BALTIMORE (AP) — A 22-year-old English major at Washington College who has used new media to reflect on her experiences with old-fashioned printing yesterday won one of the county’s largest undergraduate literary awards.
Emma Sovich, of Towson, Md., won the Sophie Kerr Prize with a portfolio that includes critical essays, poetry and essays posted to her blog and based on her experiences at the college’s printshop. She is thought to be the first student to win with materials published on the Internet, said college spokesman Eric Mills.
When the winner was announced at the graduation ceremony, Miss Sovich said she was so shocked that she could only stare at the student next to her. As Miss Sovich walked up to receive the prize, she thought she would wake up in a few seconds to discover they had really called out someone else’s name.
“I guess I really wanted it,” she said.
Besides her class work, Miss Sovich worked on the English department’s Web site and as a printer’s devil, or apprentice, at the college’s Rose O’Neill Literary House. She also worked with two other students to hand print and bind a book of their own poetry.
Miss Sovich named her blog, at www.thecomposingstick.blogspot.com, after an instrument used to set movable type, during a class on blogging. She focused her writing on what it means to be hand-setting type on antique printing equipment in the age of the Internet.
She said her family has been a big influence on her writing, some of which is loosely autobiographical.
The prize, which is worth $67,481 this year, is awarded annually at Washington College, a small liberal arts college in Chestertown on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, to the graduating senior demonstrating the greatest potential for literary achievement.
Miss Sovich, who minored in creative writing and art, plans to use some of the money to pay off her student loans and said she’ll save as much as she can. She wants to work for a year, then return to school and eventually work in publishing to stay involved in the process of making books.
Miss Sovich was picked from a pool of 17 students who submitted portfolios, a smaller pool than usual due to a smaller senior class than in recent years. She is a 2004 graduate of Towson Senior High School.
Washington College has awarded more than $1 million since the Sophie Kerr Prize was first given in 1968, most often to writers of poetry and fiction.
Miss Kerr, a Denton native who wrote 23 novels and more than 100 stories in her career, left a $500,000 endowment to the school. Each year, half the income goes to the award and the other half goes toward books and student publications and to bringing visiting writers, editors and publishers to campus.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.