Poetry and Project Runway Mix Tuesday, September 28 at Washington College

CHESTERTOWN—Haute couture meets half-rhyme on Tuesday evening, September 28, at 7 p.m. when the Rose O’Neill Literary House brings acclaimed fashion designer Andrae Gonzalo and Harvard University professor Stephen Burt to Tawes Theatre for a playful program titled “Poetry and Project Runway, or How to Take Criticism.”

Gonzalo, who won fame during Season 2 of the Bravo TV show, “Project Runway,” is designing four new looks to be modeled by Washington College students. Burt, New York Times poetry critic, will be on hand to discuss the work of Washington College creative writing students who will also walk the runway to perform their own poems. Burt’s recent essay “Poetry and Project Runway: Should book critics take their cues from Tim Gunn?” inspired the event, says Literary House director Mark Nowak. “This unique runway show will open a space for us to dig deep into the heart of how we take criticism … as artists, as designers, and as people prone to voice our ideas and opinions.”

The event is free and open to the public. The Rose O’Neill Literary House supports the creative writing culture at Washington College through programs that cross disciplines to connect students and faculty to the wider culture of literature and the creative arts. It collaborates with the English Department, the Sophie Kerr Committee, and the PEN World Voices Festival to host readings, lectures and student-centered workshops with writers from across America and around the globe.