Student Activities

Student audiences welcomed the reading and discussion visits of Dr. Jean Nordhaus, HoCoPoLitSo's twelfth poet-in-residence, who visited eleven high schools in November, December, and February. The noted Washington scholar, teacher, and poet responded to student poems and talked about her most recent book, The Porcelain Apes of Moses Mendelssohn (Milkweed Edition 2002), a biography in poems of the 18th century figure remembered as "the Jewish Socrates." The last stop in Ms. Nordhaus' county tour, coordinated by Virginia Pausch, was an April 22nd luncheon talk with thirty Howard Community College students.

On April 14th, the Folger Shakespeare Library's touring quartet "Bill's Buddies" presented a spirited hour of scenes by the Bard to 643 enthusiastic eighth graders from Harpers Choice, Murray Hill and Hammond Middle Schools at the Reservoir High School auditorium. As the buses departed, the actors held a more intimate on-stage workshop for selected Reservoir students.

Students Win Literary Books

To foster lifelong reading and a love of literature, HoCoPoLitSo has awarded fine books to winners of its All-County Writing Competition since 1980. This year's judges were Virginia Pausch, High School liaison Timothy Singleton of the Baltimore Sun, and community member Nora Scanlan. HoCoPoLitSo board members made the presentations this year at 11 high school honor assemblies.

In addition to the winners in the categories of Poetry, Personal Essay, Short Stories, and Playwriting, twenty-two high school students were also chosen by their English departments for "Promise and Achievement" in Language Arts.

Past Events