Jonathan Swift is best known as the author of the sharply satirical Gulliver's Travels, but he was also a poet. Among his most interesting poetic works is a series of birthday poems addressed to his longtime friend and companion, Esther Johnson, whom he called Stella. The poems, focused on friendship and the passage of time, range in tone from the gently satirical to the deeply heartfelt. This class will provide biographical background against which to read and interpret several of these poems as they reveal the emotional side of the typically-acerbic Swift.

Kent Haruf’s six novels concern life in a small town in the high plains of Colorado. Plainsong, Eventide and Benediction form a trilogy that examines people's ability to adapt and to redeem themselves and to heal the wounds of isolation by moving imperfectly toward community.

Athens based author (and OLLI favorite) Will Leitch will discuss his latest novel, Lloyd McNeil's Last Ride. Leitch's previous two novels, The Time Has Come and How Lucky were set in Athens. This time, the action moves to Atlanta, and Leitch thinks this is his best novel yet.

A nightmare inspired by his "little Gothic castle" drove Horace Walpole (1717-1797) to write The Castle of Otranto: A Gothic Story that has never been out of print since published anonymously in 1764. Walpole built Strawberry Hill over a period of 40 years. He was terrified that he was illegitimate: Sir Robert Walpole, his putative father (Prime Minister for 20 years) and his adored mother Catherine, Lady Walpole, were both flagrantly unfaithful. Critics have assumed that Horace was unaware of the gossip, but "Otranto," an exoneration of Richard III (1768), and a Shakespearean blank-verse tragedy "The Mysterious Mother" (1768), suggest otherwise.

As we walk through our lives as writers, thinkers, authors, and scholars, we can recognize the ways in which our communities are being silenced. The way to wage war, is by first, to erase knowledge, histories, and languages. Erasure is the key to keep marginalized groups oppressed. We see this happening with book bans, and the erasure of true histories being taught in educational institutions, the repealing of laws that protect our autonomy and speech, and the ways in which we are forced to bear witness to systems that legalize our oppression. We are simultaneously witnessing the loss of our humanity, and as writers it is our responsibility to illuminate our beings, to reflect on the ways in which our world participates in the cycles of hate, hurt, and chaos. In our time together, we will think about how our writing can serve as a tool, a pathway, a seat at the table, a psalm, and a light towards liberation. Our goal for this course is to be present, but also, to live in the imagined.

We read short selections from some of the world’s best fiction and nonfiction. Through conversation with each other, attendees achieve greater appreciation for the material, gain interesting insights, and enjoy social engagement. Class members determine the reading selections, which vary each semester. Each selection is independent of others, so missing a session or more is no problem.

We read short selections from some of the world’s best fiction and nonfiction. Through conversation with each other, attendees achieve greater appreciation for the material, gain interesting insights, and enjoy social engagement. Class members determine the reading selections, which vary each semester. Each selection is independent of others, so missing a session or more is no problem.