In honor of the 250th anniversary of the United States, participants will read and discuss fictional works that explore three strands of the American Revolution: the British perspective, the Patriot position, and the contributions of enslaved African Americans to the cause. Discussion will focus on the artistic merit of each work, as well as the message it presents. Participants will engage in open conversation, written reflection, and personal evaluation. Novels include Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes, My Brother Sam Is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier, The Fighting Ground by Avi, Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson, and The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing by M.T. Anderson.

Additional Fee(s)/Information: Attendees may wish to purchase personal copies of the novels but are not required to do so. Books may be requested from libraries. Additionally, participants are encouraged to read Johnny Tremain before the seminar begins.

The works of three men dominated speculative writing from the 1940s through the 1960s.  Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, and Robert Heinlein produced most of their great works during this time.  All have had at least one story turned into a film.  In this course we will take a look at the lives and works of these men, spending time on plots, viewpoints and themes of their work.

What do your favorite poems or lyrics from songs say about you and what do they have in common? Probably more than you think. This class will examine how the two genres intersect in terms of rhyme, repetition, line structure, etc. and why and how they became your favorites. Some of my treasured poets/poems will be shared: Robert Frost, Mary Oliver, Sharon Olds, Walt Whitman, Galway Kinnell, Anne Sexton, and others. Some of my best-loved singers/songwriters will also be examined: Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Paul Simon, and others. This will be your chance to share with the class the power of words/lyrics/music that have resonated deeply within you. If you are not well versed (pun intended) in the favorite poetry category fear not because we will use Good Poems edited by Garrison Keillor as a reference and I will share my favorite poems/poets with the class.

This seminar will focus on Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle and Slaughterhouse-Five. Through reading and discussion, participants will examine how Vonnegut used humor, pathos, and absurdity to explore human folly, delusion, war, and meaning. The class will be discussion-based and limited to a small group to allow thoughtful conversation.

A poet lives inside all of us if given a chance to emerge.  This course offers the opportunity to express yourself using various forms, themes, and styles: from the ridiculous to the sublime, from free verse to rhyme and meter.  No experience necessary, but those with experience may raise their game or try something new.  The sharing of your writing will be encouraged–one on one, small group, whole class–but not required.  We will read and discuss models of published poets, using them as springboards for your own writing.  Feedback will be available from the moderator and perhaps from classmates, according to your wishes, with an emphasis on the positive. There will be new prompts and models compared to previous years.

Regarded as Russia’s first great writer, Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837) was a master of poetry, drama, and fiction. Writing at the same time as Byron and Goethe, he produced work that was distinguished by its striking and seemingly contradictory blend of Romanticism and ironic detachment. This seminar will focus on his prose fiction. It will also examine the rigidly structured society those stories play out against.

Additional Fee(s)/Information: For this class, students should obtain a copy of Novels, Tales, Journeys: The Complete Prose translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky (Knopf). New copies are available online for about $25.

This seminar will explore the meaning of the ancient Greek epic poem, The Odyssey. Lectures will place the content of the poem in its ancient context as well as the poem’s relevance to the modern world. We will explore the Homeric tradition, give the setting of the poem in the ancient world, and explore and explain the content chapter by chapter.

Attendees are expected to read four chapters (or Books as they are usually referenced) in preparation for each week’s discussion. The class will use Robert Fitzgerald’s translation. Students may use any translation of The Odyssey for their personal reading, though translations produced after the mid twentieth century should be preferred. The instructor will have prepared lectures based upon content, but student questions and observations will be encouraged.