In June 1966, the International PEN Club held its annual conference in New York City. It was the first time in forty-two years that the United States had hosted the meeting, and there was much to celebrate. Pablo Neruda, who had repeatedly been denied visas to the United States since 1943 on the grounds that he was a communist, was one of the stars of the show. Throughout – and, indeed, long after – the conference, he made headlines, drew audiences, and made statements that had a lasting impact. He also earned the wrath of supporters of the Cuban Revolution, who attacked him for betraying the revolution by participating in the conference. This chapter discusses Neruda’s participation in the event, including the controversies that he sparked during and afterward, as well as his other activities in New York and his travels in the United States afterward.

Chapter 4 plays mainly between Washington, DC, and Pacific Palisades, CA. I present the writer Thomas Mann as part of the memorandum culture fighting against Nazi Germany and I demonstrate, what a literary-critical analysis of his work looks like, if one takes his job situation in the early 1940s into account: Consultant to the Library of Congress, appointed by Archibald MacLeish. For this purpose, I highlight the central role of Mann’s various collaborations – on various scales and levels of intensity – with folklorist Gustave O. Arlt and scholar Joseph Campbell, critical theorist Theodor W. Adorno and journalist Agnes E. Meyer in the making of Doctor Faustus. I reflect on the first publication of Mann’s Doctor Faustus as a mimeographed copy, I revisit his choice of the name Leverkühn for the novel’s protagonist, I elucidate his concept of montage, and I underline the social scientific aspects of the novel.

The Library of Congress is the premiere institution for research on the life and works of Leonard Bernstein. This chapter details how Bernstein’s relationship with the library was established, documents the donations he made to the library during his lifetime, and describes how the relationship with the Bernstein estate has continued to thrive. This chapter gives an overview of the richness of the library’s Leonard Bernstein Collection, one of the most exceptional in the Music Division in terms of the variety and scope of material it contains. In addition to documenting Bernstein’s work and creative process, the Bernstein Collection provides countless avenues of research for those studying music history, television history, education, the Civil Rights movement, LGBTQ+ topics, Jewish identity, and pop culture. The chapter also highlights relevant archival material found elsewhere in the Music Division’s collections, and connects readers with digitized collection material available on the Library of Congress website.

The transformation of Beach’s reputation from an almost-forgotten relic of a bygone era to one of the most highly regarded American Romantic composers provides a case study in reception history. Her “renaissance” resulted from determined advocacy on two fronts: scholarly research and musical performance. In scholarship, the University of New Hampshire and the Library of Congress have assembled formidable archival collections, while Adrienne Fried Block and a bevy of dissertation writers have worked to shed light on Beach’s life and works through publications and conferences. In the performance realm, pianists Virginia Eskin, Mary Louise Boehm, and Joanne Polk have worked tirelessly to introduce her music to the public in concerts and recordings. Several recent documentary films confirm her appeal as a subject and her status in American cultural history.