Literature & Writing   

Chico State's tradition of academic excellence goes back more than 130 years. With over 850 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!

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.

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. We will discuss poetry from the perspective that the poet creates the work but the reader activates it.

"Slow Reading Shakespeare" last tackled Hamlet in 2019. Six years on, it's time for a second look. Those who joined in the first time, those who have joined other "Slow Reading Shakespeare" classes, and complete newbies to Shakespeare are all welcome to join this second look. You'll be encouraged, but not required, to join in the discussion. You will want your own copy of the play, but any good standard edition will do. Email Jack (jdayer@ucdavis.edu) for guidance.

This learning through conversation seminar will discuss a short 1972 science fiction novel by Ursula K. Le Guin that asks the question, how can an ecological and environmental Armageddon be prevented? Humans from Earth invade an alien planet in order to harvest its natural resources. The indigenous humanoids fight to preserve their world and their culture. Le Guin, daughter of the famous Kroeber anthropologists, imagines an astonishing culture of pacifists.

This 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 nonfiction, 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.