HoCoPoLitSo

For a Special 10th Season Finale

HoCoPoLitSo welcomes all to the June edition of the Wilde Reading Series, now concluding its tenth season of highlighting local writers in Howard County. This month’s reading features the long-time series hosts Ann Bracken, Linda Joy Burke, and Laura Shovan, each themselves a celebrated author in their own right, for a special season finale presentation, with our deepest gratitude to our audiences for enabling this historic milestone. Whether you have attended since the beginning or this would be your first time out, we hope you will join us at independent bookstore Queen Takes Book on Tuesday, June 9th at 7 p.m., at 6955 Oakland Mills Rd, Suite E, Columbia MD, 21045.

Our warm and welcoming open mic follows the featured authors and we hope you will let us hear from your stories, poems, or other piece. Please prepare no more than five minutes of performance time (about two poems) and sign up when you arrive. Books by the featured authors will be available for purchase.

Below, get to know (or hear a little more from) Ann, Linda Joy, and Laura!

Who is the person in your life (past or present) that shows up most often in your writing?

Ann: I don’t know that anyone shows up consistently.

Linda Joy: When I answered this question in 2022 I said “the collective. Of course like most young poets I showed up the most in the beginning, but then as losses occurred both in the body personal and the body politic the collective dominated.” That’s still true these days.

Laura: My younger self shows up in my writing for children and young adults, but also in my poetry for adults. She has a lot of unfinished business and I’m glad to have writing as a place to let her have her say.

Where is your favorite place to write?

Ann: Wherever I am when the muse visits me.

Linda Joy: These days my favorite place is where ever I can stop and either dictate or physically sit down and write. I’ve been dictating a lot of work while sitting with my cat at the top of my staircase.

Laura: I have an office at our house, but I most often write at our dining room table. Our beagle Arthur keeps me company.

Do you have any consistent pre-writing rituals?

Ann: I usually read over what I’ve written before to get me into the headspace to continue previous work.

Linda Joy: If I am purely driven by inspiration, then I am going to get it in where I can. I write what asks to be written, and then take space from that work for a day, a week, a decade … and then edit. The ritual comes in then as I get quiet, detached from outside noise and media. Depending on my mood I may plug into some music that matches the vibe of what I’m working on.

Laura: I’ve tried them all. Candles, getting up early, tea, prayers or incantations, writing at the same time every day. The only thing that works for me is sitting down and getting started.

Who always gets a first read?

Ann: My critique partner, Patricia, is usually the first to see my new work.

Linda Joy: I sometimes share new work with a poetry group I belong to. I also will share with writerly friends and colleagues (depending on topic, genre, intent and our history).

Laura: My first reader depends on the genre I’m working in. For children’s books, my author friends Bridget Hodder, Nancy Krulik, and Casey Lyall. For poetry, it’s often the people in my February Poetry Challenge group.

What is a book you’ve read more than twice (and would read again)?

Ann: I think Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath is one of the finest books ever written. I’ve read it three times.

Linda Joy: I wrote previously about rereading books between library visits during my childhood days. As an adult reader— there are many books that I would read for a second time, through my older, wiser eyes. When I paired down my library many of the books I kept were books I wanted to read again. What comes to mind in the moment are three books: All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes by Maya Angelou, Malidoma Somé’s Of Water and the Spirit and Elizabeth Heich’s The Initiation.

Laura: If I love a book, I will read the heck out of it, sometimes obsessively. I read Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion every year or so. Same with Diana Wynne Jones’s book Howl’s Moving Castle, the source of the Studio Ghibli movie by the same name. When I’m teaching novels-in-verse, I reread Long Way Down (Jason Reynolds), Red White and Whole (Rajani LaRocca), Take a Sad Song (Ona Gritz), and The Poet X (Elizabeth Acevedo).

What is the most memorable reading you have attended?

Ann: About a month ago, I attended a reading with Tim Seibles that was truly inspiring and exceptional, but Grace Cavalieri and Ada Limon are right up there as well.

Linda Joy: The poet Sekou Sundiata was the first I thought of again, his reading here in Columbia during one of the Columbia Festival of the Arts, HoCoPoLitSo-sponsored readings stands out. Another brilliant poet gone too soon.

Laura: I attended the very first Dodge Poetry Festival in 1986, when I was a high school senior. I’d never been to a poetry reading before. I remember that the day began with Galway Kinnell reading in a small church before the sun had burned off the morning mist. Sonia Sanchez was another poet who made an impression on me. At a later Dodge Festival, Taha Muhammad Ali and his translator Peter Cole read his poem “Revenge.” The words pinned me to my chair, then lifted me up. You can watch that moment and listen to the poem here.

• Ann Bracken has published three poetry collections and a memoir. She has served as a contributing editor for Little Patuxent Review and co-facilitates the Wilde Readings Poetry Series in Columbia, Maryland. Her poetry, essays, and interviews have appeared in numerous anthologies and journals, including Awakenings Review, Mad in America, and Gargoyle. Her work has been featured on Best American Poetry, and she’s been a guest on Grace Cavalieri’s The Poet and The Poem radio show.

www.annbrackenauthor.com

• Performance poet, writer, percussionist and picture maker Linda Joy Burke is a 2013 Howard County Women’s Hall of Fame inductee, and 2020 Howie recipient from the Howard County Arts Council for Outstanding Artist. Her work appears in When Divas Laugh,  Fledgling Rag, The Little Patuxent Review, Passager, Gargoyle and numerous other print publications and online at Danmurano.com.

@birdpoet on Instagram
https://lindajoyburke.com
http://lindajoyburke.blogspot.com
https://lindajoyburke2.blogspot.com

• Laura Shovan is a Pushcart Prize-nominated poet with over 100 publications in journals and anthologies, both for children and adults. Laura’s award-winning children’s books include The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary, Takedown, the Sydney Taylor Notable book A Place at the Table, written with Saadia Faruqi, and a poetry collection Welcome to Monsterville. A longtime poet-in-the-schools, Laura teaches at Vermont College of Fine Arts and mentors teens in the Navigating the Margins writing program.

@laurashovan on Instagram
@laura.shovan.2025 on Facebook
www.laurashovan.com

Are you a young writer, or the parent to one? HoCoPoLitSo cordially invites you to join us later this month, Tuesday, June 23rd, from 6–8 p.m. for a special Creative Café, presented in partnership with Girl Scouts of Central Maryland, and activities and open mic readings led by Howard County Youth Poet Laureate Penelope Tofigh.

The program is designed for girls in the 6th–12th grades and their parents or guardians, at an accessible restaurant venue in Columbia, to be later forwarded to attendees out of consideration of GSCM’s privacy policies. Tickets are available for purchase now by clicking here; membership in the Girl Scouts is not required to attend, though the cost of admission includes a literary activities patch for members. Please contact GSCM for questions or accommodations regarding ticketing and attendance.

The Howard County Poet Laureate and Youth Poet Laureate Programs are a partnership of HoCoPoLitSo, Howard County Arts Council, and the Office of the Howard County Executive.

Celebrating the Next Generation of Readers & Voices

Presented by Howard Hughes Communities and the Downtown Columbia Partnership, this year’s 10th annual Books in Bloom Festival celebrates our rising generation of readers and authors. From captivating book talks by renowned YA authors, to hands-on “CreatorLabs” where you can learn to tell your story your way, the Merriweather District will be buzzing with inspiration. Experience powerful readings and spoken word performances from Howard County students and discover why this festival is a must-attend event for the whole family.

HoCoPoLitSo is proud to sponsor an appearance by Karen Outen, debut author of Dixon, Descending, as she comes to the end of her successful term as this year’s Bauder Writer-in-Residence. Karen will interview Jason Reynolds, author of Coach, on main stage from 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Other featured authors include Khadijah Ali-Coleman, Sasa Aakil, Charlene Thomas, Danielle Joseph, Jillian Stacia, student authors of Howard County Public School System, and more. The event is free and open to the public, RSVP requested.

HoCoPoLitSo welcomes all to the May edition of the Wilde Reading Series, proudly continuing its ongoing tenth season of highlighting local authors in Howard County. This month’s reading features Vonnie Winslow Crist and Lakita Wilson, hosted by Ann Bracken. Please join us at independent bookstore Queen Takes Book on Tuesday, May 12th at 7 p.m., at 6955 Oakland Mills Rd, Suite E, Columbia MD, 21045. Please spread the word— bring your friends, family, and students!

Our warm and welcoming open mic follows the featured authors and we hope you will let us hear from your stories, poems, or other piece. Please prepare no more than five minutes of performance time (about two poems) and sign up when you arrive. Books by the featured authors will be available for purchase.

Below, get to know Vonnie and Lakita!

Who is the person in your life (past or present) that shows up most often in your writing?

Vonnie: Me! Often my characters (good and not-so-good) begin with a part of me. Then, I add to that seed. I’ve also used many of my relatives (grandparents, great-aunts, uncles, sisters, etc.) as beginning places for characters. Fair warning, anyone I meet, talk with, or observe is likely to be added to a character.

Lakita: My younger self shows up most in my writing. My deepest fears as a kid, my excitement about reaching new milestones, my nervousness about what was to come in the future. All of these things make it into the spirit of my main characters. The other characters are always a composite of my closest friends and families. Jokes they tell. Conspiracy theories they believe. I thread fragments of my closest loved ones into all of my stories, because they are the people I find most interesting.

Where is your favorite place to write?

Vonnie: In a perfect world, at my computer desk with the basement quiet. In my real world, wherever I can snatch a few minutes to scribble a page or two down. I’ve found I can write almost anywhere — especially if there’s something inspiring nearby.

Lakita: I always write on one specific section of my living room couch. When I first began taking myself seriously as a writer, I purchased a really nice desk, that I still love to look at. But, I never, and I mean, never write there. I always find my way back to my emotional support couch.

Do you have any consistent pre-writing rituals?

Vonnie: Make sure the dog has been out and she has water to drink. Make sure the next meal (lunch or dinner) is basically done so I can write until it’s time to take a break and eat with my husband. And have some tea nearby.

Lakita: I drink one mini can of Pepsi every morning. Please do not tell on me to my doctor. She will not be pleased with this.

Who always gets a first read?

Vonnie: My daughter-in-law, Dawn, is my first reader. She’s an avid reader, offers honest feedback, and loves me enough to be gentle when something needs a major revision.

Lakita: My agent always gets the first read. Most recently, I have started writing in the adult space, and I took a chance and slipped a draft or two to a few trusted friends. But, I am always so nervous about my early drafts that I can’t stomach anyone else viewing how bare-bones and messy it all is before deep revisions.

What is a book you’ve read more than twice (and would read again)?

Vonnie: Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit are favorites which I’ve read several times. I marvel at Tolkien’s worldbuilding skills. Because I’m a mom and granny, I’ve also read several children’s books many times — sometimes, just for the pleasure of the words.

Lakita: Kin by Tayari Jones earned an immediate second read as soon as I reached the last page. It is an absolute masterpiece. I also read Silver Sparrow once a year, because I adore that book. Valley of the Dolls is also my annual guilty pleasure. I love the soapiness of that book! The drama was so good. I can only imagine what it must have been like to read that book when it first released in the 1960s! Scandalous!

What is the most memorable reading you have attended?

Vonnie: Sherman Alexie did a reading years ago which had the audience laughing, shaking their heads, and crying before the end. The presentation, I hesitate to call it just a reading, included personal experiences, inspirations, and other tidbits. He’s also one of my favorite writers.

Lakita: I was in the audience as Elizabeth Acevedo read from her latest novel and gifted us one of her poems. She gave me chills!

• Vonnie Winslow Crist, SFWA, HWA, SCBWI, is author of the Shivers, Scares series, The Enchanted Dagger, Beneath Raven’s Wing, Dragon Rain, Owl Light, The Greener Forest, and other award-winning books. Her writing is included in over 200 publications in Australia, India, Japan, Italy, Spain, Germany, Finland, Canada, the UK, and USA. Believing the world is still filled with mystery, miracles, and magic, she strives to celebrate the power of myth in her fiction and poetry.

Vonnie’s personal website is vonniewinslowcrist.com, and she can be found on Facebook @WriterVonnieWinslowCrist or through her Baker Artist Portfolio.

• Lakita Wilson is the author of several novels and nonfiction projects for children and young adults, including What Is Black Lives Matter? a part of the New York Times bestselling Who HQ Now series, the middle grade novels Be Real, Macy Weaver and Sparkle, and YA romances Last Chance Dance and Pretty Girl County. Lakita’s books have been a part of several state lists as well as recognized by the American Library Association.  Lakita received her MFA in writing for children and young adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Lakita lives in Prince George’s County, Maryland.

She can be found online at lakitawilson.com and on Instagram as both @LakitaWrites and @LakitaReads.

This week, the office of County Executive Calvin Ball announced Truth Thomas’ reappointment for a second term as Howard County’s inaugural poet laureate. Thomas has been serving as the Howard County Poet Laureate since April 2024, on a two-year term previously due to expire in March 2026; Thomas will now serve another two-year term that will end in March 2028. In these past two years, coinciding with HoCoPoLitSo’s 50th anniversary celebrations, we have been deeply honored by the opportunity to come along as Thomas stepped into this new role, elevating and shaping it.

“We are thrilled to celebrate Truth Thomas’s reappointment as Howard County Poet Laureate, a testament to his extraordinary contributions to our literary community,” said Ryna May, EdD, Co-Chair, HoCoPoLitSo. “The Poet Laureate serves as a vital cultural ambassador, bringing the transformative power of poetry to diverse audiences, fostering creative expression, and giving voice to the experiences that unite us as a community. HoCoPoLitSo is honored to continue our partnership with the Howard County Executive and the Howard County Arts Council in championing the Poet Laureate program and ensuring that poetry remains a vibrant and essential part of the arts in Howard County.”

HoCoPoLitSo recently presented a short interview with current Howard County Youth Poet Laureate, Penelope Tofigh, in the latest issue of our quarterly newsletter, Rhyme & Reason. Penelope, a Junior at River Hill High School who was also the 2025 County and Maryland state winner of Poetry Out Loud, just can’t seem to get enough of poetry, and as we head into National Poetry Month, we hope you can join us for some of the many upcoming events in the second half of her term, which this month alone includes:

• Friday, April 10: The Authors Next Door at Residences at Vantage Point
  
• Sunday, April 12: A Poetry Tea at Elkridge Furnace Inn
  
• Thursday, April 23: Blackbird Poetry Festival at Howard Community College

Meanwhile, as a reminder, applications are open NOW for the next one-year term of Howard County Poet Laureate, for eligible applicants aged 14–21 and who either reside in or will be able to present at in-person events in Howard County. The next Youth Poet Laureate will serve from September 2026 until August 2027, and receives an honorarium of $500.

Eligible candidates may apply now by clicking HERE! The deadline for self-submitted applications is April 30, 2026. Full program guidelines can be found on the Howard County Arts Council grants homepage; for questions on the application process, please contact grantsandprojects@hocoarts.org, or by phone call to (410) 313-2787 during regular business hours.

Last but certainly not least, both County Poets Laureate will present at this year’s Blackbird Poetry Festival, to be held Thursday, April 23rd, again in partnership with and on the campus of Howard Community College. Truth Thomas will host a morning poetry writing workshop, centered on his original, “Skinny” poetry form; and Penelope Tofigh will read alongside the Festival headliner, Sarah Kay, at the afternoon Sunbird Reading and evening Nightbird Reading. The day-long event is open to the public, with attendance to daytime events free of charge, and admission to Nightbird available for purchase now, while seating lasts.

HoCoPoLitSo is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (FEIN 52-1146948) registered in the state of Maryland, donations to which are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. A copy of our current financial statement is available upon request. Documents and information submitted to the State of Maryland under the Maryland Charitable Solicitations Act are available from the Office of the Secretary of State for the cost of fees and postage.

HoCoPoLitSo is supported in part by funds gratefully received from the Maryland State and Howard County Arts Councils; Howard County Government; Community Foundation of Howard County; Dr. Lillian Bauder; and from numerous other, generous individual and corporate contributors. Event proceeds support the live and recorded literary programs offered by HoCoPoLitSo for student and general audiences. The artistic contents and opinions expressed at HoCoPoLitSo events do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of HoCoPoLitSo’s grantors, donors, or individual Board or staff members.

The Bauder Lecture Series and Blackbird Poetry Festival are partnerships of HoCoPoLitSo and Howard Community College. The Howard County Poet Laureate and Youth Poet Laureate Programs are a partnership of HoCoPoLitSo, Howard County Arts Council, and the Office of the Howard County Executive.

HoCoPoLitSo welcomes all to the April edition of the Wilde Reading Series, proudly continuing its ongoing tenth season of highlighting local authors in Howard County. This month’s reading features Jennifer Sutherland and Jo Tyler, hosted by Linda Joy Burke. Please join us at independent bookstore Queen Takes Book on Tuesday, April 14th at 7 p.m., at 6955 Oakland Mills Rd, Suite E, Columbia MD, 21045. Please spread the word— bring your friends, family, and students!

Our warm and welcoming open mic follows the featured authors and we hope you will let us hear from your stories, poems, or other piece. Please prepare no more than five minutes of performance time (about two poems) and sign up when you arrive. Books by the featured authors will be available for purchase.

Below, get to know Jennifer and Jo!

Who is the person in your life (past or present) that shows up most often in your writing?

Jennifer: Probably my mother. How cliche. But I will always be trying to work out where I begin and my mother ends.

Jo: It’s the dead ones who keep coming back: My Nana, my partner Louise, my Mom and Dad. They all have poems of their own, and they keep making cameos in other poems where they’re important or interesting, but not necessarily central. I like to think they appreciate having this poetic venue in which to revisit this place. And it makes me wonder what they’ll do when I’m no longer here to create the space for them.

Where is your favorite place to write?

Jennifer: At a table in a gorgeous little seaside cafe in Mykonos, Greece. I hope someday I get to write there. For now I have a desk in my bedroom. Rockvale Writers Colony in Tennessee is also lovely and the barn cats make excellent writing companions. The last couple of summers I have generously been allowed the use of a house in Bar Harbor for a week, and I have gotten a lot of writing done there.

Jo: I write lots of places, and I’ve always got a field notebook with me. But I have a cozy home office, and I like to write there, with my little dog Moxie curled up under the desk.

Do you have any consistent pre-writing rituals?

Jennifer: Bird song, either naturally or electronically supplied. I find it really helpful to put on old school headphones. They remind me that it is alright to wall myself off for a bit.

Jo: For the past year or so I’ve been lighting a candle, and asking Ganesha for help in clearing obstacles to creativity before I get into it.

Who always gets a first read?

Jennifer: My husband, Steve, who is a drummer. He never paid attention to the lyrics when he was in a band years ago, but he pays attention to mine.

Jo: My wife, Gail Rosen.

What is a book you’ve read more than twice (and would read again)?

Jennifer: Louise Gluck’s Faithful and Virtuous Night. Anne Carson’s Glass, Irony and God. Maggie Nelson’s Bluets. And Plath’s Ariel, I will always return to Ariel.

Jo: There are several, but in this moment Mary Oliver’s House of Light is the one that comes to mind. It’s probably that notion that has me in its grip these days of how hard it is to love the world in the face of so many challenges. Mary Oliver can help with that.

What is the most memorable reading you have attended?

Jennifer: I recently got to read at an event with Patricia Smith, Kim Addonizio, Joy Priest, Annie Finch, Alexis Sears. There was so much feminine poetic power in the room, the air was thick with it. And joy. Kim told a couple of dirty riddles. Joy Priest read “Looking for the Beautiful Things.” I have maybe never been so grateful to be in a room in my life.

Jo: For me, the answer is always the most recent one I’ve been to, so right now that’s Moira Egan and Jennifer Sutherland at Enoch Pratt this past Wednesday night! And I’m a big fan of the monthly readings/open mics at The Hot L in Baltimore and Manor Mill in Monkton. Both venues bring in excellent, thoughtful and highly varied writers, and I look forward to them every month.

• Jennifer A. Sutherland is is the author of Bullet Points: A Lyric, a finalist for Foreword Indies Poetry Book of the Year, and of her most recent collection, House of Myth and Necessity, released in February 2026. Her work has appeared or will soon appear in Plume, Arcturus (Chicago Review of Books), Chicago Quarterly, Birmingham Poetry Review, EPOCH, Hopkins Review, Best New Poets, Denver Quarterly, and elsewhere. She earned her MFA at Hollins University and she lives and works in Baltimore.

Jennifer can be found online at jenniferasutherland.com, and on Instagram as @jennifer_sutherland_writes.

• Jo Tyler is is a queer poet and an elder. A retired Penn State professor and Fortune 500 Vice President, she returned to poetry after decades of writing prose in academic and business. Her work has been published in Yellow Arrow Journal, Maryland Literary Review, and MacQueen’s Quinterly. She is an MFA candidate at Spalding University, and she writes and thrives in Baltimore, Maryland, where she lives with her wife Gail and her dog Moxie.

Jo’s website is jotylerpoet.com, and she says: “Please do visit! You’ll find some of my poems there alongside their audio recordings, as well as a tab with some of my mosaic art.”

HoCoPoLitSo invites all to join us on Sunday, April 12th, from 12–3 p.m. at the historic Elkridge Furnace Inn for a relaxing afternoon featuring a four-course tea service accompanied by readings from current Howard County Youth Poet Laureate, Penelope Tofigh. Tickets are available for purchase now by clicking here; please contact Elkridge Furnace Inn for questions or accommodations regarding ticketing and attendance.

The Howard County Poet Laureate and Youth Poet Laureate Programs are a partnership of HoCoPoLitSo, Howard County Arts Council, and the Office of Howard County Executive Calvin Ball.

HoCoPoLitSo welcomes all to the March edition of the Wilde Reading Series, proudly continuing its ongoing tenth season of highlighting local authors in Howard County. This month’s reading features Jean Burgess and Kris Faatz, hosted by Linda Joy Burke. Please join us at independent bookstore Queen Takes Book on Tuesday, March 10th at 7 p.m., at 6955 Oakland Mills Rd, Suite E, Columbia MD, 21045. Please spread the word— bring your friends, family, and students!

Our warm and welcoming open mic follows the featured authors and we hope you will let us hear from your stories, poems, or other piece. Please prepare no more than five minutes of performance time (about two poems) and sign up when you arrive. Books by the featured authors will be available for purchase.

Below, get to know Jean and Kris!

Who is the person in your life (past or present) that shows up most often in your writing?

Jean: Me— I guess I’m still at the “write what you know” stage of fiction writing.

Kris: I’m not sure if there’s just one person! For my fictional protagonists, I often draw on people I’ve worked with, sometimes colleagues in the music world, sometimes people I’ve briefly met in my day job at a local garden shop (retail work offers excellent people-watching). I often write about family relationships, particularly between parents and children, and find myself creating parent figures like the ones I wish I’d had. I do sometimes put myself into my work too, particularly if I’ve had an experience I’d like to process. “Giving” that experience to a fictional character lets me create space from it and gain some insight.

Where is your favorite place to write?

Jean: My office because I use a lot of visual stimuli.

Kris: My desk in my office. The window looks out over the back yard and a narrow strip of woods. It’s restful to have greenery to look at. There’s usually at least one cat in my office too, offering encouragement/advice.

Do you have any consistent pre-writing rituals?

Jean: Coffee, review yesterday’s writing— sorry, nothing very exciting.

Kris: I often need a little bit of physical activity to get myself in the right frame of mind. Sometimes that means doing some quick housework or going up and down the stairs a couple of times, or even just walking around a room. Sometimes I like to go for a short walk outside. The activity helps clear the “noise” out of my mind and let me focus on the writing project.

Who always gets a first read?

Jean: My sister— she is fabulous at providing stimulating questions.

What is a book you’ve read more than twice (and would read again)?

Jean: Christina Baker Kline’s The Exiles and Jamie Ford’s Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet.

Kris: Pretty much anything by Terry Pratchett. I’ve read all of his “Discworld” books many times, and I revisit them regularly. NIGHT WATCH is a particular favorite: for my money, it’s the best of his books, though they’re all brilliant.

What is the most memorable reading you have attended?

Jean: Too many to limit to a single one. Sorry, is that a cop out?

Kris: When I was in high school, Maya Angelou came to a local university, and I was lucky enough to attend her presentation and reading. It was spellbinding. I remember how inspired I felt, discovering that words could have such power and create such depth of feeling. I could have listened to her for hours.

• Jean Burgess is an author, editor, playwright, and former theatre educator. She writes both nonfiction and fiction, enjoys presenting writing workshops and presentations, and volunteers as a facilitator with a local Teen Writing Club. Her next Retro novel, Navigating Her Next Chapter, will be released in April 2026 by Apprentice House Press. Jean holds a Masters in Theatre from Northwestern University and Ph.D. in Educational Theatre from New York University.

You can find Jean online at jeanburgessauthor.com.

• Kris Faatz (rhymes with skates) is a pianist and award-winning writer. Her short fiction has appeared or is forthcoming in journals including Atticus Review, Rappahannock Review, and South 85. Her third novel, Line Magic, was shortlisted for the Santa Fe Writers Project’s 2023 literary awards and released in 2025 by Highlander Press. Kris and her husband serve as staff to three cats and enjoy hiking and outdoor exploration.

Visit her online at krisfaatz.com, or check in on Facebook, @kristinfaatz, or Instagram, @krisfaatz.

In 2021, Howard County Poetry and Literature Society launched the Ellen Conroy Kennedy Poetry Prize in honor of its founding member, Ellen Conroy Kennedy. Now in its fifth year, contest judges evaluated many submissions for mechanics and technique, clarity, style/music for our contemporary age, imagery/sensory power, and emotional resonance. Congratulations to this year’s runner up, Jo Tyler, and the poem “Ink”. Read on to learn a little about the this poet and to hear the poem recited. Congratulations to Jo!

Tell us about your poem, “Ink.” How did it come about? What sparked or inspired it?

For the last 3 years I’ve met just about every Thursday morning with a fabulous group of poet-friends for a generative writing session. We take turns hosting, sharing a poem or a piece of visual art we like and providing a small assortment of writing prompts derived from it. “Ink” got its start on one of these Thursday mornings from a series of photographs I took at The Museum of Everyday Life in Glover, Vermont, way up north. There was, among other things, an amazing collection of lists visitors had made as part of an interactive exhibition. If you haven’t ever been to the museum, I recommend it. It’s quite an experience.

What was an early experience in which you learned that language had power?

There are two experiences competing to be told here. The first one that comes to me is the first time I swore out loud. At my mother. I was six. I begged her to forgive me because I didn’t want to go to Hell. Now I don’t believe in Hell so I swear as needed, usually to get someone’s attention. The second experience is more formalized and more performative. In seventh grade I was selected to recite The Gettysburg Address from memory on Memorial Day. My English teacher coached me for weeks, teaching me how inflection and silences help words shine. On the day, the parade came to a pause at the library green, and I stood before a microphone in a new dress and patent leather shoes. The whole town was there, and the whole town was quiet. I could feel them listening. I could feel the importance of Lincoln’s language in that listening, and I also knew that in that moment the whole town was on my side, willing me not to make a mistake. And I didn’t. It was seventh-grade-glory. I think that experience accounts for my ongoing delight in sharing my work out loud, giving it a life beyond the one it has on the page

As a writer, what would you choose as your avatar / mascot / companion animal?

So many choices. I mean my dog Moxie is a faithful and favorite companion, and he’s jockeying for first place, but that seems too easy. I’m going to go with a snake, maybe a friendly one like a corn snake. I’m choosing a snake because they brumate. They slow down their metabolism, like mammals in hibernation, but their sleep isn’t as deep, and they have more options to wake up, drink, stretch, when there’s a warm spell. I like that. Sometimes my poems need to hibernate, but mostly they I think they benefit from brumation. If I encounter something in the world that makes me think of a poem I’ve set aside for a time, I might gently shake that poem awake, do some revising in the moment, give it a sip of water and then let it rest some more. I think too, that snakes are a good metaphor for poetry, because of the ways that they can slip around so smoothly, curl, elongate, contract, surprise. Corn snakes aren’t inclined to bite, but they can if they need to. I think some of my poems are like that.

Tell us about a writer or book that you return to over and over for inspiration.

I’d say Mary Oliver for sure. I know she’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but she lowers my heart rate and her simplicity in conveying complexity feels so masterful to me. She can do it all, form, free verse, long, short, and always perfectly pared down. Her imagery is so clear, stark, fearless and heartbreaking in the face of mystery. There’s something magical about how she fully welcomes her reader to the poem, how she invites us directly into her experience, engages us in it. Mary Oliver doesn’t make her reader contort, lean, peer in, surmise from an angle. Rather we encounter her experience at her side, joining with her in the delight, the sadness, and the surprise not as an outsider, but as a friend. I want my readers to feel this way – welcome, with no distance between us

What are you working on next and where can we find you?

I’m finishing up a collection that I’m going to let brumate for the rest of winter, and revise over the summer with a goal of submitting it in the fall 2026 “season” of contests and calls. I have a chapbook called Rooms for Love from Bottlecap Press available at this link: https://bottlecap.press/products/roomjt and I’m working on two others. You’ll find some of my individual poems in Yellow Arrow Journal, Maryland Literary Review, MacQueen’s Quinterly and Pen in Hand. And if you ever want to hear my work, I’m pretty much a regular at some of the open mics in the Baltimore area, like The Hot L, Manor Mill, Maryland Writer’s Association and of course the Wilde Reading Series! We’re so lucky to have such great venues in Maryland, and such great writers. I hope to see you out and about sometime soon!

Sarah Kay headlines this year’s Blackbird Poetry Festival to be held on April 23rd, 2026, on the campus of Howard Community College (HCC). Now in its 18th consecutive year, the festival is a day devoted to verse, presented in partnership between HoCoPoLitSo and HCC’s Departments of Student Life and Humanities/World Languages, including a writing workshop, multiple readings, HCC’s poetry patrol, a recording session of HoCoPoLitSo’s writer-to-writer talk show The Writing Life, appearances from the Howard County Poet Laureate and Youth Poet Laureate, and much more.

This year, all event segments will be held in the Kittleman Room of Duncan Hall (DH-100), starting off with the 11 a.m. Morning Songs Writing Workshop, hosted by Howard County’s inaugural Poet Laureate, Truth Thomas, on the Skinny— the dynamic poetic form which he created and is now taught worldwide. The 2 p.m. Sunbird Reading features readings from special guest Sarah Kay and Howard County Youth Poet Laureate Penelope Tofigh, followed by a poetry open mic for local authors of all ages. Attendance to the daytime events is free and open to the public, while seating lasts; current HCC students and faculty may find registration links for credits on the college event page.

Finally, the festival culminates its daylong celebration of poetry with the Nightbird Reading at 7 p.m., again in the Kittleman Room. Nightbird will feature Sarah Kay, introduced by poet Teri Ellen Cross Davis following their conversation on the set of HoCoPoLitSo’s The Writing Life, with a reception, book sale and signing to follow the readings. General admission to Nightbird is available NOW while seating lasts for $25 per person, with discounted rates available for educators and students. For questions or issues purchasing tickets, to request accommodations, or to discuss attendance by a larger group, please contact HoCoPoLitSo via e-mail to info@hocopolitso.org, or by phone call to (443) 518-4568. Proceeds support the live and recorded literary programs offered by HoCoPoLitSo for student and general audiences.

HoCoPoLitSo is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (FEIN 52-1146948) registered in the state of Maryland, donations to which are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. A copy of our current financial statement is available upon request. Documents and information submitted to the State of Maryland under the Maryland Charitable Solicitations Act are available from the Office of the Secretary of State for the cost of fees and postage.

HoCoPoLitSo is supported in part by funds gratefully received from the Maryland State and Howard County Arts Councils; Howard County Government; Community Foundation of Howard County; Dr. Lillian Bauder; and from numerous other, generous individual and corporate contributors. The Howard County Poet Laureate and Youth Poet Laureate programs are administered in partnership between HoCoPoLitSo, Howard County Arts Council, and the Office of the Howard County Executive. The artistic contents and opinions expressed at HoCoPoLitSo events do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of HoCoPoLitSo’s grantors, donors, or individual Board or staff members.