1980

February 29, 1980 James Liddy

• 8 p.m. Read favorite Irish poems and his own work at the second Evening of Irish Music and Poetry, opened by harpist Barbara Murphy and followed by Celtic Thunder in concert, Slayton House.

April to May, 1980 Lucille Clifton

• As HoCoPoLitSo’s first poet-in-residence, Clifton spent a day reading her poetry and talking with students at each of the following high schools: Atholton, Wilde Lake, Oakland Mills, Mt. Hebron, Hammond, Howard and Centennial.

April 13, 1980 Grace Cavalieri and Richard Gillespie

• 4 p.m. Cavalieri read her poetry and Gillespie read his fiction at Slayton House.

April 20, 1980 Ruthellen Quillen and Susan Sonde

• 4 p.m. Read their poetry, Slayton House.

April 27, 1980 Sterling A. Brown

• 4 p.m. Read from his poetry, introduced by Timothy Jenkins.

May 4, 1980 Louis Eisenhauer and Prudence Barry

• 4 p.m. A staged reading with local actors of Eisenhauer’s play Nora, directed by Barry in the lobby of the Columbia Flier Building.

September 15, 1980 William Stafford

• 10:30 a.m. Read his poetry to students from several county high schools, and took questions, Howard High School.
• 7 p.m. Read his poetry after a subscription supper at 10446 Waterfowl Terrace.

October 3, 1980 Larry McMurtry

• 8 p.m. Spoke before and after a screening of The Last Picture Show, based on his novel of the same name. This film-and-author evening was presented in association with the Columbia Film Society at the Howard Community College (later called Smith) Theatre.

November 2, 1980 Open Reading

• 4 p.m. Led by Louis Eisenhauer, Slayton House.

November 9, 1980 Maurice English

• 4 p.m. Read his poetry, Slayton House Lounge.

November 16, 1980 Elisavietta Ritchie

• 4 p.m. Read from her poetry, Slayton House.

November 23, 1980 Lucille Clifton

• 4 p.m. The Maryland Poet Laureate was introduced by Josephine Jacobsen at a publication reading for her Juniper Prize-winning book, Two-Headed Woman, Slayton House.

February 20, 1981 Patrick Galvin

• 8 p.m. The Irish poet and playwright read at the third annual Evening of Irish Music and Poetry, prelude by harpist Barbara Murphy, followed by Celtic Thunder in concert, Kittamaqundi Room, the Rouse Building.

1981

March 15, 1981 Mary Lee Settle

• 4 p.m. Read from her award-winning fiction, Howard County Central Library.

March 29, 1981 Clarinda Harriss Lott and Jan Mitchell Sherrill

• 4 p.m. Read from their poetry, Howard County Central Library.

April 5, 1981 Cel Lapp and Calvin Forbes

• 4 p.m. Read their poetry, Howard County Central Library.

April 11 and 12, 1981 Gregory Orr

• 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, led a poetry workshop for sixteen participants, Howard County Central Library.
• 4 p.m. Sunday, read his poetry, Howard County Central Library.

September 19, 1981 Howard Nemerov

• 8:30 p.m. Introduced by Michael Blumenthal; read his poetry after a subscription dinner, 10446 Waterfowl Terrace.

October 14, 1981 Grace Cavalieri and Roland Flint

• 10:30 a.m. Read poems by American poets for students from eight county high schools, with discussion following, Banneker Room, George Howard Building, Ellicott City.

November 1, 1981 Michael Blumenthal and Gray Jacobik

• 4 p.m. Read their poems at Howard County Central Library.

November 8, 1981 Bring-Your-Own-Poem

• 4 p.m. An open reading chaired by Louis Eisenhauer, Howard County Central Library.

November 15, 1981 Myra Sklarew and Jestyn Portugill

• 4 p.m. Read their poetry, Howard County Central Library.

November 22, 1981 Lucille Clifton, William Stafford, Roland Flint and Grace Cavalieri

• 4 p.m. Showed videotapes of Clifton, Stafford, Flint and Cavalieri, made at their 1980 and 1981 readings for county high school students, Howard County Central Library.

1982

February 19, 1982 Seamus Heaney

• 8 p.m. Read his poetry at the fourth annual Evening of Irish Music and Poetry, preceded by harpist Barbara Murphy, followed by the Celtic Thunder band in concert, Kittamaqundi Room, The Rouse Company Building.

March 19, 1982 Robert Bly

• 10:30 a.m. Read his poetry and translations for students from the eight Howard County high schools, Smith Theatre, Howard Community College.

April 18, 1982 Stanley Kunitz and Gregory Orr

• 5 p.m. Read their poetry, Howard County Central Library.

April 28, 1982 Linda Pastan and Frank Conroy

• 8 p.m. Read her poetry and his prose at restored Oakland Manor.

May 2, 1982 Josephine Jacobsen and William Meredith

• 5 p.m. Read their poetry, Howard County Central Library.

October 17 and 18, 1982 Mark Stevenson

• 4 p.m. Sunday, the dramatist and actor performed his one-man play This Living Hand: a visitation by John Keats, Smith Theatre, Howard Community College.
• 10 a.m. Monday, repeated his program for students from the (then) eight county high schools, with discussion following, Smith Theatre.

October 31, 1982 Five Poets on Film

• 2:30 p.m. Showed short subjects featuring Gwendolyn Brooks, Robert Frost, Muriel Ruykeyser, Seamus Heaney and Pablo Neruda, followed by discussion, Howard County Central Library.

November 14, 1982 Sister Maura Eichner and David Beaudoin

• 4 p.m. Read their poetry, Howard County Central Library.

1983

January 16, 1983 Wilfred Cartey

• 2 p.m. The poet and literary scholar spoke in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, Slayton House Lounge.

February 18, 1983 Thomas Flanagan

• 8 p.m. Read from his historical novel The Year of the French at the fifth Annual Irish Evening, preceded by Gerry Farrelly singing traditional folk songs, followed by the Celtic Thunder band in concert, Kittamaqundi Room, The Rouse Building.

March 24, 1983 Lucille Clifton

• 10 a.m. Read her poetry for students from the (then) eight county high schools and previewing the poems and translations of Carolyn Forché, Smith Theatre.

March 24, 1983 Carolyn Forché

• 8 p.m. Read from her poems and translations, Smith Theatre.

April 10, 1983 Jean Nordhaus and H. L. Van Brunt

• 4 p.m. Read their poetry, Howard County Central Library.

May 1, 1983 Prudence Barry, Geoffrey Himes and Margot Treitel

• 4 p.m. Three Columbia poets read their work, Howard County Central Library.

November 4, 1983 David Bradley

• 8 p.m. Read from his prize-winning fiction, Slayton House.

November 14, 1983 Louis Eisenhauer

• 1 p.m. Hosted a Bring-Your-Own-Poem Party at the Florence Bain Senior Center.

November 16, 1983 Roland Flint and Clarinda Harriss Lott

• 10 a.m. Read their own poems and others for students from the (then) eight county high schools, discussion followed, Smith Theatre.

November 19, 1983 Anthony Hecht

• 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Led a poetry workshop for twelve local poets in the Columbia Association Conference Room, One Knoll North.

1984

February 10, 1984 Henry Glassie

• 8 p.m. The leading Irish folklorist gave a talk with slides, preceded by Sue Richards, singer/harpist, and followed by the Celtic Thunder band in concert, at the sixth annual Irish Evening, Kittamaqundi Room, Rouse Building.

February 25, 1984 Edward Albee

• 8 p.m. The playwright hosted a film-and-author evening before and after a screening of his A Delicate Balance, thanks to the Columbia Film Society, Smith Theatre.

February 26, 1984 Edward Albee

• 4 p.m. Read from his plays, Smith Theatre.

March 25, 1984 Roland Flint

• 4 p.m. The Maryland poet read in honor of Maryland Day, Howard County Central Library.

April 8, 1984 Ann Darr

• 4 p.m. The Maryland poet read her work, Howard County Central Library.

April 29, 1984 Virginia Bates, John Farrell, John Wesley

• 4 p.m. Maryland poets read their work, Howard County Central Library.

May 4, 1984 Bill’s Buddies

• 10 a.m. Four actors from the Folger Shakespeare Library’s traveling company perform scenes from The Taming of the Shrew, Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo and Juliet, Henry IV, Part Two, and Henry V; for students from the (then) eight county high schools, Smith Theatre.

August 29, 1984 Roland Flint

• 3 p.m. Read for Howard County language arts teachers at their in-service day, invited by their supervisor, Gordon Hayward, introduced by Ellen Conroy Kennedy, Wilde Lake High School.

September 30, 1984 Dennis Brutus

• 4 p.m. The exiled South African poet read his work, Howard County Central Library.

October 7, 1984 Jackson Barry and Norma Procopiow

• 4 p.m. The University of Maryland professors discussed contemporary poetics, “From the New Criticism to Deconstruction,” Howard County Central Library.

October 21 and 22, 1984 Isaac Bashevis Singer

• A residency in celebration of HoCoPoLitSo’s 10th anniversary
• 4 p.m. Sunday, the Nobel Laureate read and talked about his fiction at Smith Theatre, Howard Community College
• 10 a.m. Monday, read and conversed with students from the (then) eight county high schools, Smith Theatre.

November 17 and 18, 1984 Bharati Mukherjee

• 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, led a creative prose workshop, Columbia Flier Building.
• 4 p.m. Sunday, read two of her short stories, Howard County Central Library.

1985

February 22, 1985 Sean O’Tuama

• 8 p.m. The Irish poet, scholar and wit read his work at the seventh annual Evening of Irish Music and Poetry, followed by the Celtic Thunder band in concert, Kittamaqundi Room, the Rouse Building.

March 31, 1985 Linnell Nash Smith

• 4 p.m. Spoke about her father and read his poems in “The World of Ogden Nash,” the Lower Lounge, Howard Community College.

April 14, 1985 Carrie McCully, Bill Stanley, Terence Winch

• 4 p.m. Read their poetry, Lower Lounge, Howard Community College.

April 19, 1985 Maggie Lee Conroy

• 10 a.m. Directed and acted in her play Celestial Messengers, drawn from the journals and letters of nineteenth-century astronomer Maria Mitchell and other Nantucket women of the era, performed with Valerie Blackmun, Prudence Barry and Beth Moon for students from the (then) eight Howard County high schools, followed by discussion with the playwright, Smith Theatre, Howard Community College.

April 28, 1985 William W. Warner

• 4 p.m. Author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Beautiful Swimmers, story of the crab and Chesapeake Bay watermen, talked about “Fact: and Fancy in Nonfiction Writing,” Howard County Central Library.

May 5, 1985 Louis Eisenhauer and Prudence Barry

• 4 p.m. Offered staged readings of scenes from their plays-in-progress, Lower Lounge, Howard Community College.

October 5 to 7, 1985 Lucille Clifton and Carolyn Kizer

• 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. Led poetry workshops limited to twelve participants in each.
• 1:30 to 3 p.m., talked about “The Writing Life” in Smith Theatre, Howard Community College.
• 4 p.m. Sunday, read from their poetry and prose, The Lounge, Howard Community College.
• 10 to 11:30 a.m. Monday, read their favorite poets to students from the (then) eight Howard County high schools, taking questions afterwards, Smith Theatre.

November 3, 1985 “A Salute to Howard County English Teachers” with Reed Whittemore

• 4 p.m. The Maryland Poet Laureate read and made remarks followed by the local premiere, thanks to the Columbia Film Society, of Robert Frost, a one-hour documentary in the Voices and Visions series from PBS television. Champagne reception followed, Smith Theatre and Lower Lounge, Howard Community College.

November 17, 1985 Reuben Jackson and Karlis Freivalds

• 4 p.m. Read their poetry, Howard County Central Library.

1986

January 12, 1986 Joyce Ann Joyce

• 4 p.m. The University of Maryland professor spoke and read from the poetry of Black American women, Marchand Room, Kahler Hall.

February 9, 1986 Saul Bellow in Residence

• 4 p.m. Sunday, the novelist and Nobel Laureate read and took questions from the audience at Smith Theatre.
• 10 to 11:30 a.m. Monday, read from his work and conversed with students from the (then) eight county high schools, Smith Theatre.

February 21, 1986 Eavan Boland

• 8 p.m. The poet read her work at the eighth annual Evening of Irish Music and Poetry, followed by the Celtic thunder Band in concert, Kittamaqundi Room, the Rouse Building.

April 4, 1986 Tomas Tranströmer

• 8 p.m. The Swedish poet read his work in English translations by Robert Bly and others, Howard Community College.

April 20, 1986 Michael S. Cain and Barbara Lefcowitz

• 4 p.m. Read their poetry, the Lower Lounge, Howard Community College.

May 4, 1986 Michael Collier and Gloria Oden

• 4 p.m. Read their poetry, the Lower Lounge, Howard Community College.

May 18, 1986 John Harding and Kenneth Rhoades

• 4 p.m. Read their fiction, the Lower Lounge, Howard Community College.

September 14, 1986 Henry Taylor

• 4 p.m. The winner of the Pulitzer Prize for his book The Flying Change, gave a “reading with riding,” demonstrating his poems on horseback at the Columbia Horse Center, with Reed Whittemore introducing, and a barbecue supper on site by subscription.

November 2 and 3, 1986 Richard Wilbur in Residence

• 4 p.m. Sunday, the poet, translator, and lyricist, greeted by a Source Theater presentation of scenes from Molière’s Tartuffe, and songs from the Leonard Bernstein musical of Voltaire’s Candide (thanks to an ensemble from Toby’s Dinner Theater), responded with a reading from his poetry.
• 10 a.m. Monday The program from Sunday is repeated for students from the (then) eight county high schools, Smith Theatre.

November 21, 1986 John P. Farrell

• 8 p.m. Editor Rob Cowley introduced the author of Voices Behind the Wall: 90 Prison Stories, at a publication reading of his book. Reception followed. Lower Lounge, Howard Community College

1987

January 11 and 12, 1987 Gwendolyn Brooks in Residence

• 3 p.m. Sunday, read her poetry in tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr., The Meeting House, Oakland Mills.

• 9:30 a.m. Monday, read her poetry for students from the (then) eight county high schools, Smith Theatre.

February 20, 1987 Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill

• 8 p.m. Read her poetry at the ninth annual Evening of Irish Music and Poetry, followed by the Celtic Thunder band in concert and stepdancer Regan Wick, Kittamaqundi Room, The Rouse Building.

April 26, 1987 Karen Arnold, Gary Blankenburg, and Philip Jason

• 4 p.m. Three Maryland poets read their work, Lower Lounge, Howard Community College.

May 17, 1987 Martha O’Keefe

• 4 p.m. Introduced and facilitated the discussion after the one-hour Voices and Visions PBS film Emily Dickinson in a special preview at Howard Community College.

September 27, 1987 Michael Fallon and E. Ethelbert Miller

• 4 p.m. Read their poetry, Lower Lounge, Howard Community College.

October 25, 1987 Josephine Jacobsen and Margot Treitel

• 4 p.m. The Academy of American Poets Fellow and Baltimore Artscape winner read their poetry, introduced by Michael Collier and James Taylor, Lower Lounge, Howard Community College.

1988

January 29, 1988 Bill’s Buddies

• 10 p.m. The Folger Shakespeare Library’s troupe of four actors performing scenes from five Shakespeare plays for students from the (then) eight county high schools, Smith Theatre.

February 19-20, 1988 Seamus Heaney in Residence

• 8 p.m. Friday, read his poetry at the tenth annual Evening of Irish Music and Poetry, followed by the Celtic Thunder band in concert, Kittamaqundi Room, Rouse Building.
• 2 p.m. Saturday, Heaney was interviewed by George O’Brien, read poems, and took questions from the audience, Smith Theatre.

March 20 and 21, 1988 Lucille Clifton in Residence

• 4 p.m., Sunday, read from her books of poetry, Good Woman and Next, the Keys Lounge, Columbia Inn.
• 10 a.m. Read from her poetry and children’s books to students from the county middle schools, Smith Theatre.

April 24 and 25, 1988 Elizabeth Murawski and Michael Weaver

• 4 p.m. Sunday, read their poetry, Lower Lounge, Howard Community College.
• 10 a.m. Monday, read their poetry and took questions from students of the (then) eight county high schools, Smith Theatre.

May 3, 1988 Richard Wilbur, Brian Bedford and Friends

• 3 p.m. In a special program, “Afternoon Delight,” inspired by the National Endowment for the Arts tribute to Poet Laureate Richard Wilbur in Washington, D.C., the poet translator introduced three scenes from the high comedies of Molière (Tartuffe, The Misanthrope, and School for Wives), performed as staged readings by actors Bedford, Helen Carey and Michele Farr, Smith Theatre.

September 25, 1988 Nancy Galbraith and Stanley Plumly

• 4 p.m. Read their poetry, Lower Lounge, Howard Community College.

October 30 and 31, 1988 Grace Paley in Residence

• 3 p.m. Sunday, in a “Salute to Howard County Librarians”
• HoCoPoLitSo presented Marvin Thomas, 25-year director of the county’s public libraries, an award for extraordinary achievement, and Paley read her fiction, Smith Theatre.
• 12:30 p.m. Monday, Paley read her fiction and poetry to students from the (then) eight county high schools, and took questions, Smith Theatre.

November 13, 1988 Richard Bausch and Carolyn Kreiter-Kurylo

• 4 p.m. The novelist and the poet/painter presented their work and took questions,

Lower Lounge, Howard Community College.

December 4, 1988 Prudence Barry

• 3 p.m. Barry took the role of Emily Dickinson in John Harding’s one-hour version of The Belle of Amherst in celebration of the poet’s birthday and the completion of Columbia’s Amherst House.

1989

January 1989 to May 1991 Roland Flint

• In HoCoPoLitSo’s first extended residency, Flint spent a day at each of the following schools meeting students and others: Owen Brown and Clarksville middle schools; and Oakland Mills, Hammond, Wilde Lake, Centennial, Atholton and Glenelg high schools. Flint also led an all-day workshop for local poets April 8, 1990, and gave readings for the Columbia Town Center Rotary on March 1, 1989; at the Florence Bain Senior Center’s annual Older Americans Day luncheon on May 5, 1989; in HoCoPoLitSo’s Sunday afternoon series at Howard Community College on May 21, 1989, at Glenelg Country School on April 17, 1989, and for Leadership Howard County at Rockland Art Center on May 14, 1991.

February 17, 1989 John Montague

• 8 p.m. Read his work at the eleventh annual Evening of Irish Music and Poetry, followed by the Celtic Thunder band in concert, Kittamaqundi Room, Rouse Building.

June 25, 1989 Prudence Barry

• 2 p.m. Reprised and restaged the one-hour The Belle of Amherst as part of the first Columbia Festival of the Arts, Smith Theatre.

October 8, 1989 Terence Winch and Carolyn Thorman

• 4 p.m. Read from their short fiction, Lower Lounge, Howard Community College.

November 5, 1989 Taylor Branch

• 7:30 p.m. The Pulitzer Prize-winning historian of the Civil Rights movement, spoke and took questions from the audience, Smith Theatre.

December 3, 1989 Barbara Goldberg, Barri Armitage, Elisavietta Ritchie

• 4 p.m. Read their poetry, Lower Lounge, Howard Community College.