Zora Neale Hurston, 1938, by Carl Van Vechten (Library of Congress)
Add a walking tour with this program:
A city with a thriving literary tradition, Washington, D.C., has been home to many of our nation’s most acclaimed writers. From Joel Barlow and Francis Scott Key in the early years of the District; to Walt Whitman during the Civil War; the new African American intelligentsia of the Reconstruction era; Henry Adams during the Gilded Age; through Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, and the District’s equivalent of the Harlem Renaissance along the U Street corridor, the story of Washington has been a story of writers.
For literary enthusiasts, amateur historians, and anyone who wants to learn more about their hometown, local literary historian, writer, and editor Kim Roberts offers a lively cultural overview of our nation’s capital through a literary lens.
All participants receive a copy of Roberts’ book, A Literary Guide to Washington, D.C. (UVA Press).