We are happy to announce our next short course:
Flannery O’Connor and William Maxwell: Two perspectives on Fiction as Salvation
DATE & TIME: Every Friday 10-11:30am, starting Sept 4th, ending Oct 23.
In this course, we will read and discuss four stories each by two writers with radically different understandings of what the meaning and purpose of life is and of the role fiction plays in relation to this. Maxwell believes that "all human experience ends in oblivion," but the writer can "fight" this inexorable gravity by giving a form of permanence to the lives of his characters. By contrast, O'Connor sees life as an all-important conflict between good and evil and understands the purpose of fiction as dramatizing a critical moment in the characters' lives wherein "the presence of grace can be felt as it waits to be accepted or rejected." It is my hope that looking at the stories of these two writers in the light shed by the other will enhance our understanding of and appreciation of the achievement of each.
The eight stories we will read are:
Flannery O Connor: "A Good Man Is Hard to Find"; "Greenleaf"; "The Enduring Chill"; "Parker's Back"
William Maxwell: "Over by the River"; "The French Scarecrow"; "What Every Boy Should Know"; "The Front and the Back Parts of the House"
Each participant will be furnished with a digital copy of each story along with discussion-starter questions. If someone lacks a printer, or simply wishes to have the stories in book form, all of the stories (and many more) are available in two volumes: Flannery O’Connor: The Complete Stories (Farrar Straus & Giroux) and William Maxwell: All the Days and Nights (Vintage). The course will be discussion-based and its success will depend on each participant having read and thought about the stories beforehand and coming to our gathering ready to talk about them.
From our Presenter: “Because of the limitations imposed by the time in which we live, the course will be conducted inthe covered recreation area behind the Uplands Aquatic Center and we must limit ourselves to a maximum of 10persons. Because I want everyone who would like to take the course to be able to do so, the course will be offered, however, many times as necessary to accommodate those who would like to take it. For example, if there is sufficient interest, the second iteration of the course will begin the week after the end of the first and so on. In case of rain we will meet in Heritage Hall.”
REGISTRATION: Contact Ron Johnson: email-ronjohnson25@gmail.com; call: 931-371-1781. First Come; First Serve. BUT Ron will run repeats; so no one will lose out. Course charge: $10 for ULLI members; $20 for non-members. Checks should be made out to ULLI. (Become a member:$50 annually with checks mailed to ULLI c/o PHCC PO Box 167, Pleasant Hill 38578.) Checks for this course can be placed in Ron Johnson’s Heritage Hall box or mailed to ULLI at the above PO Box. One may also give the course fee directly to Ron. As always donations are greatly appreciated.
