Is “happiness” still an essential human right? 250 years after the Declaration of Independence was written, we are looking closely at what the “pursuit of happiness” means today. Does the promise still hold up in 2026? ALOUD and the Library of America present a program inspired by The Living Declaration: A Biography of America’s Founding Text written by historian and former presidential speechwriter Ted Widmer.
We are bringing together a dynamic line-up of artists, activists, writers, and historians to explore the past, present, and future of this American ideal. The evening will feature live readings and be book-ended by a blues medley curated by Rob Stone, featuring world-renowned musicians.
Featured Speakers:
Pico Iyer
Pico Iyer is the author of 18 books, translated into 23 languages, including such much-loved works as The Lady and the Monk, The Global Soul and The Art of Stillness. Four of his books have been national best-sellers, and his five talks for TED have received more than 12 million views so far. His writing has been honored with a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Robert Kirsch Lifetime Achievement Award from The Los Angeles Times and induction into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His new book, The Messenger in White, comes out in January.
Héctor Tobar
Héctor Tobar is the author of six books, including The Barbarian Nurseries, winner of the California Book Award for fiction. His book Our Migrant Souls: A Meditation on Race and the Meanings and Myths of “Latino” won the Kirkus Prize, and his nonfiction Deep Down Dark was a New York Times bestseller. As a journalist, he was a foreign correspondent for the Los Angeles Times and has been an op-ed writer for the New York Times and a contributor to The New Yorker, Harper’s, National Geographic, and other publications. He has received a Guggenheim fellowship and a Harvard Radcliffe fellowship.
Youngmi Mayer
Youngmi Mayer is an author, stand-up comedian, activist, podcast host, and social media influencer. She is the author of I’m Laughing Because I’m Crying and co-host and host of Feeling Asian and Hairy Butthole, podcasts that highlight the Asian American experience.
Gary Tyler
Gary Tyler is an artist and spokesperson for justice. As a teenager, he was framed for shooting a white youth and sentenced to death by an all-white jury. In more than four decades at Angola Prison, he became head of the Drama Club, a hospice volunteer and quilt artist. His work is at HNOC and the National Museum of African-American History and Culture in D.C. Gary won the 2024 Frieze LA Impact Prize and fellowships from Galaxy Gives and Right of Return. He holds an honorary doctorate from MassArt. His memoir Stitching Freedom won a Nautilus silver award.
Edward “Ted” Ladd Widmer
Edward “Ted” Ladd Widmer is an American historian, writer, librarian, and musician who served as a speechwriter in the Clinton White House. He serves on boards of the Harvard Lampoon, Massachusetts Historical Society, and The New England Quarterly.
