With a full summer slate, the next event at the Longfellow National Historic Site will be a “Salute to John Updike.” The June 28 event, which starts at 4 p.m., features poets X.J. Kennedy and F.D. Reeve, along with journalist Christopher Lydon, who knew Updike from his TV and radio interviews. The program is free and open to the public. It will take place on the east lawn of the Longfellow National Historic Site, 105 Brattle St., Cambridge, Mass. The program is sponsored by Elena Seibert, and seating is limited. For more information, phone (617) 876-4491.

Longfellow House is a natural historic site that, in addition to being the residence of the 19th-century poet, also served as headquarters for Gen. George Washington during the siege of Boston from July 1775 through April 1776.

On June 7, 2009, “A Tribute to John Updike” will celebrate the author’s life and works. The event will be held at the John F. Kennedy Library, Columbia Point, Boston.

The program is scheduled from 3-4 p.m., and advance registration is required (visit www.jfklibrary.org). Hosted by by radio/internet host Christopher Lydon, who frequently interviewed Updike, the program features authors Nicholson Baker (U & I), Samuel Shem (pen-name, Dr. Stephen Bergman), and Anne Bernays; editor and journalist Charles McGrath, who also interviewed Updike in the past; critic and scholar William Pritchard (Updike: America’s Man of Letters), and Updike family members. The program is presented in conjunction with PEN New England and sponsored by Friends of the Ernest Hemingway Collection and the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.

UPDATE: For those who missed it, C-SPAN has a tape of “A Tribute to John Updike” which runs an hour and two minutes. It aired last on July 6, 2009, and can be viewed or purchased here (link provided by Jack De Bellis).