Another ‘A Splendid Wake’ for D.C.’s cultural history

A determined group of scholars, writers and activists is continuing to keep Washington’s literary history alive.

At their first public meeting in September, the founders of “A Splendid Wake” presented a new Web site about the poetry movement in the nation’s capital. Based on the Wikipedia model, the Web site is curated by users and serves as a place to record information about past and present poets, workshops, bookstores, literary magazines and publishers.

This Friday, “A Splendid Wake” will hold its second public meeting, offering three panel presentations at George Washington University:

1. Experimental poetry: Poet and performer Silvana Straw will moderate a discussion on language poetry, women’s community, spoken word and slam.

2. Veterans’ poetry: Frederick Foote, director of the Warrior Poetry Project at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, will participate in a discussion about war poetry.

3. “In the Shadow of the Capitol”: In 1981, a two-day conference designed by the late Betty Parry took place at the Folger Library. The subject of that symposium was Washington’s African-American cultural, scientific and military leaders. Friday night, Jim Beall, who was involved in that original oral history project, will speak about it and renewed efforts to publish transcripts and other material from the 1981 conference.

Details: March 21, 6:30-8:00 p.m., Gelman Library, George Washington University, Suite 702, 2130 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. Attendance is free and open to the public.