Poetic Hill by Karen Lyon

Tour guides Kaitlin Calogera and Rebecca Grawl present a comprehensive guide to the “111 Places in Women’s History in Washington, DC That You Must Not Miss.”

authors Kaitlin Calogera and Rebecca Grawl describe a passel of them, from A to Z, in a new book, “111 Places in Women’s History in Washington, DC That You Must Not Miss.”

Taken on as a “pandemic project” when the two women were unable to offer tours, the guide was intended not only to rebuild tourism but also to “express the character and legacy of our capital city” and to reflect the authors’ “deep appreciation for women’s history in DC.” Each entry features an engaging and clearly written description of the site, with a stunning color photograph by Cynthia Schiavetto Staliunas on the facing page. Also included is helpful information such as the nearest Metro station, website address, and tips referring visitors to related sites. In the back of the book are maps pinpointing each location.

The entries range from the littleknown—such as a call box featuring blues musician Flora Molton, who busked on DC street corners for more than 20 years— to more familiar destinations. But the authors manage to put a new spin on even the better-known sites, focusing on the notable women who stayed at the Willard Hotel, for example, or the female agents whose remarkable stories are told at the International Spy Museum.

Among the offerings on Capitol Hill, Calogera and Grawl direct the curious to the Furies House on 11th Street, where a group of radical lesbians established a living, working, and publishing collective; the statues of Olive Seward and Mary McLeod Bethune; the grave of pioneering journalist Anne Royall in Congressional Cemetery; and the apartment building named for Belva Lockwood, the first woman to run for president.

Packed with fascinating tidbits—and published in a handy size for stuffing into your bag, “111 Places” provides an invaluable companion to a self-guided tour around town. In fact, it’s so good, it just might put its authors out of business!

Kaitlin Calogera is the founder of A Tour of Her Own, the first tourism company in DC to focus exclusively on women’s history. Rebecca Grawl is also a founding member (www.atourofherown.com) and has been a professional DC tour guide for more than a decade. Cynthia Schiavetto Staliunas is an internationally awarded fine arts and destination photographer based in DC. www.schiavettophotography.com u

THE POETIC HILL

by Karen Lyon

Reuben Jackson is a poet, music scholar, and critic who grew up in DC. He served as archivist and curator of the Smithsonian’s Duke Ellington Collection from 1989 to 2009 and his music reviews have appeared in The Washington Post, Washington City Paper, Jazz Times, Jazziz, and on National Public Radio. Jackson’s poems have been published in countless journals, anthologies, and newspapers, and he recently participated in a virtual poetry mixtape, co-sponsored by the Folger Shakespeare Library and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, inspired by the museum’s exhibition on how musical artists have channeled rock & roll to respond to racism. He is currently the Jazz Archives Specialist at the Felix E. Grant Jazz Archives at the University of the District of Columbia. The work below is reprinted from his collection, “Scattered Clouds: New & Selected Poems,” published by Alan Squire Publishing, © 2019. All Rights Reserved.

for duke ellington

Music is your mistress; demanding constant love and international settings.

as always, you stroll beside her.

again, grumpy orchestra springs into elegance at the drop of your hand.

even so, there are casualties.

the years pass. you bury rabbit and swee’pea, run your fingers across the back keys, dip the color into your hair.

cancerous nodes rush toward a harrowing cadenza, pen kisses paper,

a lover in no particular hurry, the music reveals itself a negligee black note at a time.

If you would like to have your poem considered for publication, please send it to klyon@literaryhillbookfest.org. (There is no remuneration.) u