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Announcing “American Stories: A Reading Road Trip”
September 26, 2025
Posted by: Colleen Smith
As America approaches its historic 250th birthday in 2026, the Library of Congress, its Affiliated Centers for the Book, and PBS Books are working in partnership to create a captivating video series that explores the vibrant literary heritage of the United States.
Each installment of “American Stories: A Reading Road” Trip will focus on a different U.S. state or territory, showcasing the profound influence that local writers, poets, and storytellers have had on the cultural identity of their region. Each program will also include iconic authors, unforgettable books, hidden-gem bookstores, amazing libraries, and the real-life locations that inspired great works.
In addition, each episode will feature items in a variety of media from the vast collections of the Library of Congress—maps, photographs, sheet music, and more—that help illustrate the stories and reveal surprising connections.
The first episode launched on September 10 and the second episode was released on September 17! They focus on Rhode Island’s and Georgia’s rich literary legacies.
Among the items from the Library’s collections that are included in the Rhode Island program are:
- A photograph of America’s first purpose-built library (1747), the Redwood Library in Newport, RI.
- A map of Rhode Island that was published in Hamburg, Germany in 1797.
- A clip from a video of Michael Harper, who was the Poet Laureate for the State of Rhode Island, reading his poetry at the Library of Congress in 1989. The complete video is available here.
Among the items from the Library’s collections that are included in the Georgia program are:
- A photograph of Erskine Caldwell signing copies of book “Tobacco Road” at a bookstore in 1936.
- A 1917 floorplan for the Carnegie Library in Atlanta, Georgia.
- Numerous photographs of Atlanta’s Oakland Cemetery, the final resting place of numerous famous Georgia writers, including Margaret Mitchell, author of “Gone with the Wind.”
For more of the featured items, see the Rhode Island episode page and the Georgia episode page. As each episode is released, it will be available through the Library’s series website.
Editor’s Note: Read the rest of the story, at the below link.
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