In October 1962, the Library of Congress hosted a National Poetry Festival, during Louis Untermeyer‘s term. According to Poetry’s Catbird Seat: The Consulantship in Poetry in the English Language at the Library of Congress, 1937-1987 by William McGuire (Library of Congress, 1988): “The first poetry reading in the Library’s history occurred” in 1897 or 1898 when “Paul Laurence Dunbar, who served books from the stacks—which he likened to a prison in one of his poems—read from his work in a program for the blind. Another black poet did not give a public reading at the Library until 1962.” At the 1962 festival, both Gwendolyn Brooks and Langston Hughes were featured.
Louis Untermeyer and Bryna Untermeyer and their dog Puck greet a well-wisher at the Library of Congress, 1962. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.
A few of the “reserved seating” name tags from the 1962 Poetry Festival. From the collections of the Library of Congress.
Program from the 1962 National Poetry Festival. From the collections of the Library of Congress.