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Summer Classes, 2011
This summer we are offering the following two courses. Each is taught by
Dr. James Taylor. They are Great Poems and Stories and Writer's
Workshop. You may read about them below.
Great Poems and Stories
Poems
We do not merely read poetry or analyze it -- we do
poetry by reading it aloud with some memorization, as it was meant to be learned
(by heart) and heard; and, neither the teacher nor the students have to settle
for anything less than what time and tradition have considered great poems of
the English language.
For each class we will select poems from two anthologies, Major American
Poets, and Major British Poets, edited by Oscar Williams. They
will be read aloud and thought about in conversation as we consider their
construction and, more importantly, their sense, imagery, truth and beauty.
The atmosphere is relaxed, leisurely, and free of analysis from any of the
particular literary philosophies that tend to pick the poem apart in search of
"hidden meanings", and so on. The course assumes poetry is natural to all
people, that knowing the great poems of our native tongue is part of being truly
educated, and civilized.
Stories
The short story, even as we know it today, derives
from an inate human
inspiration to communicate more than just information to our neighbor. Stories
were at the heart and soul of the oral tradition long before script writing or
the printing press.
With no instruction to write anything down both Socrates and Christ
taught by means of story, the allegory, and the parable. In ancient
Greece, anecdotes from Homer's epics circulated among the people,
and the famous Fables of Aesop are perfect unified stories about human
wisdom and folly played out by our poetic counterparts in the animal
kingdom.
This summer course views the great stories of the past two centuries in
line with this tradition to delight and instruct us with examples of
this art from France, Russia, England and America. The artful authors
chosen for the class convey a subtle intensity in memorable plots and
characters who encounter conflicts with which we all identify. In so
doing, we not only learn more how a short story works, but how stories
touch our lives.
Specifics for Great Poems and Stories:
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There will be seven 90 minute classes. Tuition is $195.
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Classes on Mondays and Wednesdays at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time.
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First class is June 6 and the last class is June 27.
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Tuition is $195. Family discounts of 20% apply to additional students.
This class is open to students grade 9 and up.
Enrolling is Easy
Use the button below to take care of tuition online.
The online payment system does not calculate
discounts so to take advantage of the family discounts please write us at
info@greatbooksdiscussions.org or phone
us [360-496-0007] after enrollment and we will mail you a check for the
discount.
You may also call 360-496-0007 to enroll directly by
phone or to ask any questions you may have.
If you prefer to mail a check please make it out to
Great Books Discussions and mail it to:
Great Books Discussions
P.O. Box 756
Morton, WA 98356
If you have any questions regarding the course
itself feel free to write to Dr.
Taylor at jamesstaylor22@gmail.com
.
Great Poems and Stories
- $195
Writer's Workshop
Enrollment is now closed. All seats taken.
The so called "finished product" in the form of a
full research paper is not the goal of the Workshop. Rather, here we examine the
importance of choosing words, or as a famous man said, "getting the words right".
We think about the construction of a sentence beyond
the grammar rules of being a subject, verb, and predicate -- it is first a
complete thought that has a beginning, a middle and an end, as Aristotle
observed. It is an organic unit that, when connected to other such sentences,
composes a paragraph that also has its integrated beginning, middle and end. Of
course, attention is paid to punctuation but only to the extent it is in the
service of meaning and expression, and not slavishly followed as a set of
rules alone.
Exercises in news reporting, description, narrative, expository writing, even in
haiku poetry, are all part of the Workshop experience.
If you have any questions regarding the Writing course feel free to write to Dr.
Taylor at jamesstaylor22@gmail.com
.
Specifics for Summer Writer's Workshop:
+
There will be seven 90 minute classes. Tuition is $195.
+
Classes on Mondays and Wednesdays at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time.
+
First class is June 6 and the last class is June 27.
+
Tuition is $195. Family discounts of 20% apply to additional students.
Open to students in grades 9 - 12, with exceptions
in particular cases.
Enrolling is Easy
Use the button below to take care of tuition online.
The online payment system does not calculate
discounts so to take advantage of the family discounts please write us at
info@greatbooksdiscussions.org or phone
us [360-496-0007] after enrollment and we will mail you a check for the
discount.
You may also call 360-496-0007 to enroll directly by
phone or to ask any questions you may have.
If you prefer to mail a check please make it out to
Great Books Discussions and mail it to:
Great Books Discussions
P.O. Box 756
Morton, WA 98356
If you have any questions regarding the course
itself feel free to write to Dr.
Taylor at jamesstaylor22@gmail.com
.
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