitFest Pasadena takes place Sat., May 12, at Pasadena’s Central Park and will feature a panel titled “Letting Down Our Hair: Reader-Friendly Books from the Ivory Tower,” with Huntington scholars Daniel Walker Howe, Karen Lystra, Barry Menikoff, and Peter Stallybrass holding forth on how to make a great scholarly book a great read.
Woody Guthrie’s “Great and Crowded City”
Woody Guthrie famously roamed and rambled the country in the 1930s and ’40s, writing and singing about the downtrodden. He also found inspiration in Los Angeles. On Sat., April 14, USC hosts a conference titled “This Great and Crowded City: Woody Guthrie’s Los Angeles.”
All in the Family
Historian Anne F. Hyde won the Bancroft Prize last week for her book “Empires, Nations, and Families: A History of the North American West, 1800–1860.” She joins the ranks of notable scholars who have conducted research at The Huntington on their way to winning the coveted award.
LitFest Pasadena
[EVENT POSTPONED UNTIL MAY 12, DUE TO WEATHER] The first LitFest Pasadena takes place Sat., March 17, and will feature a panel titled “Letting Down Our Hair: Reader-Friendly Books from the Ivory Tower,” with Huntington scholars Daniel Walker Howe, Karen Lystra, and Peter Stallybrass holding forth on how to make a great scholarly book a great read.
Winning the Revolution, One Teacup at a Time
In July 1776, as George Washington readied himself and his troops for the British attack on New York, he took the time to write a letter to a loyalist merchant who had long supplied him with British and Chinese goods. As British ships approached, Washington meticulously reviewed the list of creamware dishes, china bowls, and various tea service items that he hoped to purchase.
Finding a New Place for the Frontier Thesis
A year ago, graduate students Erik Altenbernd and Alex Young were working at The Huntington as Mellon interns, helping to catalog a backlog of collections related to California history. Next week, they’re convening a symposium inspired by one of those collections—the papers of famed historian Frederick Jackson Turner.
Listening to Lincoln
You can now download the audio of Harry S. Stout’s recent Huntington lecture, “Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural as America’s Sermon to the World.” The recording includes a full reading of the address by Lincoln biographer Ronald C. White Jr.
“More Like a Sermon”
When Abraham Lincoln completed his Second Inaugural Address in the waning days of the Civil War, Frederick Douglass remarked that “the address sounded more like a sermon than a state paper.” In a lecture at The Huntington Wednesday night, historian Harry S. Stout will explain how that speech was an American sermon to the world.
Top 10 Reasons to Expect the Unexpected at The Huntington
There is a certain predictability in the ways the gardens enchant visitors from season to season. And you can always count on visitors lining up to see the Gutenberg Bible or the Ellesmere manuscript of Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales.” Here are some stories about the many ways the collections surprised us this past year, from a death mask of Isaac Newton to a marble likeness of George Washington.
Top 10 Audio Downloads of 2011
The Huntington records dozens of lectures and conference proceedings each year and posts them to iTunes U. Here are some audio programs to round out your holiday playlists.
