Frida Kahlo (1907-1954), one of Mexico's most celebrated modern artists, has achieved cult status for her compelling, original paintings, of which 55 out of 143 are self-portraits. Essentially self-taught, Kahlo rightly asserted that "painting completed my life," and it is her pain-ridden tumultuous life that she inscribed on her canvases in inventive self-portraits and allegorical imagery. This lecture will provide an overview of her artistic accomplishments while, also out of necessity, exploring her fascinating, short life. This course is offered in anticipation of the OLLI trip to Mexico where Kahlo's Blue House will be on the tour.

In preparation for a day trip to the Freedom Rider National Monument in Anniston, Alabama, in February, this two-session class includes the viewing of the PBS documentary, Freedom Riders, and a subsequent presentation on the controversial struggle to commemorate the attack on the Riders that took place at the Anniston bus station in May 1961. The community had refused to acknowledge the attack and bus burning which resulted in national and international headlines even though 50 years later the bus station and surrounding area looked exactly as it did that day in 1961.

At the first meeting we will discuss Frost's life and career in general. The second session will focus on two poems in which the poet adopts the voice of a female narrator: "A Servant to Servants" and "The Witch of Coos."

The French Revolution, 1789-1798, wasn't just one revolution; it was four or five of them, stacked on top of one another in a single decade. From Marie Antoinette to Robespierre to Napoleon, the fascinating characters abound. Adding to the impact, the drama took place mostly in Paris, then the intellectual and cultural capital of the western world. The French Revolution not only gave the word “revolution” its modern meaning, our use of “left” and “right” to denote political categories also comes directly from it, as does that most hazardous of all political ideologies – modern Nationalism. This discussion should be fun!