College to Dedicate Renovated Miller Library With Nov. 9 Ribbon Cutting, Grand Re-Opening

Students take advantage of one of the new study areas.

CHESTERTOWN, MD—Washington College will officially rededicate its newly renovated Clifton M. Miller Library at a Grand Opening on Friday, Nov. 9, showing off the just-completed $8 million makeover. The ribbon-cutting ceremony is slated to begin at 4:30 p.m., and the public is welcome.

The library reopened its doors in mid-October while some final construction, most notably completion of a new café, was still underway. Library director Ruth Shoge says it was both a thrill and a relief to welcome students back to the fresh, redesigned space after two months of providing services in temporary locations around campus. “We can now serve our students and community members in a library that is not only functional and efficient but also inviting and comfortable,” she says. “The students are absolutely delighted to be back in the building. They especially love the new study spaces on the second floor, and they are certainly looking forward to the café opening for business.”

Many of the major improvements to the library are essential infrastructure upgrades that are mostly hidden from the eye, including a new geothermal system for climate control, a new roof and storm water drainage system, an improved network for wireless internet connectivity, and new plumbing and electrical systems. New ceilings and flooring were installed throughout the building.

Among the changes visitors will notice right away is that brand new café—a first-floor space with a wall of glass that looks out onto the building’s terrace.  On the second floor, the biggest visible changes are the new study areas, including contemporary lounge-like spaces for individual study and enclosed rooms for collaborative projects and group study.

The enhancements also include an expanded Washington College Archives, with a new researcher’s room. The Archives area will be dedicated to the memory of Benjamin G. Kohl, an Italian Renaissance scholar who served as a trustee of the College and actively supported the Library up until his death in 2010.

During the second phase of the construction, the library stored books and documents in the former Board of Education building across Washington Avenue from the campus. A special annex in that building will continue to house back issues of some journals, magazines, and government documents.

The Grand Opening will include a special display of books by Washington College faculty members that have been published in the past three years. In addition, two portraits will be officially unveiled: one of former College president Charles John Merdinger, who served from 1970 to 1973, and the other of College benefactor Duncan Miller, the son of the library’s namesake.

Fittingly, the painting of Duncan Miller, who was a retired investment advisor at the time of his death in 2010, will be installed near that of his father, Clifton M. Miller, an investment banker who led the college’s Board of Visitors and Governors in the mid-sixties and oversaw a campus expansion that included the construction of the library that would one day bear his name.   

Miller Library Renovation Complete, Open Oct. 14

The newly renovated Miller Library reopened October 14. In the revamped facility, the Washington College community has direct access to the collection, interlibrary loan services, printing and to new and revitalized spaces for teaching, researching, and working in comfort. The Math Center and Office of Academic Skills is fully operational in the library as well. The OIT educational services provided by the Multimedia Production Center and Beck Instructional Lab will be phased back into the library and will be fully functional soon after the opening; in the meantime those services will continue to be offered in William Smith Hall 111 and 226, respectively. The café will be completed with the Grand Opening scheduled for November 9 at 4:30 p.m. If you have questions or comments please do not hesitate to call or email Ruth Shoge (rshoge2@washcoll.edu) or Jennifer Nesbitt (jnesbitt2@washcoll.edu).

Original Release: May 2, 2012

Miller Library to Close May 12 for Extensive Renovation Work Expected to Last Four Months

CHESTERTOWN, MD—Washington College’s Miller Library will close for a major renovation beginning May 12 and is expected to remain closed for approximately four months.

The renovation will greatly enhance the library’s spaces for study, teaching and research and will provide a more comfortable climate-controlled building for all patrons.  When it reopens, the library will boast five enclosed collaborative group spaces, an open quiet-study area on the second floor, a redesigned and expanded Archives section, new offices for instructional technology, enhanced spaces for Office of Academic Skills, and a café.

The renovated infrastructure will include a new geothermal HVAC system, including air handlers and ductwork, as well as new electrical and plumbing systems, new flooring, ceilings and lights.  In addition, the library plaza will be enhanced and made more functional with new tables, chairs, and plants.

College Librarian Ruth Shoge says she regrets the inconvenience the renovation will cause the community, especially those who use its Kent County News archives. “We look forward to seeing everyone when we re-open in the fall,” she adds.

Expert to Discuss Eastern Influences On Renaissance Art, April 27 at WC

CHESTERTOWN, MD—Meredith J. Gill, associate professor of art history at the University of Maryland, College Park, will lecture on “Turks, Scribes, and Magic Carpets: Looking East in the Renaissance” on Friday, April 27, at Washington College. The talk will begin at 4 p.m. in Litrenta Lecture Hall, John S. Toll Science Center, on the College campus, 300 Washington Avenue.

Gill’s research revolves around Italian art and architecture from the late medieval period through the sixteenth century, concentrating on theological and philosophical influences. She is the author of Augustine in the Italian Renaissance: Art and Philosophy from Petrarch to Michelangelo (Cambridge University Press) and is currently writing a second book, Flight of Angels: The Order of Heaven in Medieval and Renaissance Italy.

She also has contributed to many other Renaissance art publications. A recipient of a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Gill has led two sessions of the NEH’s Summer 2010 Seminar, “Re-Mapping the Renaissance: Exchange between Early Modern Islam and Europe” (Center for Renaissance and Baroque Studies, University of Maryland).

“Turks, Scribes, and Magic Carpets” is sponsored by the Friends of Miller Library, the Department of Art and Art History, and the Department of History and is free and open to the public.

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College Begins Installing Geothermal System

CHESTERTOWN—As soon as the tent stakes from the Commencement ceremony came out, the surveyor’s stakes and fence posts went in. Work has begun on the College’s next big capital project: the installation of geothermal fields for heating and cooling the soon-to-be-renovated Miller Library.

For the next month or so, drilling rigs will be digging 168 wells, each 300 feet deep, and the wells will be linked together with a network of underground piping. Next summer, the piping will be integrated into the new geothermal heating and cooling system that is part of the environmentally friendly renovation of the library. The same system will heat and cool adjacent Smith Hall.

Geothermal heating and cooling systems are both green and cost-effective. Geothermal energy originates from the Earth’s stored heat; so that even in winter, the ground temperature below 10 feet is consistently 12.8°C (55°F). The soil on the Eastern Shore of Maryland is particularly suitable for geothermal use. The College is expected to recoup its $900,000 investment in the geothermal system through fuel oil savings in just a few years.

While the earth is opened up, the College also will install an irrigation system. Then the lawn will be regraded and sodded in time to welcome the Class of 2015 in late August. “By the time those students drive across the Chester River Bridge and onto campus, they shouldn’t be able to tell anything ever happened,” says Reid Raudenbush, Director of the Physical Plant for the College.

Books-into-Film Event at WC To Screen and Discuss Robert Altman's "Short Cuts"

CHESTERTOWN—Miller Library at Washington College will host three free screenings of Robert Altman’s 1992 film Short Cuts beginning Friday, Feb. 25, and then follow up March 2 with a discussion of the film and the Raymond Carver short stories that inspired it.

The film will be shown Friday, Sunday and Monday, Feb. 25, 27 and 28 at 7:30 p.m. in Norman James Theatre on the College campus, 300 Washington Avenue.

The following Wednesday, March 2, at 5:30 p.m., Christopher Ames, Provost and Dean of the College and a professor in the English Department, will lead a discussion of the book and the film in the Sophie Kerr Room of the College’s Miller Library. He will guide the group in exploring literary and film devices (plot, characterization, setting, etc.) and examining how the subtleties of language in a novel can be reinterpreted through image, music and sound. The discussion will take place in the Sophie Kerr Room of Miller Library.

Altman based his Short Cuts on ten short stories written by Carver. In an unusual twist, those ten stories were later published as a collection and titled Short Cuts. The movie is a fascinating example of cinematic adaptation. Set in Los Angeles, it interweaves the characters from the ten stories into a remarkable performance that won a special Golden Globe award for Best Ensemble Cast and earned Altman an Oscar nomination for Best Director. The cast includes Tim Robbins, Julianne Moore, Robert Downey, Jr., Frances McDormand, Jack Lemmon, Andie MacDowell, Lily Tomlin, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Peter Gallagher, Lyle Lovett, and Tom Waits.

The screening and discussion are part of a statewide Books-to-Film project sponsored by five college libraries and the Maryland Humanities Council through support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The Friends of Miller Library organization is offering a free copy of the Short Cuts book to the first 25 persons who sign up to participate in the screening and discussion. To sign up, please contact Ruth Shoge at rshoge2@washcoll.edu or 410-778-7292. For more information go to: http://millerlibrary.washcoll.edu.

Photos: Top, Madeleine Stowe and Tim Robbins in a scene from Robert Altman's film Short Cuts. Middle, Washington College dean of faculty Chris Ames, who will lead the literary/cinematic discussion March 2.

Massive Historical Research Databases Now Accessible to Washington College Community

Readex Archive Acquisition to Be Feted November 19

Chestertown, MD — Washington College students, faculty, and staff now have unlimited access to a research treasure trove: over 15 million pages of historic newspapers, books, broadsides and pamphlets, newly accessible through Miller Library.

Today, the C.V. Starr Center and Miller Library invite you to celebrate the College's new acquisition, and begin exploring its treasures, at a special event in the library's Sophie Kerr Room. Please join us at 4:00 p.m. for a short demonstration (laptops will be provided, or bring your own), to be followed by a reception with refreshments.

This rich online library, the Readex Archive of Americana, lets you keyword-search the full texts of millions of documents - and will be a valuable resource for students and faculty in many departments, studying topics from around the world. For instance, the newspaper collections include over 8 million original pages (12 million when completed) of papers published between 1690 and the early 20th century, with titles from all 50 states. In a matter of seconds, you can be reading original coverage of the Battle of Gettysburg, following foreign correspondents' day-by-day accounts of the Russian Revolution, unearthing obscure poems by Edgar Allan Poe, or scanning ads for runaway slaves from the Eastern Shore. This archive is the most comprehensive online newspaper resource available - and Washington College's access now is superior to that of places like Harvard and the Library of Congress!

The databases also include page-by-page, fully searchable facsimiles of almost every book published in America before 1820 (7 million pages), as well as pamphlets, broadsides, posters, and advertising.

Acquisition of the archives was made possible by a grant to Washington College from the National Endowment for the Humanities' "We the People" project. More digital archives will be available soon. For more information on the NEH grant, seehttp://news.washcoll.edu/press_releases/2007/09/21_nehgrant.php.

If you can't join us today and want to get started using the databases, visithttp://libraryweb.washcoll.edu/ and at the bottom of the page, under "New Resources," click on "America's Historical Newspapers," "American Broadsides and Ephemera, Series I," or "Early American Imprints, Series II: Shaw-Shoemaker, 1801-1819." Access is available to anyone with a Washington College ID, from on- or off-campus.

Feedback from students, faculty, and staff is welcome as the Starr Center and Miller Library continue working together to acquire digital resources for the College.

November 19, 2008

Novelist Frank Bergon Presents 'Toughest Kid We Knew' at Washington College

Chestertown, MD, September 21, 2007 — Novelist Frank Bergon, renowned writer on the American West, will present "The Toughest Kid We Knew: An All-American Story" at Washington College's Casey Academic Center Forum on Wednesday, October 3, at 4:30 p.m.

"The Toughest Kid We Knew" is about a California descendant of Dust Bowl migrants. He is among those whose stories have not been told, the sons and daughters of John Steinbeck's characters inThe Grapes of Wrath, second-generation "Okies" who came of age when toughness, hard work, girlfriends, and loyalty to other men defined what it meant to be a man in America.

In addition to being a novelist, Frank Bergon is a professor at Vassar College. He was born in Ely, Nevada, received his B.A. at Boston College, attended Stanford University as a Wallace Stegner Fellow, and completed his Ph.D. at Harvard University.

Bergon's work on the American West includes several novels and anthologies, as well as both the London Folio edition and the Penguin Nature Classics edition of The Journals of Lewis and Clark.

At Vassar, Bergon teaches courses in the English Department, including Senior Composition and Native American Literature, along with courses in the American Culture Program and Environmental Studies.

In 1998 Bergon was inducted into the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame. He is currently working on a novel set in Chiapas, Mexico.

"The Toughest Kid We Knew: An All-American Story" is being presented by the Friends of Miller Library and the C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience. Admission is free and open to the public; a reception will follow.

Starr Center Donates 50+ New Washington-Era History Books to Miller Library

Chestertown, MD, December 21, 2006 — It was a veritable book bonanza on a recent wintry afternoon at Clifton M. Miller Library, as Washington College's C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience made its yearly donation-delivery of a mountain of new volumes on early America.

The books are all entrants in the annual George Washington Prize, now in its third year. One of the nation's largest literary awards, the George Washington Prize honors outstanding books that contribute to a greater public understanding of the life and career of George Washington and/or America's founding era. Conceived and administered at the Starr Center (in partnership with the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and George Washington's Mount Vernon), the $50,000 annual prize is awarded by a panel of nationally distinguished historians.

One of the prerequisites for entering the George Washington Prize competition is that the publisher must supply one extra copy of the book for donation to Miller Library. The result? Virtually every major book regarding the founding period published each year is now ending up in the Miller Library collection. And such will be the case, year by year, from here on in, thanks to the George Washington Prize. It amounts to a true book-acquisition coup for WC's library. "One of the things that excites me most about the program," remarked Adam Goodheart, Hodson Trust-Griswold Director of the Starr Center, "is that it serves as a conduit for all of these volumes straight into Miller Library."

The number of George Washington Prize entrants continues to grow. "This year we got in more titles than ever before," said Goodheart.

The donation to the library amounts to some 52 books, with a total retail value of approximately $1,800.

"It certainly strengthens our collection on George Washington, the Founders, and the whole founding era," said an appreciative Dr. Ruth Shoge, Director of Miller Library. "I'm impressed with the wide variety of subjects on the era ... the financial aspects, slavery, gender ... I think the scholarship is really opening up on that period, beyond the Founders to other issues we still grapple with."

Goodheart likewise noted the great diversification that is the concomitant result of the current proliferation of Colonial/Revolutionary historiography. In addition to a healthy number of new titles about Washington and other household-name heroes of early America, "We're now seeing a flood of books on lesser known aspects ... advancing our knowledge of the period in many ways."

Meanwhile, the prestigious George Washington Prize judging panel is perusing industriously, narrowing down the field. (And as the number of books vying for the prize continues to grow, so too does the amount of reading for the judges.) The ultimate winner will be announced in May.

The exhaustive roundup of entrants from literally dozens of publishing houses was handled by the hardworking duo of Interim Book Prize Coordinator Charles Hohman '05 and Starr Center Program Manager Kees deMooy '01.

Books Donated

• Moral Minority: Our Skeptical Founding Fathers by Brooke Allen (Ivan R. Dee)
• A Perfect Union: Dolley Madison and the Creation of the American Nation by Catherine Allgor (Henry Holt)
• The Declaration of Independence: A Global History by David Armitage (Harvard University Press)
• A Nation Among Nations: America's Place in World History by Thomas Bender (Hill and Wang)
• Rape & Sexual Power in Early America by Sharon Block (University of North Carolina Press)
• George Mason, Forgotten Founder by Jeff Broadwater (University of North Carolina Press)
• What Would The Founders Do?: Our Questions, Their Answers by Richard Brookhiser (Basic Books)
• Infamous Scribblers: The Founding Fathers and the Rowdy Beginnings of American Journalism by Eric Burns (PublicAffairs)
• The Scratch of a Pen: 1763 and the Transformation of North America by Colin G. Calloway (Oxford University Press)
• Founding Fighters: The Battlefield Leaders That Made American Independence by Alan C. Cate (Praeger Security International)
• The General and Mrs. Washington by Bruce Chadwick (Sourcebooks)
• Thomas Jefferson: Reputation and Legacy by Francis D. Cogliano (University of Virginia Press)
• Frederick Douglass and the Fourth of July by James A. Colaiaco (Palgrave Macmillan)
• A Well Regulated Militia: The Founding Fathers and the Origins of Gun Control in America by Saul Cornell (Oxford University Press)
• A Most Amazing Scene of Wonders: Electricity and Enlightenment in Early Americaby James Delbourgo (Harvard University Press)
• The Many Faces of Alexander Hamilton: The Life and Legacy of America's Most Elusive Founding Father by Douglas Ambrose and Robert W. T. Martin, eds. (New York University Press)
• In the Name of the Father: Washington's Legacy, Slavery, and the Making of a Nationby François Furstenberg (Penguin Group USA)
• Emancipating New York: The Politics of Slavery and Freedom 1777-1827 by David N. Gellman (Louisiana State University Press)
• Interpreting the Founding: Guide to the Enduring Debates Over the Origins and Foundations of the American Republic by Alan Gibson (University of Kansas Press)
• Forgotten Allies: The Oneida Indians and the American Revolution by Joseph T. Glatthaar & James Kirby Martin (Hill and Wang)
• "I Tremble For My Country": Thomas Jefferson and the Virginia Gentry by Ronald L. Hatzenbuehler (University Press of Florida)
• Realistic Visionary: A Portrait of George Washington by Peter R. Henriques (University of Virginia Press)
• The Whiskey Rebellion: George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and the Frontier Rebels Who Challenged America's Newfound Sovereignty by William Hogeland (Simon and Schuster)
• The Faiths of the Founding Fathers by David L. Holmes (Oxford University Press)
• Dr. Kimball and Mr. Jefferson: Rediscovering the Founding Fathers of American Architecture by Hugh Howard (Bloomsbury USA)
• John Paul Jones: America's First Sea Warrior by Joseph F. Callo (Naval Institute Press)
• M'Cullough v. Maryland: Securing a Nation by Mark R. Killenbeck (University of Kansas Press)
• Jefferson and the Press: Crucible of Liberty by Jerry W. Knudson (University of South Carolina Press)
• James Madison and the Struggle for the Bill of Rights by Richard Labunski (Oxford University Press)
• Experiencing Mount Vernon: Eyewitness Accounts, 1784-1865 by Jean B. Lee, ed. (University of Virginia Press)
• Sex Among the Rabble: An Intimate History of Gender & Power in the Age of Revolution, Philadelphia, 1730-1830 by Clare A. Lyons (University of North Carolina Press)
• American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers and the Making of a Nation by Jon Meacham (Random House)
• Native America, Discovered and Conquered: Thomas Jefferson, Lewis & Clark and Manifest Destiny by Robert J. Miller (Praeger Publishers)
• Not Your Usual Founding Father: Selected Readings from Benjamin Franklin by Edmund S. Morgan, ed. (Yale University Press)
• The Forgotten Fifth: African Americans in the Age of Revolution by Gary B. Nash (Harvard University Press)
• Patriot Sons, Patriot Brothers by Hugh O. Nash, Jr. (Westview Publishing)
• Thomas Paine: Enlightenment, Revolution and the Birth of Modern Nations by Craig Nelson (Viking Adult Books)
• Washington's God: Religion, Liberty and the Father of Our Country by Michael & Jana Novak (Basic Books)
• George Washington and Benedict Arnold: A Tale of Two Patriots by Dave R. Palmer (Regnery Publishing)
• Samuel Adams: Father of the American Revolution by Mark Puls (Palgrave Macmillan)
• Epic Journeys of Freedom: Runaway Slaves of the American Revolution and their Global Quest for Liberty by Cassandra Pybus (Beacon Press)
• Sons of Providence: The Brown Brothers, The Slave Trade and the American Revolution by Charles Rappeleye (Simon and Schuster)
• Washington's Spies: The Story of America's First Spy Ring by Alexander Rose (Bantam Dell)
• Republicanism, Religion and the Soul of America by Ellis Sandoz (University of Missouri Press)
• Rough Crossings: Britain, The Slaves and the American Revolution by Simon Schama (Ecco Publishing)
• The Divided Ground: Indians, Settlers and the Northern Borderland of the American Revolution by Alan Taylor (Knopf)
• Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U.S. Navy by Ian W. Toll (Norton)
• The Unexpected George Washington: His Private Life by Harlow Giles Unger (Wiley)
• George Washington's Enforcers: Policing the Continental Army by Harry M. Ward (Southern Illinois University Press)
• Re-creating the American Past: Essays on the Colonial Revival by Richard Guy Wilson, Shaun Eyring and Kenny Marotta, eds. (University of Virginia Press)
• Race and Liberty in the New Nation: Emancipation in Virginia from the Revolution to Nat Turner's Rebellion by Eva Sheppard Wolf (Louisiana State University Press)
• Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different by Gordon S. Wood (Penguin Group USA)
• Financial Founding Fathers: The Men Who Made America Rich by Robert E. Wright & David J. Cowen (University of Chicago Press)
• Liberty Tree: Ordinary People and the American Revolution by Alfred F. Young (New York University Press)

Free Spring Events: Community Invited To Learn More About The Resources Of The College's Miller Library

Chestertown, MD, March 22, 2005 — The Friends of the Clifton M. Miller Library invite the community to learn more about the many resources offered by Washington College's library and made available to the public. The following Spring 2005 events are free and the public is invited to attend.

On Thursday, March 24, Dr. Benjamin G. Kohl, Sr., Professor of History Emeritus, Vassar College, will speak on "Writing an Entry for the new Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: Cecilia M. Ady and the Birth of Renaissance Studies," at 4:30 p.m. in the Sophie Kerr Room, Miller Library. The Friends of the Miller Library recently purchased the new Oxford Dictionary of National Biography for the library, and the 60 volume set will be available for use later this year.

On Wednesday, April 20, John Danz, Board Member of the Friends of the Miller Library, presents "Things Were Seldom What They Seemed: The Inaccurate Nature of Early Maps," at 4 p.m. in the Newlin Room, Miller Library. If you have an interest in the history of cartography, you will definitely want to attend.

Finally, on Friday, April 22, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., the Class of 2005 and Friends of the Miller Library will host a book sale. All proceeds will benefit the Class of 2005 gift to Miller Library. Please come and take advantage of many book bargains!

For more information about how to join or support the mission of the Friends of the Miller Library, contact Nancy Nunn at 410-810-7139.

Dr. Ruth Shoge Appointed To Head Miller Library

Chestertown, MD, August 17, 2004 — Washington College has announced the appointment of Dr. Ruth Shoge as the new Director of the Clifton M. Miller Library. Shoge joined the Miller Library staff in 1990 as the Reference and Instruction Librarian.

“Dr. Shoge's proven commitment to the Clifton M. Miller Library and her wisdom and energy will greatly help to advance Washington College's library resources and services,” said Dr. Joachim Scholz, Provost and Dean of the College.

Born in Jamaica, Shoge holds a Doctor of Library Science from Columbia University. After receiving her doctorate in 1982, she served as Head of Reference and Periodicals for the Orange Public Library, Orange, NJ, and then as Reference and Instruction Librarian for Upsala College.

“I really believe that librarianship is my destiny, and my destiny is my passion,” said Dr. Shoge, who discovered her vocation soon after graduating from high school.

“I was captivated by a world filled with knowledge, and I could take control of that world. I collected, organized, and disseminated knowledge in all its forms, and I studied, taught, researched and wrote about that world. I bring this same enthusiasm and optimism to the Miller Library as it progresses into the 21st century as an active participant in the educational mission of Washington College.”

In addition to teaching courses on feminism in the third world as part of the College's Community, Nation and World seminars for first-year students, Dr. Shoge has focused her academic research on the role and place of the library in the lives of African Americans. She lives in Chestertown with her husband Simeon. They have four children: Ruth, 24, Richard, 22, Maryann, 20, and Samuel, 15.

Poet Suzanne Cleary To Read At Washington College, Oct. 30

Chestertown, MD, October 23, 2003 — Washington College's Sophie Kerr and O'Neill Literary House Lecture Series present a reading by poet Suzanne Cleary, Thursday, October 30, at 4:30 p.m. in the Sophie Kerr Room of the Miller Library. All are invited to this free event.
Suzanne Cleary was born and raised in Binghamton, NY. She earned a M.A. in writing from Washington University and a Ph.D. in literature and criticism from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She currently works as an associate professor of English at SUNY-Rockland in Suffern, NY. Her poems have appeared in Poetry, Georgia Review, The Massachusetts Review and other journals, and her book reviews have appeared in Bloomsbury Review and Chelsea Review. Writing about Cleary's recent collection Keeping Time (Carnegie Mellon University Press, 2002), U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins observed, “I have long been anticipating this first book, and the chance to express how highly I value Suzanne Cleary's poetry. Her poems have a vigorous forward roll to them and are strung together by daring chains of association. It is refreshing to read a poet who wants to hide nothing, to turn over all the cards at once. High time she had a book, a place for her original voice to echo.”
The reading is sponsored by the Sophie Kerr Committee, which carries on the legacy of Sophie Kerr, a writer from Denton, MD, whose generosity has done so much to enrich Washington College's literary culture. When she died in 1965, she left the bulk of her estate to the College specifying that one half of the income from her bequest be awarded every year to the senior showing the most “ability and promise for future fulfillment in the field of literary endeavor,” and the other half be used to bring visiting writers to campus, to fund scholarships, and to help defray the costs of student publications.

Pulitzer Prize Winning Poet W.D. Snodgrass To Read At Washington College, October 16

Chestertown, MD, October 13, 2003 — Pulitzer Prize winning poet W.D. Snodgrass will read at Washington College on Thursday, October 16, at 7 p.m. in the Sophie Kerr Room of the Miller Library. All are invited to this free event.
William DeWitt Snodgrass was born in Wilkinsburg, PA, in 1926. His more than twenty books of poetry include The Fuehrer Bunker: The Complete Cycle (1995); Each in His Season (1993); Selected Poems, 1957-1987; The Führer Bunker: A Cycle of Poems in Progress (1977), which was nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry; After Experience (1968); and Heart's Needle (1959), which won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1960. He has also produced two books of literary criticism, To Sound Like Yourself: Essays on Poetry (2003) and In Radical Pursuit (1975), and six volumes of translation. His honors include an Ingram Merrill Foundation award and a special citation from the Poetry Society of America, and fellowships from The Academy of American Poets, the Ford Foundation, the Guggenheim Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Snodgrass is often credited with being one of the founding members of the “confessional” school of poetry—a classification he vigorously eschews—having had a tremendous impact on that facet of contemporary poetry. “Like other confessional poets, Snodgrass is at pains to reveal the repressed, violent feelings that often lurk beneath the seemingly placid surface of everyday life,” observed critic David McDuff. Snodgrass' later works also show a widening vision, applying the lessons of self-examination to the problems of modern society. In style and technique, Snodgrass' poetry “successfully bridged the directness of contemporary free verse with the demands of the academy,” according to Thomas Lask of The New York Times.
The reading is sponsored by the Sophie Kerr Committee, which carries on the legacy of Sophie Kerr, a writer from Denton, MD, whose generosity has done so much to enrich Washington College's literary culture. When she died in 1965, she left the bulk of her estate to the College specifying that one half of the income from her bequest be awarded every year to the senior showing the most “ability and promise for future fulfillment in the field of literary endeavor,” and the other half be used to bring visiting writers to campus, to fund scholarships, and to help defray the costs of student publications.

Washington College Hosts Charity Croquet June 29

Chestertown, MD, June 20, 2003 —The Friends of Washington College's Miller Library will host a Croquet and Lawn Party at the Hynson-Ringgold House River Garden, Water and Cannon Streets in Chestertown, on Sunday, June 29 from 2 to 5 p.m. This event was originally scheduled for June 1 but was postponed because of the weather.
Demonstration and instruction in croquet rules, strategy and technique will be provided by the Quaker Neck Croquet Club starting at 2 p.m. Following the demonstration, party attendees are invited to play croquet with the club members. Light refreshments will be served.
The cost of the event is $20 per person and all proceeds will benefit the Maryland Collection of Washington College's Clifton M. Miller Library.
For information and tickets, please contact Nancy Nunn at 410-810-7139.