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The Alexander Pushkin statue by Alexander Bourganov was erected in 2000 on the campus of George Washington University as part of a cultural exchange between Moscow and Washington. In 2009, a statue of the American poet Walt Whitman was erected in Moscow. The bronze sculpture of Pushkin is posed in front of a tall column, and pearched atop the column is the winged horse Pegasus, representing “poetry and creative inspiration.”
The sculpture of Don Quixote by Aurelio Teno, located at the Kennedy Center, was a gift from Spain for the Bicentennial of the United States of America, presented by King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia of Spain on June 3, 1976. The sculptor began his career at age eight and described Don Quixote as his life work.
After Frederick Douglass escaped from slavery, he spent the rest of his life fighting for justice and equality for all people. Cedar Hill was Douglass’ home from 1877 until his death in 1895, and is a National Historic Site. The site remains closed until 2023 for renovations.
This property is the only home Tennessee Williams owned in New Orleans, the city he considered his “spiritual home.” He lived off and on in the second floor apartment for twenty one years, until his death in 1983.
A bronze statue of Ignatius J. Reilly, the main character in John Kennedy Toole’s novel A Confederacy of Dunces, stands at the entrance to the Chateau Bourbon Hotel on Canal Street.
In his short story “Hidden Gardens,” Truman Capote describes the Pontalba Buildings as “... the oldest, in some ways most somberly elegant, apartment houses in America.” The matching red-brick block-long four-story buildings were built in the 1840s by the Baroness Micaela Almonester Pontalba, and were home to Sherwood Anderson’s salon.
The Beauregard-Keyes House at 1113 Chartres Street was marked as a Literary Landmark in honor of Frances Parkinson Keyes. The home was her winter residence from 1945 until her death in 1970, and the location where she wrote her best-known work, Dinner at Antoine’s.
While taking cover in Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore in 1814, Francis Scott Key composed what is arguably the nation’s most famous poem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Every year on the Fourth of July, Fort McHenry hosts a reenactment of the Battle of Baltimore along with a fireworks display. As a National Monument, Fort McHenry is also open year-round for educational tours.
Edgar Allan Poe lived at 203 North Amity Street with his aunt, grandmother, and two cousins from 1833 to 1835. It was here that he wrote his first horror story, “Berenice.” They are also the home of the International Edgar Allan Poe Festival & Awards every October. 2024 will be their 7th festival year, as well as the 75th anniversary of the founding of the museum.
The Maryland Historical Society, founded in 1844, is the oldest cultural institution in Maryland. The society “collects, preserves, and interprets objects and materials reflecting Maryland’s diverse heritage.” Their collection includes the original manuscript of the “Star-Spangled Banner.”
