On Reading, Revolution, and the Classics
How can we approach the classics in ways that are novel, galvanizing, and reparative in a contemporary culture awash in misinformation and ideological rhetoric? How does our reading practice relate to notions of resistance or revolution? We’ll discuss Homer, Austen, Cinderella, images of the American West as envisioned by people outside of it, Gwendolyn Brooks, translation, dictatorship, and what it means to be a reader in the world. The class consists of a short lecture, with the rest of the time devoted to a generative writing workshop and discussion.
Note: The format of this class has changed from in-person to online.
Registration dates:
December 5: Scholarship Donation Day (Learn more.)
December 6: Member registration opens
December 13: General registration opens
Elaine Castillo
Elaine Castillo is the author of the widely acclaimed debut novel, America is Not the Heart (Viking, 2018), named one of the best books of the year by NPR, The Boston Globe, Kirkus Reviews, the New York Public Library, and many others. In August 2022, Viking will publish her first work of nonfiction, How to Read Now, on the politics and ethics of our reading culture. Her writing has appeared in Freeman’s, The Rumpus, Lit Hub, Taste Magazine, Electric Literature, and elsewhere. Her short film, A Mukkbang, was commissioned by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art’s Open Space. She is a VONA Foundation Fellow, and was a three-time recipient of the Roselyn Schneider Eisner Prize for prose while at UC Berkeley. She has also been nominated for the Pat Kavanagh Award, a Pushcart Prize, and a Gatewood Prize.
