Literature & Writing   

In 1848 William and Ellen Craft did the impossible: they escaped from Georgia disguised as a white master with his black slave. Pursued and in danger of being retaken and tortured, they went public, speaking and touring northern states before fleeing to England. This class will be a deep dive into their history and encourage developing your ideas out loud. At heart, this is an American love story between a man and a woman, a couple and a country.

OLLI students will have an opportunity to view an exhibit at Chico Art Center and write about the art. This class is for beginning writers as well as experienced ones. Jean Varda and Joan Goodreau, authors and OLLI members, will guide students through the art-to-writing process.

Chico State's tradition of academic excellence goes back more than 130 years. With over 900 faculty members and 13,000 students, the University's teaching and learning community is thriving. Discover the imagination, cutting-edge research, and expertise that flourishes in our own backyard!

Explore London: Its literary past and present, its museums and churches large and small, and its connections with royalty

Pam Tibbetts wrote for Rapture Theatre that "Hamlet is an enigma, a paradox, a multi-layered mystery. For centuries it has fascinated audiences, critics, and scholars alike." Can reading the play from a writer's perspective help you better understand it? Join OLLI instructor and stage and screenplay writer Lynn Elliott to examine this question and see how the techniques writers use to build what we see today on stage, in television, and in movies are the same techniques Shakespeare used in his writing.

Each week the class will read poems by an individual poet, a collection of poems on a specific subject, or a collection of poems in a specific style. A wide range of poets and poetry will be presented, from classic to contemporary, and we will discuss them from the perspective that the poet creates the work, but the reader activates it.

Reading poetry helps you to know things more fully; it commands your attention; and it can sustain good conversation. In this class, participants select poetry from favorite sources to read aloud with fellow enthusiasts.

This class will discuss favorite science fiction authors, their books, and the human, political, and scientific issues they raise. The books and authors will be chosen by Sydney from suggestions by participants. This is a fun, free-flowing gathering of science fiction enthusiasts. Please join us and bring your ideas, insights, and suspension of disbelief.

This class will consider kingship in Shakespeare, drawing on scenes and passages from several different plays. You will be able to find materials in published sources or free online. Email Jack (jdayer@ucdavis.edu) for more specifics for guidance in making your decision or for doing any advance preparation you would like to do. If you want study just one play in full, it would be Henry IV, Part 1.

The Writer's Workshop serves a community of writers interested in sharing their writing and responding to other writers' work. We will focus on fiction, memoir, creative non-fiction, poetry, travel writing, stories for children, and other types of writing. Following a workshop format, this class will be an opportunity for students to receive feedback for their written work and provide meaningful support to fellow writers.

Learn to write a short 10- to 20-minute play. We will cover the basics of playwriting, including format, structure, character, conflict, and dialogue. This is a workshop-style class in which we discuss concepts and techniques, share what we have written, and write short exercises to develop skills. Prompts will be offered to stimulate your ideas. There will be an opportunity for some of the plays to be performed in the annual OLLI Play Festival.