August 23, 2012 
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In the 2012 Season, two-hour weekday sessions with the writers-in-residence totals more than 180 hours — each poet or prose writer tailors the classroom to fit their genre or expertise, and Chautauquans can get first-hand feedback on their work from successful authors.
Although an endless number of poems and pieces arise out of the workshops, The Chautauquan Daily got to know three published authors, their work and the connection to Chautauqua.
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August 18, 2012 0 Comments
As the 2012 Season ends, Clara Silverstein, director of the Writers’ Center, is pleased with the variety of writers — novelists, short fiction writers, biographers, memoirists, essayists, poets — who worked with Chautauquans on different forms.
“Through our programs and workshops, our writers-in-residence were able to share with the Chautauqua community their own writing, their perspective on literature as art and their expertise in teaching,” Silverstein said.
This year, the offerings at the Writers’ Center expanded to include writing inspired by art in Chautauqua’s galleries and classes about poetry appreciation taught by award-winning poets, but Silverstein is already looking ahead to the 2013 Season.
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August 17, 2012 0 Comments
When J. David Stevens learned Week Eight’s morning lecture platform theme was “Radicalism,” he figured he could work it into his week at Chautauqua.
His weeklong workshop focuses on radical fictions, and he will present a Brown Bag lecture, “Literary Radicalism: How Far Have We Really Come in 200 Years?”, at 12:15 p.m. today on the Alumni Hall porch.
Stevens, prose writer-in-residence, was trained as a 19th-century American scholar, and he is always surprised by how few writers have read back through the 18th and 19th centuries.
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August 15, 2012 0 Comments
Former U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser has never been to Chautauqua, but he has sampled the Chautauqua experience.
Kooser lives in Nebraska, where annual Chautauqua events are held — along with others in central states, which are modeled on the original programming.
“I have been interested in the Chautauqua movement for many years, and it will be a pleasure to be there,” Kooser said.
Kooser, who said he is looking forward to being part of the Chautauqua community, will present a reading of his poems at 4 p.m. today in the Hall of Philosophy.
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August 14, 2012 0 Comments
obert Frost once said free verse is like playing tennis without a net.
Gabriel Welsch, poet-in-residence for Week Eight, will keep that in mind during a Brown Bag Lecture, “Finding the Net: The Urge for Order in Contemporary Poetry” at 12:15 p.m. today on the Alumni Hall porch.
His lecture will focus on how contemporary poets have come of age in a time when there are not as many dominant modes to work with — as a result, poets tend to work in “received forms,” which already exist.
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August 11, 2012 0 Comments
Week Eight at the Writers’ Center adds something extra to the classes and lectures — friendship.
Writers-in-residence J. David Stevens and Gabriel Welsch met while earning their master’s degrees at Penn State University, and they have remained close ever since.
Their families usually vacation together every year, but Welsch said he is excited to spend the week at Chautauqua as friends, vacationers and colleagues at the same time.
The week’s morning lecture platform is “Radicalism,” which Stevens will include in his weeklong workshop, “Writing on the Edge: Radical Fictions,” and Brown Bag Lecture, “Literary Radicalism: How Far Have We Really Come in 200 years?,” at 12:15 p.m. Friday on the Alumni Hall porch.
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August 10, 2012 1 Comment
Eggplant parmesan cooks for an hour at 400 degrees. Before that comes a lot of prep work, including chopping, breading and sautéing. After that, it is hard to refrain from second helpings, but Matthew Goodman sees the dish differently — in the tomatoes, a new world conquest in the old world; in the eggplant, the Arab invasion of Europe.
Goodman, prose writer-in-residence for Week Seven, will present a Brown Bag lecture, “From Plate to Page: Food as History, Food as Literature,” at 12:15 p.m. today on the Alumni Hall porch to discuss how food carries history — both social and personal.
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August 4, 2012 0 Comments
“The Ethics of Cheating” is Week Seven’s morning lecture platform theme, and poet-in-residence Julia Kasdorf brings dishonesty to the forefront of her workshop and lecture.
She will present a Brown Bag lecture, “Metaphor, the Artful Lie,” at 12:15 p.m. Tuesday on the Alumni Hall porch, which coincides with her weeklong “Lies that Tell the Truth” workshop.
Matthew Goodman, prose writer-in-residence, will present a Brown Bag lecture that could encourage Chautauquans to “ethically cheat” on their diets in “From Plate to Page: Food as History, Food as Literature” at 12:15 p.m. Friday on the Alumni Hall porch. He will also discuss how food carries history.
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Chautauqua Institution is a community on the shores of Chautauqua Lake in southwestern New York state that comes alive each summer with a unique mix of fine and performing arts, lectures, interfaith worship and programs, and recreational activities. Over the course of nine weeks, more than 170,000 visitors will participate in programs, classes and community events for all ages—all within the beautiful setting of a historic lakeside village. Learn more →
