Literature & Writing   

Explore thought-provoking, contemporary nonfiction books in this engaging book club who want to stay informed and connected to the world. We examine compelling works on politics, history, public policy, and current events, exploring how these forces shape our society and daily lives. We'll examine the housing crisis reshaping American communities, from families working full-time yet unable to secure stable housing, to the massive climate-driven migration already underway across the nation. We'll explore how economic forces and environmental change are fundamentally altering where and how Americans live, and what these profound shifts reveal about inequality, policy choices, and our collective future.

Spring books: April 24 – "There Is No Place for Us" by Brian Goldstone

                        May 22 – "The Great Displacement" by Jake Bittle

More laughter featuring a few more of my favorite comedy movies from the past. These will further our study of the many comedy genres. This session continues the laughs with films I have enjoyed and I hope you will too! Most are not the mainstream comedies you would expect, but rather overlooked films that deserve a second chance. This is a Hyflex class, both Zoom and on Campus.

Time to grab the popcorn and get ready to enjoy your afternoon.

Alpert Jewish Community Center “When you read a short story, you come out a little more aware and a little more in love with the world around you.” — George Saunders If you want to read short stories that leave an impact long after reading them, sign up for “Four Stories, Four Weeks” to discuss a classic or contemporary work each week in the company of readers who enjoy storytelling in the short form.

In an encouraging setting for all level of writers, this class will provide an opportunity to create a collection of short writings that reflect the moments that have shaped you as a person. Do you recall a time in childhood which helped steer who you became as an adult? Maybe you nursed a parent through their last moments and never shared the experience. These memories could be shared in a writing collection.

Each week students will write twosingle pages at home in response to a prompt provided by the instructor. The papers will not be reviewed for grammar or spelling, but students must read aloud their writings in a friendly group setting. At the end of the course, this collection of short writings will serve as a memoir keepsake.

In this class, participants prepare memoirs that detail memorable life experiences. Each week, members have the opportunity to share the essays they have written in advance. Participants are asked to honor an 800-word/5-minute reading time limit in order to accommodate all class members. Each author will receive supportive feedback related to his/her submission. Discovering one’s personal writing style, voice, and effectiveness are part of the fun we enjoy in this class.

This session we will read short stories from those collected in A Century of Fiction in The New Yorker 1925-2025. These stories include “classic” stories by well-known authors, lesser-known stories by prominent authors, and just plain excellent stories – all originally published in The New Yorker. Each week we will read a short story and discuss our responses to what makes the story unique: themes, techniques, characters, atmosphere, etc. All class members participate, contributing multiple views of the same story. The results are stimulating, entertaining and sometimes surprising.

Our source anthology is: A Century of Fiction in The New Yorker 1925-2025, Deborah Treisman, Ed. (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2025). Please arrange access to this anthology to use for the class discussions. It is available in several formats: Kindle, print, Audible.

Every life is a story waiting to be heard. As elders we carry not just memories, but the meaning behind those memoirs.

Aging offers a rare opportunity to pause, examine and reflect on what has been experienced. This class combines story structure and life progression with remembered events through the lens of topics like cultural life scripts, autobiographic memory, narrative identity, life themes, and more. A high degree of interaction and personal sharing is part of this class.

Each week class participants will have a prompt to which they can respond to share a significant story in their lives, which, in the tradition of the “Hopi Story Holes” help weave the fabric of our lives as community.

Everyone has a story or several stories to tell. Regretfully, they seldom are brought to life, never articulated, never shared. This class encourages us to write our stories and share them in a classroom environment that is supportive. It offers a sense of intimacy, spontaneity, and possible surprise. It is preferred that readings be done from a printed page rather than a device. Each week ALL class members will read a story they have written outside of class. Come join our lively readings and discussions.