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About Us

About Us

Through our diverse offerings, the Rose O’Neill Literary House asks the students of Washington College to see themselves as part of a global community of writers: serious, professional, inquisitive, and committed to the craft of writing.

Please note: Our physical space is closed to non-WC visitors, and our events are virtual for 2021-22.

For now, you can take our Google Map Tour to peek inside the house!

Our usual hours (during the academic year) are:

Monday: 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Tuesday: 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Wednesday: 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Thursday: 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Friday: 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

 

Our Mission

The Literary House brings together students, faculty, alumni, and local community members from across disciplines. It is a cultural center which hosts programs, classes, and student-run clubs and activities. We are dedicated to promoting the articulated word. Our annual events provide access to a wide variety of texts, including fiction, poetry, journalism, creative nonfiction, scholarly prose, songwriting, playwriting, and hybrid forms. Our letterpress studio and Literary House Press introduce participants to both new and old technologies.

Further reading: An Introduction for New Faculty

Our History

Our history is anything but boring! The famous poster collection that adorns our walls reads like the best of literary graffiti: Toni Morrison, Neil Gaiman, Allen Ginsberg, Gwendolyn Brooks, Carolyn Forché, Grace Paley, and Claudia Rankine were here. Writers who have visited the Lit House have won Pulitzers, National Book Awards, and Nobel Prizes in Literature.

The Lit House was founded in 1970.“Richmond House,” as it was then known, remained in its original structure until 1982.  Three years later, the Bell House across campus was acquired thanks to the generosity of Mrs. Betty Brown Casey ’47 and her husband Eugene B. Casey. The House was renamed in honor of Eugene Casey’s mother, Rose O’Neill Casey.  

James Allen Hall:  2016-present

Jehanne Dubrow:  2011-2016

Mark Nowak:  2009-2011

Joshua Wolf Shenk:  2006-2009

Benjamin Anastas, Interim Director:  2005-2006

Robert Mooney:  1997-2005

Robert Day:  1970-1997

Our Staff

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James Allen Hall

Director, Rose O’Neill Literary House

Associate Professor of English & Creative Writing

Ph.D., Creative Writing and Literature – University of Houston, 2006.M.F.A., Poetry – Bennington College, 2000.B.A., English Literature – Stetson University, 1997.

James Allen Hall is the author of two collections of poetry: Now You’re the Enemy (University of Arkansas, 2008) and Romantic Comedy (Four Way Books, 2023). He is also the author of I Liked You Better Before I Knew You So Well, a book of personal essays. 


Dr. Hall’s books have received awards from the Lambda Literary Foundation, the Texas Institute of Letters, and the Fellowship of Southern Writers. He has been awarded fellowships in poetry from both the National Endowment of the Arts and the New York Foundation for the Arts. Recent poems and nonfiction have appeared in New England Review, Ploughshares, Georgia Review, American Poetry Review, Copper Nickel, Redivider, Arts and Letters, The Journal, and Best American Poetry 2012. He is an Associate Professor of English at Washington College and Director of the Rose O’Neill Literary House. A list of readings and events can be found at www.jamesallenhall.com.

Meet James Allen Hall

Roy Kesy

Roy Kesey

Associate Director, Rose O'Neill Literary House

Lecturer in English and Creative Writing

Roy Kesey’s latest books are the short story collection Any Deadly Thing(Dzanc Books), the novel Pacazo (Dzanc Books/Jonathan Cape), and his translations of Pola Oloixarac’s novels Savage Theories and Dark Constellations (Soho Press). He is the winner of an NEA grant for fiction and a PEN/Heim grant for translation. His short stories, essays, translations and poems have appeared in over a hundred magazines and anthologies, including Best American Short Stories and New Sudden Fiction.

Roy currently serves as Associate Director of the Rose O'Neill Literary House, Associate Editor of Cherry Tree, Director of the Cherry Tree Young Writers' Conference, and Lecturer in English and Creative Writing.

Meet Roy Kesey

Franci Revel

Franci Revel

Administrative Assistant, Rose O'Neill Literary House

Frances (Franci) Revel is originally from Southern Delaware. Her poems and essays have appeared or are forthcoming in American Poets, Tammy, The Iowa Review, Dilettante Army, Bennington Review, and more. She holds an MFA from Cornell University and was awarded the Most Promising Young Poet Award from the Academy of American Poets in 2017.

JennLK

Jennifer L. Kaczmarczyk

Rose O'Neill Literary House Assistant

Jennifer L. Kaczmarczyk became Washington College's first Dining Services intern from Kent County High School in 1988. Over the next 14 years, she worked her way up through many positions from associate catering manager to housekeeping to assisting President Toll. Since 2016, she has served as Faculty Administrative Assistant to multiple buildings on campus. Jennifer has also worked as a co-manager at Super Fresh/Fresh & Green’s and as a personal assistant for elderly clients.

Jennifer enjoys spending time with her husband Roland and their growing family. Their oldest son, Brandon, graduated from Wor-Wic Community College, Eastern Shore Criminal Justice Academy in 2019 and is currently a Deputy with the Queen Anne’s County Sheriff Department, volunteer firefighter, EMT, and father of two boys. Joseph, their younger son, is a 2021 graduate Florida Institute of Technology's Civin Engineering program and plans to join the US Air Force in 2022.

MK

T. Michael Kaylor

Master Printer

Michael Kaylor teaches Letterpress Printing and Book Arts at Washington College. He opened the Literary House Press in 1986 and is now in his 33rd year at Washington College.

Contact Us

For more information about the Lit House and its programs, please email lit_houseFREEwashcoll

Connect

Join our Rose O’Neill Literary House Facebook Group and follow us on Twitter @WCLiteraryHouse to interact about upcoming events and opportunities at The Rose O’Neill Literary House.

The Literary House Press and Cherry Tree: A National Literary Journal @ Washington College have their own separate Facebook pages. You can also follow Cherry Tree on Twitter at WCCherryTree. Visit our Literary House Press online store and check out our Tumblr and Instagram.

Visit

The Rose O’Neill Literary House is located at 407 Washington Avenue, Chestertown, Maryland 21620.

Parking is available behind the House or across Washington Avenue, on the main campus.

Our mailing address is:

The Rose O’Neill Literary House
Washington College
300 Washington Avenue
Chestertown, Maryland 21620

Contribute

If you’re interested in supporting the work we do here at The Rose O’Neill Literary House, please contact Lit House Director James%20Allen%20Hall.

Current funding priorities include our internship program, “Write America,” which has connected students with literary organizations such as Pen Parentis, Copper Canyon Press, local and national newspapers, NPR, and Book TV, as well as with professional authors for whom they serve as research assistants. Another opportunity for giving is our reading series, which the Washington Post has called “the Carnegie Hall of readings.” What makes us special is that our authors meet with students to discuss their writing. Imagine having met with Toni Morrison or recent Pulitzer Prize winner Jericho Brown about your poems and stories! We also publish a national literary journal, Cherry Tree,which features the best literary work by established and emerging authors, and which provides student learning opportunities in editing, marketing, design, and publishing. And each year we run the Cherry Tree Young Writers’ Conference, which showcases Washington College’s vibrant literary community for high-school age writers. Help us inspire the next generation of poets, journalists, playwrights, and storytellers!

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