Washington College | Department of English

The Sophie Kerr Lecture Series

Past Events

Spring 2007

April 5, 2007: Poetry Reading by Jim Natal

On April 5th at 4:30p.m. in the Sophie Kerr Room of the Miller Library, poet Jim Natal read from his works.

From Natal's website at Conflux Press: "Jim Natal's first full-length collection, In the Bee Trees (Archer Books, 2000) was a finalist for the Pen Center USA and Publisher's Marketing Association Ben Franklin Awards. A second collection, Talking Back to the Rocks, was published by Archer Books in 2003; a third manuscript, Memory and Rain, is in submission.

"His poetry has been published, reviewed, or is forthcoming in Bellingham Review, Runes, Pool, Reed, The Paterson Literary Review, Poetry International, and The Los Angeles Review among other journals. Natal's work also has appeared in the many anthologies: Chance of a Ghost; Mischief, Caprice and Other Poetic Strategies; Blue Arc; Beyond Forgetting: Poetry and Prose About Alzheimer's Disease; Open Windows; What Have You Lost?; So Luminous the Wildflowers; and Fresh Water."

For more information about Jim Natal and his work, see his website at Conflux Press.

Read the Washington College press release here.
March 23, 2007: Mary Karr Opens Sophie Kerr Weekend with Lecture on "Truth, Lies, and the Craft of Memoir"

On March 23rd at 5p.m. in the Norman James Theater, poet and memoirist Mary Karr lectured on what it is to be a memoirist, straddling the artistic gap between poetic impressionism and historic veracity. Karr is the bestselling author of memoirs The Liars Club (1995) and Cherry (2000), and of poetry collections Abacus (1987), The Devil's Tour (1993), Viper Rum (1998), and Sinners Welcome (2006). Karr is presently the Jesse Truesdell Peck Professor of Literature at Syracuse University.

In her lecture, Karr narrated the events of her life that shaped her authorial voice and perspective. She provided advice to aspiring writers-- memoirists and non-memoirists alike-- on being truthful about one's self when writing. She quoted the advice of author Tobias Wolff, her friend and mentor: "Take no care for your dignity." Good writing, for Karr, begins with unflinching honesty and introspection.

After her lecture, Karr gave a book signing, and later appeared at President Baird Tipson's home, the Hynson-Ringgold House, for a more intimate question-and-answer session for the benefit of prospective Washington College students interested in creative writing.

Karr's appearance was the inaugural event of the 2007 Sophie Kerr Weekend, an annual weekend-long series of lectures, workshops, and events tailored for the college's most promising prospective creative writing students.

To view the college's official press release, click here.

To view photos from this event, click here.
March 22, 2007: Thomas Hanks, Jr. on "Lancelot and Gareth: The High-Water Marks of Malory's Morte Darthur"

On March 22nd at 4:30p.m. in the Casey Academic Center Forum, Professor Thomas Hanks, Jr., of Baylor University gave a lecture on "Lancelot and Gareth: The High-Water Marks of Malory's Morte Darthur."

Read the press release here.
February 15, 2007: Poet Elizabeth Arnold Reads From Her Works

Elizabeth Arnold, who presently teaches in the M.F.A. programs at the University of Maryland and Warren Wilson College, gave a poetry reading in the Sophie Kerr Room of the Miller Library on February 15, at 4:30p.m.

Read the press release here.
January 30, 2007: Poet Peter Campion Reads From His Works

On January 30th at 4:30p.m. in the Sophie Kerr room of the Miller Library, Peter Campion, poet and assistant professor of English at Washington College, gave a reading of his poetry.

Read the press release here.

Fall 2006

November 13, 2006: Beckett Centenary Celebration, Part 4 of 4: Johnathan Kalb Presents "Beckett After Beckett"

On November 13th at 4:30p.m. in the Sophie Kerr room of the Miller Library, theater critic Johnathan Kalb presented the lecture "Beckett after Beckett," the fourth and final event in the college's Samuel Beckett Centenary Celebration.

Read the press release here.
November 7, 2006: Author John Vernon Reads From His Work

On November 7th at 4:30p.m. in the Sophie Kerr room of the Miller Library, John Vernon, novelist, poet, and memoirist, read from a selection of his works.
October 30, 2006: Beckett Centenary Celebration, Part 3 of 4: Marjorie Perloff Presents "In Love With Hiding: Samuel Beckett's War"

Marjorie Perloff, President of the Modern Language Association, lectured on October 30, at 4:30 p.m. in the Sophie Kerr Room of the Miller Library on "In Love With Hiding: Samuel Beckett's War." This was the third of four events in the college's Samuel Beckett Centenary Celebration.

Read the press release here.
October 24, 2006: Author and Scholar Maureen Howard Reads From Her Works

On October 24th at 4:30p.m. in the Sophie Kerr room of the Miller Library, scholar and author Maureen Howard read from a selection of her works. Three of Howard's seven novels have been nominated for the PEN/Faulkner Award.

Read the press release here.
October 17-18, 2006: Actor and Writer David Prete Conducts Master Class: "Off the Page: The Art of Public Reading"

Actor and writer David Prete conducted a master class to help the college's creative writers in developing the skills needed for an otherwise untended aspect of the literary life: public speaking. Prete teaches a graduate course on public reading technique at The New School in New York City, and is the author of "Say That to My Face."

In his master class at Washington College, Prete gave students advice on proper public speaking techniques, applicable for daily life as well as for readings and speeches. The class culminated in the students and Prete giving a reading of their works on October 18th at 4:30p.m. in the Sophie Kerr room of the Miller Library.

Read staff writer Alisha George's article in The Elm on this event.
October 16, 2006: Beckett Centenary Celebration, Part 2 of 4: Renowned Actor Barry McGovern Reads Beckett

On October 16th at 4:30p.m. in the Norman James Theater, renowned Irish actor Barry McGovern performed a one-man show of selections from several of Samuel Beckett's works, such as Waiting for Godot, Molloy, and The Unnamable. This was the second of four events in the college's Samuel Beckett Centenary Celebration.

Read Johanna Schaeffer's article in The Elm on this event.

Read the press release here.
October 10, 2006: Author Larry Woiwode Reads From His Works

On October 10th at 4:30p.m. in the Sophie Kerr room of the Miller Library, novelist Larry Woiwode read from his works. Woiwode, author of Beyond the Bedroom and Poppa John among others, has received awards from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. He has also received a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship and the John Dos Passos Prize, and has been nominated for the National Book Award.

Read the press release here.
October 9, 2006: James Basker on "Why Literature Matters: Poets and the Abolition of Slavery"

On October 9th at 4:30p.m. in the Casey Academic Center Forum, Washington College's Sophie Kerr Committee and the C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience presented "Why Literature Matters: Poets and the Abolition of Slavery," a lecture by James Basker, Ann Whitney Olin Professor of English, Barnard College, and President of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.

Read the press release here.
September 25, 2006: Caroline Bicks on "Shaping Babies, Making Men: Midwives and the Politics of Birth in Shakespeare's Richard III"

On September 25th at 4:30p.m. in the Sophie Kerr room of the Miller Library, Dr. Caroline Bicks, assistant professor of English at Boston College, lectured on "Shaping Babies, Making Men: Midwives and the Politics of Birth in Shakespeare's Richard III" as part of Washington College's Renaissance Lecture Series.

Noting how, in William Shakespeare's play, King Richard III's tortured personality is ascribed to the popular myth of his tortured birth, Bicks discussed ways in which physiognomy impacted Richard III's reign and legacy as recorded both in history and in Shakespeare's play. Specifically, Bicks related the mythology surrounding Early Modern English midwifery to the mythology surrounding the source of Richard III's corruption.

Bicks examined midwifery as the Early Modern English profession of molding children into proper "human clay" upon their birth. If a child was born deformed or emerged from the birth canal in an irregular fashion, the midwife was to blame. Bicks asserted that the mysteries of birth-- and of unnatural birth-- were used to conspire against Richard III's legacy, elevating his controversial personality and political reign to a supernatural level of illegitimacy.

Bicks, at one time a professional actress, earned her Ph.D. at Stanford University has taught at Ohio State University and Stanford University as well as at Boston College. She is a scholar of Early Modern English drama and women writers, Elizabethan and Jacobean lyric and epic poetry, the history of science, and is the author of the forthcoming Ashgate Publishing book Midwiving Narratives in Shakespeare's England.
September 19, 2006: Beckett Centenary Celebration, Part 1 of 4: Raymond Federman on "The Imaginary Museum of Samuel Beckett"

On September 19th at 4:30p.m. in the Sophie Kerr room of the Miller Library, Raymond Federman opened Washington College's Samuel Beckett Centenary Celebration. Federman, author and poet in both French and English, spoke as both a scholar and personal friend of Beckett.

Federman read exerpts from his recently published French-language memoir, Le Livre de Sam, in his lecture "The Imaginary Museum of Samuel Beckett," in which he discussed how Beckett's fixation on memorable imagery rather than conventional narrative plot devices render his plays into living museums of imaginary paintings. Federman described Beckett as a painter of the imagination, using words as his paintbrush, rather than as solely an artist of words and the stage.

The lecture generated tremendous response among students and faculty alike, resulting in two separate articles in The Elm. See staff writer Alyse Bensel's article covering the event, and contributor Johanna Schaeffer's interview with Federman.

Read the press release here.
September 12, 2006: Poet Michael Collier Reads From His Works

On September 12th at 4:30p.m. in the Sophie Kerr room of the Miller Library, acclaimed poet Michael Collier read from his collections Dark Wild Realm, The Ledge, The Neighbor, The Folded Heart, and The Clasp. Collier was the Poet Laureate of Maryland from 2001 to 2004.

Read staff writer Alyse Bensel's article covering this event in The Elm.

Read the press release here.