Courses

In suggesting course material, I take my lead from the infinite variety of literature, matching sessions to the purpose of those participating. Typically, I discuss what to read and how to talk about the books, with the aim that we all get a much as we can out of each session. Some groups want to choose entirely from suggestions I offer, others make their own suggestions, some care more about periods or themes and even more about particular authors or specific texts. Each session has its own dynamic, blending a flexible balance of free-flowing conversation with as much directed talk as is requested by the group. 

Examples of extended reading projects I've conducted are: 5 sessions on Edith Wharton. One class focused on biography and each following class on a separate novel, The House of Mirth, The Custom of the Country, The Age of Innocence, Summer, and Ethan Frome. I've also utilized this format with Henry James, Willa Cather, Mark Twain, and many others. Another class read French 19th century novels by Victor Hugo, Gustave Flaubert, Stendhal, and Emile Zola to prepare for reading the works of Marcel Proust. I've also led classes on the contemporary European novel, the novel in English beyond America and Britain, the literature of adolescence, and a course on epic form throughout history, from The Bible through Dante's Divine Commedia and all the way to Joyce's Ulysses. John O'Hara, Robert Penn Warren, Salman Rushdie, Sebastian Faulks, Barbara Tuchman, Evelyn Waugh, Paula Fox, and William Maxwell have all been subjects in individual classes and entire courses. 

I invite you to make your wishes concerning writers and writing known, so that together we can fashion the experience most rewarding to you. Courses are currently conducted in the Boston and New York Metropolitan areas, but can be held in other locations by special arrangement.