When Sony Ton-Aime first read Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson, it was like a light bulb turned on in his head. “Inequality in our society has been, as I am sure
Something poet Sue Ellen Thompson is deeply concerned about when helping other writers create autobiographical poems is the “so what?” factor. “I read so many autobiographical poems that, when I get to the end, I
At the very beginning of his lecture, Eliot A. Cohen clued his Chautauqua audience in on one thing — the theme of his lecture. If it had to have one, it would be: “The leading
Sue Ellen Thompson’s approach to teaching is based on her own experience as a college student and a poet. “I had to teach myself so much about the craft of writing,” said Thompson, a poet,
The Great American Picnic and silent auction began small. “It’s been going on forever,” said Pat McDonald, vice president of the Alumni Association of the CLSC. “We used to have it on the lawn near
As a writer who’s often in search of inspiration, Roy Hoffman believes students should be looking all around themselves to find their wellspring of creativity. “All of us can turn to the world outside and
For Stephine Hunt, part of what makes good writing exceptional is its structure. It isn’t flimsy or hard to follow; it’s concise, concrete and, above all, clear. So when it comes to Erica Chenoweth’s book
To Noah Feldman, the overturning of Roe v. Wade represents a cataclysmic shift in modern politics. “When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, it repudiated the very idea that
For Charlotte Matthews, the switch from poetry to the prose writing found in her memoir can be summed up in one word: Exultant. “There was a sense that I was running a 10K race as
Charlotte Matthews wants participants in her week-long workshop for the Chautauqua Writers’ Center to look — and write — carefully. “Each day will have a distinct focus: trees, roots, water, stone and air,” said Matthews,
Apricot Irving’s Brown Bag lecture will focus on two things: point of view and memoir. “Typically, most writers reach for first-person point of view to speak from their own lives, but it can be really
As one of the people who recommended Robin Wall Kimmerer’s 2013 nonfiction book Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teaching of Plants for the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle, Stephine Hunt feels its
One of the most important composers to Alexander Gavrylyuk — a composer he grew up listening to, in fact — is Sergei Prokofiev. “Since he was born in Ukraine, same as myself, there was always
Neil Shepard is very glad he’s here for Chautauqua’s Week Two theme, “The Wild: Reconnecting with Our Natural World.” “This is something I’ve written about, is something that’s in the things I teach, and is
In her forthcoming novel, The Apology, Jimin Han put herself in the story even though she’s not the main character. “This book is more autobiographical in some ways,” said Han, an author, educator and the
In Sony Ton-Aime’s estimation, the most essential tools a poet can have in their toolbox are empathy and a deep sense of curiosity about the world around them. Those are two tools that Jane Hirshfield