Discussing the Essay
ALL1349-Z First 6 Weeks Mondays 10:30-11:50 Start Date 26-Jan
Zoom Limit 15
The course discusses essays. Essays can offer opinions, impart knowledge and information or share personal experience. In this six-week session, we will be discussing 12 essays from the book, The Touchstone Anthology of Contemporary Creative Nonfiction, edited by Lex Williford and Michael Martone. The discussion of the essays revolves around considering the time period in which they were published as well as their continued relevance to today. We also look at themes, writing styles, and many other aspects of the essay. Many are by writers you know, all from 1970 to 2007. Class members are encouraged to summarize an essay of their choice, describe the background of its author, and ask questions to the group for discussion. Two essays will be discussed each week. Please purchase the essay anthology, The Touchstone Anthology of Contemporary Creative Nonfiction, edited by Lex Williford and Michael Martone, Touchstone Books. Reading assignments for the first class will be sent in the introductory email.
Still Discussing the Essay
ALL1350-Z Second 6 Weeks Mondays 10:30-11:50 Start Date 16-March
Zoom Limit 15
Note: This is not a repeat class of the first 6-week session. We will discuss 12 new essays.
In this six-week session, we will be discussing 12 additional essays from the book Touchstone Anthology of Contemporary Creative Nonfiction, edited by Lex Williford and Michael Martone. The discussion of the essays revolves around considering the time period in which they were published as well as their continued relevance to today. We also look at themes, writing styles, and many other aspects of the essay. Many are by writers you know, all from 1970 to 2007. Class members are encouraged to summarize an essay of their choice, describe the background of its author, and ask questions to the group for discussion. Two essays will be discussed each week. Please purchase the essay anthology, The Touchstone Anthology of Contemporary Creative Nonfiction, edited by Lex Williford and Michael Martone, Touchstone Books.. Reading assignments for the first class will be sent in the introductory email.
Coordinator: Brett Burgess 
Brett has been taking ALL classes for three years. He is a passionate reader, especially of the classics, and loves to discuss all genres of literature, including essays.
Coordinator: Deborah Titolo 
Deborah is a retired high school librarian who has co-led numerous classes in Global Literature at her local ALL. She has co-led the classes at the Cape ALL ‘A Different Take on American History’ and ‘Great Decisions’. She has participated in all three previous semesters of the Essays course.