2016 Spring Catalog

LITERATURE & WRITING

One Day Book Discussion: The Seven Good Years by Etgar Keret NEW!

Coming of Age in Fiction: Reading and Writing About Growing Up NEW! Explore the coming-of-age narrative. In short stories by James Joyce, Alice Munro, Richard Ford and others, we will read about young people struggling against social and parental expectations as they seek to discover their own identities. These stories will guide our writing exercises, which will lead to a short story. We will read and write about first loves and losses, about the separation of parents and separation from parents, about the discovery of life-long passions. We will also pay attention to form — to narrative action (plot) and point of view (how the narrator’s voice can be the young protagonist’s and then move to adult reflection). We will use memory and observation to inspire our fictional worlds. Class welcomes all writers! Catherine Crocker has a BA from Cornell University, an MA in International Relations from Yale University, and an MFA in fiction writing from Sarah Lawrence College. 6 Mondays: April 4 – May 16 (no class April 25): 10:30 am – 12:00 pm Larchmont Temple Rm 1 / $190 / Code 235 Creative Writing Want to write? This course is designed to appeal to both new and experienced writers of fiction, creative nonfiction and memoir writing. Through examination of published works, instruction about craft, in-class writing exercises, and take-home assignments, you will develop confidence in your own voice, acquire tools to improve your writing, and learn how to identify and express the emotional truths in your work. Limited to eight students to ensure individual attention, participants will receive teacher and peer feedback in a supportive workshop environment. Class size limited to eight students. Amy Ralston Seife holds an MA in English Literature from Yale, an MFA in fiction writing from Sarah Lawrence, and an MBA from Columbia University. She is the Managing Editor of The Westchester Review, a freelance editor, and a published short story writer. 6 Wednesdays: March 9 – April 20 (no class March 23): 12:30 – 2:30 pm Larchmont Temple Rm 2 / $260 / Code 236 Memoir Writing: Telling the Story Only You Can Tell This class will help you tease out the stories that you alone can tell, and help you develop and structure them. We will study published memoirs to illuminate narrative technique, work through in-class exercises using writing prompts and suggestions, and have class discussions in a supportive environment. New and experienced writers are welcome. Joan Motyka is an editor of The Westchester Review, a literary magazine, and a former long-time editor at The New York Times. 4 Thursdays: March 31 – April 21: 7:00 – 9:00 pm MHS Palmer Rm 147 / $200 / Code 237

Of his sister, who found religion and lives in Bnei Brak, Jerusalem’s most orthodox neighborhood, Keret writes “...she became religious and married just after the Lebanon war.” He then repeatedly refers to her wedding day as the day she “died.” Here is Israeli society in microcosm: a writer who doesn’t keep kosher struggling to understand a mother of 11 whose rabbi will not permit her to read his books. Concluding its review of The Seven Good Years , a review in The Guardian said: “Keret is a master: bracing, compassionate, so absolutely himself.” Ze’ev Aviezer earned a BA degree in economics from Hunter College, an MS degree in counseling from Lehman College CUNY and his MA in Religious Education from Hebrew Union College’s Institute of Religion. Friday: May 20: 11:00 am – 12:30 pm Larchmont Temple Rm 2 / $25 / Code 231 American Lives NEW! See full description in Discussions & Lectures section of catalogue. A discussion of 3 biographies of some of the influential figures who shaped America. Leslie Blank received a BA from Emmanuel College, a Masters in Russian Language and Literature from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Masters of Liberal Studies with a concentration in American Studies from Manhattanville College. 6 Tuesdays: Mar 8, Mar 15, Apr 5, Apr 12, May 3, May 10: 12:30 – 2:00 pm Larchmont Temple Rm 3 / $150 / Code 155 Short Stories NEW! From classic to contemporary, eight stories about “artistic genius, the relationship between portraits and their subjects, the role of muses and the effects of ambition, failure and success.” Authors will include Edgar Allen Poe, Henry James, Bernard Malamud and Julian Barnes, among others. Students should purchase Stories of Art and Artists, Edited by Diana Secker Tesdell in the Everyman’s Pocket Classic edition. Leslie Blank received a BA from Emmanuel College, a Masters in Russian Language and Literature from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Masters of Liberal Studies with a concentration in American Studies from Manhattanville College. Wednesdays 8 Wednesdays: March 9 – May 4 (no class March 23): 12:30 – 2:00 pm Larchmont Temple Rm 3 / $200 / Code 233 Thursdays 8 Thursdays: March 10 – May 5 (no class March 24): 12:30 – 2:00 pm Larchmont Temple Rm 3 / $200 / Code 234

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