A Young Poet Takes The Prize

Washington College English Major Wins Sophie Kerr Literary Award

Our neighbors fight. They share their beer.

We meet each other naked in the hall at 3 with cigarettes, laugh in disbelief.

Downstairs, Jackie graduates and sunbathes. No career."

Bruce said he plans to take the next year off, then pursue a master of fine arts degree in poetry.

"He's the real thing," Moncrief said. "We expect to hear from him in years to come. He's a fine writer."

The Sophie Kerr Prize is given annually to the graduating senior who's judged to demonstrate the greatest literary ability and promise.

The prize is named for a Denton native who became a successful writer in the 1930s and 1940s. At her death in 1965, Kerr bequeathed the college the funds to establish the prize as well as scholarships, publications and a literary lecture series.

From Kerr's original $500,000 gift, the college has handed out more than $1 million worth of prizes. At $68,814, this year's prize is the largest ever, despite the faltering economy, though next year's is unlikely to be as rich. College officials say the endowment, like most investments, has lost value in the past year.

Bruce's prize came toward the end of a commencement at which 312 graduates were awarded degrees. The college awarded honorary degrees to Raymond Federman, a French-American writer and retired professor, and to Diane Rehm, the National Public Radio talk show host, who addressed the class.