Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Moby-Dick and Me: Classes at Politics & Prose (no, I'm not the one teaching M-D)

Oh, how I love the continued and coincidental reappearance of Moby-Dick in my life this week, though admittedly this new example is a rather weak connection.  Nevertheless, here it is: 

1.  Politics & Prose Bookstore is offering an excellent line-up of classes this winter and spring.

2.  One of the classes is about Moby-Dick.

3.  One of the classes is taught by me!  (Oh, it's all so eerie that I’m getting goosebumps!!)

Here are the details on my class:

Right Brain Writing: Guided Prompts
Leslie Pietrzyk
Date:
January 28
1:00 - 3:30 p.m.

Register now for this class
Explore your creative side during this afternoon of guided writing exercises designed to get your subconscious flowing. No writing experience necessary! This is a great class for beginners and also for those fiction writers and/or memoirists with more experience who might be stuck in their current projects, looking for a jolt of inspiration. The goal is to have fun in a supportive, nurturing environment and to go home with several promising pieces to work on further. We will be using as our inspiration work from Speed Enforced by Aircraft, a book of poetry by local author Richard Peabody.

And here are the details about Moby-Dick:

Moby-Dick
Joseph Fruscione
Five Thursdays (every other week)
: January 24, February 7, February 21, March 7, March 21,
1:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Register now for this class
"Call me Ishmael"--perhaps the most famous opening line in American literature. For this winter 2013 course, we'll read the rich, powerful, and complex novel that follows this memorable opening line. We'll learn what Ahab means when he says "I'd strike the sun if it insulted me," or why the cook Fleece “preaches” to sharks, or why Ishmael catalogs the different types of whales so thoroughly (and obsessively). Over our five class sessions, we'll discuss the many layers and nuances of Melville's novel: Ahab's revenge quest, Ishmael's geographical and metaphysical journey, the scientific and technical material about whales and whaling, the darker elements of Ahab's sense of self, and much more. We'll also learn the how and why of Melville's wonderfully named characters: Starbuck, Stubb, Flask, Queequeg, Daggoo, Tashtego, Pip, Fedallah, Father Mapple, Captains Peleg and Bildad, and others.

*****

But, seriously, check the whole list.  There are classes about Yeats, and Arthurian legends, and Seamus Heaney, and Downton Abbey, and writing picture books, and ladies detective fiction, and a class about beginnings taught by Ann Hood, and EVEN MORE!  Info found here.

Work-in-Progress

DC-area author Leslie Pietrzyk explores the creative process and all things literary.