Like so many famous songs of yore, "The Star-Spangled Banner" started as a poem, called “The Defence of Fort McHenry.” It was written by Francis Scott Key in 1814 during the War of 1812.

“The Star Spangled Banner” has long been derided as a poor choice for our national anthem. Critics cite it as difficult to sing, difficult to understand, and most often, difficult to lov ...

But his collection of fragments from the Star-Spangled Banner—one red swatch, one white—made him feel less like a have than a have-not. A friend possessed a blue scrap, and, without one for ...

Terry Winter's notebook-collage is based on a 1914 photograph of two women at the Smithsonian working to restore the Star-Spangled Banner in a room with a model of a giant squid. Terry Winters ...