No Anchovies on the Moon: Three Score and Ten Washington Pictures and Poems
by By Boswell, Paul
Category: Poetry , General

A million people visit or use the Library of Congress each year. Over 5,000 people work there. For most of the employees, it is more than a job. It is a joy to spend their days in the most exceptional library in the world, home to a precious and priceless Gutenberg Bible as well as yesterday's newspapers - 100 million items in all, including nearly 16 million books, 4 million maps, 41 million manuscript pages, 13 million photographs.For Paul Boswell, from 1936 when he was 23 years old until his retirement in 1984, it was his only place of employment (except for wartime military service) and the continuing inspiration for his poetry and his art. His poetry celebrates the life of a mind nurtured by the books and wisdom of Western civilization. His drawings capture the architecture, fountains, and courtyards of the Library, and other parts of Washington as well. Altogether, Boswell's work represents a unique view of a special place and the pursuit of learning.By the early 1950s, his drawings of the Library of Congress attracted attention from his colleagues and began, as a result, to appear in various library publications. About ten of them hang in the Government Publications Reading Room, one has appeared on the cover of Library Journal, and many of his annual Christmas cards featuring his drawings appear taped to walls and pinned on bulletin boards. The Columbia Historical Society of Washington, D.C., included a chapter of 18 Boswell pictures, "A Portfolio of Washington Drawings," in its 1971-2 Record.The drawings and poetry that appear in this book were created over many years, frequently produced and changed during the creative day Paul Boswell began at three o'clock each morning, long before his regular workday began.