HoCoPoLitSo Announces Selection of Bauder Writer-in-Residence

The Howard County Poetry and Literature Society (HoCoPoLitSo) has selected Nigerian American author Tope Folarin as its 33rd Writer-in-Residence. A Rhodes Scholar, he is the recipient of the Caine Prize for African Writing, the Whiting Award for Fiction, and a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. His debut novel, A Particular Kind of Black Man, was published by Simon & Schuster.

The writer-in-residence program was designed to give Howard County students access to a professional writer who visits schools to read and discuss poetry and literature, the writing life, and selected works. Since its official launch 33 years ago, thousands of students have benefited from the program, which since 2020 is made possible through the generous support of Dr. Lillian Bauder.

Folarin serves as Director of the Institute for Policy Studies and is the Lannan Visiting Lecturer in Creative Writing at Georgetown University. His reviews, essays and cultural criticism have been featured in The Atlantic, The Baffler, BBC, The Drift, High Country News, Lithub, Los Angeles Review of Books, The Nation, The New Republic, The New York Times Book Review, Vulture, The Washington Post and elsewhere.

“For the past 50 years, HoCoPoLitSo has distinguished itself with world-class literary programs. We are calling our anniversary year ‘Beyond Words, Beyond Borders’ in recognition of our desire to expand understanding and response to universal truths as expressed in the literature of extraordinary writers and thinkers, such as Tope Folarin,” said HoCoPoLitSo Co-Chair Tim Singleton.

Folarin joins a roster of accomplished poets, writers, and memoirists who have served local students at Howard County’s 13 high schools, the Homewood Center, and Howard Community College, through the Howard County Public School System’s partnership with HoCoPoLitSo, which began with a reading at Wilde Lake High School by poets Lucille Clifton and Carolyn Kizer in 1974. HoCoPoLitSo is celebrating its 50th anniversary of bringing renowned literary artists and emerging writers to the community to meet in-person with audiences of all ages.

“In addition to being an accomplished writer and a teacher of creative writing at Georgetown University, Tope Folarin is an outstanding human being with a real interest in young people,” said retired Howard County educator Judy R. Young, the liaison between HoCoPoLitSo and the school system.

In addition to the 2024–2025 schools-based residency of Folarin, HoCoPoLitSo anniversary year programs will include a presentation featuring national Young People’s Poet Laureate Elizabeth Acevedo in partnership with Howard Community College’s Bauder Lecture Series; the “Writing the Land” reading in partnership with Howard County Conservancy; the 47th Annual Evening of Irish Music and Poetry showcasing writer Seán Hewitt; and collaborations with the Blackbird Poetry Festival and Books in Bloom.

“HoCoPoLitSo makes and holds space within our community for people to come together in recognition of our human need to connect through language, ideas, and common experiences. Literature is not only educational but enlightening, enlarging, elevating and enjoyable. We greet each other in fields of words and learn we are not alone,” said HoCoPoLitSo Co-Chair Tara Hart.

Howard County Poetry and Literature Society (HoCoPoLitSo) has been enlarging the audience for contemporary poetry and literature since 1974. HoCoPoLitSo is supported by funding received from the Howard County Arts Council, Howard County Government, Community Foundation of Howard County, Maryland State Arts Council, Dr. Lillian Bauder, the Reis Foundation, and Friends of HoCoPoLitSo. For more information, visit www.hocopolitso.org.