Languages, Literature and Writing   

We will explore first-draft writing—when a writer first meets an open page—in a risk-free environment. We will experience the freedom of sitting down and getting words moving. We will write 500-word first drafts (in and out of class) on topics of our choosing as springboards to discover, experience and cultivate essential skills in this often undervalued phase of the writing process. Prerequisites: Participants should be ready to write and to discuss their process; sharing work is optional. Materials: Computer, tablet or paper/notebook and pen.

We all know the cliché of a writer gazing in agony at the blank page. We will engage in a series of creative exercises to help us sidestep writer’s block, to cultivate a rich garden of poems and brief stories and to improve our craft. We will also discuss publishing. Prerequisites: This course is intended for writers at all levels of experience. Note: Participants will complete some writing in class and be encouraged (but not required) to share work for discussion.

Photo albums hold more than pictures; they are storehouses for memories. From faded sepia-toned portraits of nearly forgotten ancestors to digital shots taken yesterday and posted on Facebook, the photographs we treasure most are precious because of the stories they tell. Inspired by the photos that have meaning for us, we will write about the people, places and things that have comprised the mosaic of our lives. By the end of the course, we will create a mini-album of not just photos but also of the strange, sad and wonderful stories behind them. Materials: Pen, paper or computer for writing.

We will explore the tension between fate and free will in Sophocles’ three Theban plays, written in the 5th century BCE. Implicit in these questions are issues of justice, responsibility and personal accountability. To what extent are we guilty of an unavoidable crime? Does fate cement our guilt or negate it? Readings will include both ancient and modern sources translated into English. Required textbook: The Three Theban Plays: Antigone, Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus by Sophocles, tr. Robert Fagles (2000), ISBN: 978-0140444254.

Fred Chappell (1936-2024) spent most of his life in his native North Carolina, where he wrote novels, poetry and literary criticism and served for decades on the faculty at UNC Greensboro. While he was sometimes praised as the heir to William Faulkner and Eudora Welty and earned national and international honors for his writing, he is too often described as “admired but unsung.” We will get to know Chappell by reading the first three novels in the Kirkman family cycle, based on his life growing up in Canton, just outside Asheville. Prerequisites: Participants should be able and willing to read and participate in weekly discussions. Required textbooks (all by Fred Chappell): I Am One of You Forever (1985), ISBN: 978-0807114100; Brighten the Corner Where You Are (1989), ISBN: 978-031205057; and Farewell, I’m Bound to Leave You (1996), ISBN: 978-0312168346.

With a plot that includes vaulting ambition, conspiracy, murder, witches, a ghost, overwhelming guilt, insanity and retribution, the tragedy Macbeth by William Shakespeare (1564-1616) has fascinated readers and electrified audiences for more than 400 years. Each week we will read one act of the play outside of class then, in class, discuss key scenes and watch video clips from stage and screen productions that demonstrate a wide variety of interpretations. Required textbook: Macbeth by William Shakespeare (2013), ISBN: 978-1451694727.

In Greek mythology, King Agamemnon of Mycenae sacrifices his daughter to win the Trojan War, setting off a chain reaction of blood vengeance that ends with a jury trial. When Aeschylus wrote The Oresteia in 458 BCE, Athens was on the verge of civil war; Aeschylus used the play to confront key issues of governance—aristocracy, authoritarianism and democracy—indirectly. Euripides' later play Iphegenia at Aulis goes directly to the scene of the crime where Agamemnon wrestles with his fateful decision, but mob rule decides for him. We will examine how these two Greek tragedies explored difficult social and political times, acted as a form of political discourse and influenced contemporary governments and justice systems. Required textbooks: The Oresteia by Aeschylus, tr. Robert Fagles (1984), ISBN: 978-0140443332; and Iphigenia at Aulis by Euripides, tr. Holly Eckhardt and John Harrison (2012), ISBN: 978-1107601161.