CHESTERTOWN, MD—On Thursday, September 19, poet James Allen Hall will open the annual Sophie Kerr Lecture Series with a reading from both published and unpublished work. The reading will take place at 4:30 p.m. at the Rose O’Neill Literary House, 407 Washington Avenue and is free and open to the public. A book signing will follow. 

Hall is a new member of the English faculty at the College, where he began teaching this month as an associate professor. His emphasis on humor, image, and music has earned multiple fellowships and awards from organizations such as the Lambda Literary Foundation, the National Endowment of the Arts, and the Fellowship of Southern Writers. 

His debut poetry collection, Now You’re The Enemy, met with critical acclaim; poet and playwright Claudia Rankine described it as “a brilliant exploration of the structure of feeling.” Hall’s more recent poetry has appeared in such publications as Best American Poetry, The American Poetry Review, and the Academy of American Poets Poem-A-Day website. 

For more information on literary events at Washington College, visit  www.washcoll.edu/centers/lithouse.