“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new landscapes but in having new eyes” ~ Marcel Proust

Why do we keep turning the page? How do authors craft sentences that melt in our mouths? How do poets conjure images that sing? How do essayists lead us into other lives, distant times, and foreign spaces? In these group classes, we read and discuss. A lot. We deepen our reading for pleasure with a greater appreciation for the elements of literary craft: pacing, character development, setting, tone, imagery, and mood. We ask not only what does something mean, but how and why?

We flex and build our interpretive muscles as we utilize close reading techniques to explore the broader contexts of literary representation and production. We move between the micro-environment and intimacy of the written word and the broader context of its creation and reception. Probing this relationship inspires deep inquiry and lively conversation. Together, we practice creative reading, positioning ourselves as active participants in textual discovery and meaning. This method promotes an immersion in the world of the text and a remove that permits a critical and reflective approach and deliberative dialogue.

This class serves as an excellent stand-alone course, but it is also a wonderful companion to my creative writing classes. I offer it as a class or a series of private sessions.

“The unread story is not a story; it is little black marks on wood pulp. The reader, reading it, makes it live: a live thing, a story.”
~ Ursula K. Le Guin

© Rachel Rosekind, PhD, MLIS