FALL 2008
LITERATURE & HUMANITIES
This is Not Your Mother's Science Fiction
The Joy and Craft of Creative Writing
Writing for Children and Young Adults
This is Not Your
Mother’s Science Fiction
A lot has happened in the world of “SciFi” since you read Stranger in a Strange Land. Dozens of exciting, well-written, contemporary SciFi books will be available to choose from in this course. Synopsis of books will be provided and weekly discussions will challenge further exploration by participants. We will discuss SciFi not only as “predictor” of coming things, but also as an “indicator” of our human-ness. Get introduced to the new SciFi by way of reading the “juiciest” 50-100 page sections of several books that will entice further reading. (No one will have to read an entire book, but it’s an option.) Discover new authors and sub-genre including, space opera, gender, invasions, first-contact, unusual alien relationships, mystery, biotech and more. “Boldly go…” with us in this fast-paced, adventure-filled class. All books will be provided!
date ..... Fri., Sept. 19-Oct. 24
time ..... 2-4 p.m.
fee/members ..... $60 (crn 44426)
fee/nonmembers ..... $75 (crn 43452)
place ..... Humboldt Bay Aquatic Center, Multipurpose Room
instr ..... Lunel Haysmeyer
Lunel Haysmer describes herself as a “life-long science fiction addict” because she has been reading SciFi for over 35 years. (She still owns all of the SciFi books she has read!) Lunel specialized in rituals and symbols while studying for her degree in cultural anthropology. She feels this approach to understanding other cultures and viewpoints has helped her develop this class. Lunel says, “We typically expect science fiction to be about the future and about things that could happen, but this genre has the potential to stretch us to imagine what we may be and become.”
The Joy and Craft of Creative Writing
The cornerstones of good prose writing – long or short, fiction or nonfiction – are structure, style, truth and imagination. This class, designed for writers of all levels, will focus on those cornerstones, offering rules and tools, techniques and principles to help you bring your prose to life. Beginners will learn the joy of expressing themselves with the written word; experienced writers will polish their skills and discover new tricks. Each class will have a brief lecture, one or more writing exercises, and a read-and-critique session in which students share their work and receive supportive, constructive feedback from one another. Guaranteed: By the end of four weeks, your writing will be vivid, alive, meaningful, and entertaining. Your readers will get more from your writing – and so will you!
> > THIS COURSE IS FULL.
John M. Daniel is a small-press publisher, a free-lance editor, a creative writing teacher, and the author of eight published books (three mystery novels, two story collections, a memoir, a writing instruction book, and a cat book) as well as dozens of short stories and articles.
Celebrate the English language by experiencing poetry by Josephine Miles, Theodore Roethke, Dylan Thomas, Robert Frost, John Keats, May Swenson, E.A. Robinson and William Shakespeare. Encounter poems as events which unfold and visions which come to life in this unique opportunity to experience the spoken and written word.
date ..... Wed., Sept. 17-Oct. 22
time ..... 3:30-5:30 p.m.
fee/members ..... $60 (crn 44428)
fee/nonmembers ..... $75 (crn 43430)
place ..... Humboldt Bay Aquatic Center, Multipurpose Room
instr ..... Tom Gage
Tom Gage is a professor emeritus, English department, HSU and Fulbright Scholar in Syria. Gage’s first encounter with the Middle East was in 1958. He has returned to the area more than a dozen times to visit, lecture and/or direct academic programs. He has taught a number of courses at HSU dealing with the Islamic culture, especially related to Turkish and Arabic speaking nations.
Writing for Children and Young Adults
Always wanted to write for young people? Learn the “tricks of the trade” from the author of 22 books and many short stories. Advice on all the steps needed to turn your first idea into a publishable piece: how to develop your plot and characters, how to revise, how to research the market, how to submit manuscripts, and how to deal with rejection – or acceptance!
date ..... Sat., Nov. 8 and 15
time ..... 1-4 p.m.
fee/members ..... $30 (crn 43455)
fee/nonmembers ..... $40 (crn 44467)
place ..... Humboldt Bay Aquatic Center, Multipurpose Room
instr ..... Pam Service
Pam Service has a B.A. in political science from UC Berkeley and an M.A. for the University of London in African history. In the 1980s, she added writing to her careers in politics and history. Since then has published 23 books for children and young adults – both fiction and non-fiction – and many short stories.
