Lit Chat Book Club Happy Hour
The Lit Chat Book Club Happy Hour is a special private event for book clubs. During this one-hour virtual literary happy hour, Lynn Rosen provides an entertaining and interactive book club update and refresh. It’s a fun way for your book club to convene, stay connected virtually during this time of quarantine, have a new experience, and discover new books! The event includes: General literary news of interest to book clubs:A presentation of 10 forthcoming titles specifically chosen for your book club;General tips for successful book clubs, as well as (if needed) suggestions for ways to refresh your group and how to ask good questions that generate a stimulating discussion;A literary trivia contest, complete with prizes!Follow up after the event with a tailored list of titles recommended specifically for your book club. This event is led by author/teacher/bookseller Lynn Rosen, a long-time book publishing industry professional. For more about Lynn see HERE. The cost for the event is $10 per person, with a minimum of $100. For more information and to schedule the event for your book club, contact Lynn Rosen:...
Women’s Words: Feminist Literary Highlights
In this lecture by Lynn Rosen, we will take a look at some literary highlights of literature by women. The talk will start with a look at the very first women authors, going back as far as the 11th century, and move through important works over the centuries. You’ll find familiar names as well as hopefully some news ones, from Mary Wollstonecraft to Virginia Woolf to Gloria Steinem to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Womens’ Words LectureFeminist Literary Highlights from Virginia Woolf to Gloria Steinem – and more!DATE: Tuesday, June 9thTIME: 7pm – 8:30pmWho are our feminist literary foremothers? You may be surprised to know that their work dates back as far as the 11th century, and that even in eras dominated by male writers, they were busily “scribbling” out important works of literature. This lecture is an overview of some significant feminist literature over the past centuries. COST: Per class: $30Sign up for the series: $110 (See HERE for the complete Women’s Word series.) Sign up...
Women’s Words
A series of programs featuring literature by women. The Women’s Words series kicks off with a lecture by Lynn Rosen: “Women’s Words: Feminist Literary Highlights from the 18th Century to Today.” This talk will start with a look at our very first women authors and novelists and move through important works over the centuries. You’ll find familiar names as well as hopefully some news ones, from Mary Wollstonecraft to Virginia Woolf to Gloria Steinem to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. After the kick-off lecture, there will be three separate book discussion classes, each examining an important work of feminist fiction. For these classes, participants will be asked to read the work ahead of time to participate in class discussion. Womens’ Words LectureDATE: Tuesday, June 9thTIME: 7pm – 8:30pmWho are our feminist literary foremothers? You may be surprised to know that their work dates back as far as the 11th century, and that even in eras dominated by male writers, they were busily “scribbling” out important works of literature. This lecture is an overview of some significant feminist literature over the past centuries. Sign up HERE CLASS #1DATE: Wednesday, May 27TIME: 7pm – 8:30pmKate Chopin’s The Awakening centers on Edna Pontellier and her struggle between her increasingly unorthodox views on femininity and motherhood and the prevailing social attitudes of the turn-of-the-century American South. We’ll examine this imporant work and also look at several other contemporary 19th century American women writers: Margaret Fuller, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and E.D.E.N. Southworth.Participants will need to read The Awakening for this class. Sign up HERE CLASS #2DATE: Monday, June 15TIME: 7pm – 8:30pmEdith Wharton’s The House of Mirth was published in 1905 and tells the story of Lily Bart, a well-born but impoverished woman belonging to New York City’s high society. Lily’s plight still rings fresh today, and we’ll discuss this classic novel, and also examine new evidence that sheds light on the author’s intentions for Lily. Sign up HERE CLASS #3DATE: Tuesday, July 7TIME: 7pm – 8:30pmVirginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway, published in 1925, is a great book to return to as a reader of Woolf, and a perfect way to begin if you haven’t yet read Woolf. Either way, the story and the beauty of the language have not lessened in impact in the nearly 100 years since the book’s publication. Sign up HERE COST: Per class: $30Sign up for the series: $110 Sign up...
Kids Write!
A new session in our popular online writing program for kids begins in late May! We want to encourage young writers, especially during these days when schools are closed, by giving them some new concrete skills that will help them become better writers and feel good about what they are accomplishing as young writers. Our classes combine instruction about craft and writing exercises, all at an age appropriate level. Classes are led by Lynn Rosen, owner of Open Book Productions and English, writing, and publishing instructor. (For more about Lynn see HERE.) What people are saying about Kids Write: Praise from a former student:“I really liked this writing class. I’m still enjoying writing the rest of the story I started during the class. We were given time and help to be creative and write what we wanted.” Praise from the parents of previous students: “We want to thank you for your fine work in teaching creative writing. We appreciate your careful preparation for each lesson, your clear way of explaining things, and above all your warm encouragement of all the students. This has been a very positive experience for our daughter and we thank you! “My kids had an excellent experience in the class.” “Very positive, fun, educational.” “He looked forward to the classes and enjoyed the assignments.” “The different exercises were fun. He liked the writing challenges. It helped her think about writing in new ways.” “My daughter, who is in 7th grade, took a class with Lynn in the fall. It was a great experience on so many levels. I knew my daughter was a talented writer but didnt know how to foster this talent without nagging! Lynn got the middle schoolers comfortable with her and each other right away so they could give each other feedback. The fiction piece my daughter ended up writing blew me away. The characters had serious depth and I wanted to read more! I know she is a better writer from this class! I highly recommend Kids Write for teens and tweens!” Class Details Class will meet virtually; details are below. The class is 4 weeks long, includes 4 meetings, and each meeting is an hour and 15 minutes.Cost per class is $85 Register HERE. KIDS WRITE! Storyboarding DATE: Thursday, May 28, June 4, 11, 18TIME: 11AM – 12:15PM LOCATION: via ZoomThis class takes a storytelling approach with a focus on plot development. In each class, we will create new plots and stories and then map them out fully, storyboard style. We’ll explore a variety of genres including realistic fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, graphic novels, and playwriting....
Sitting at Emily’s Desk
Martha Ackmann taught a seminar on Emily Dickinson for nearly two decades at Mt. Holyoke College. The seminar took place in the poet’s home, The Homestead, located in near the college in Amherst, Massachusetts. As Ackmann describes it, the class took place on the 2nd floor of the house in a bedroom across the hall from Emily’s own bedroom, around a smallish table that could only accommodate ten students at a time. What an experience to study the poet’s work in the place where she wrote it! And not only that, they had the run of the house during the class, while the house was closed to visitors. Ackmann says the class was easy to to teach: “The walls did everything.” She describes teaching one particular poem – “There’s a certain Slant of light” – and timing it to have the students read it on a November day when she knew the angle of light in the poet’s bedroom would be as she described it in the poem. Ackmann is very familiar with The Homestead, having taught there for 20 years and having lived in the area for 40. She talked about her experience when she joined us on the evening of May 6 for a talk about her new book, These Fevered Days: Ten Pivotal Moments in the Making of Emily Dickinson. She told a story about how she was there when they were renovating Dickinson’s bedroom and, when they removed the molding around a door, they discovered layers of wallpaper underneath. Experts were called in and they got down to the oldest layer and dated it around 1880, during Dickinson’s final years. They then replicated the pattern and repapered the room. Amazing, isn’t it? That wallpaper is the design used on the cover of Ackmann’s book and it can also be seen in the photo above. She told us how the previous wallpaper was more monochromatic, which went along with the myth that Dickinson was sterile and austere. The walls are now much more vibrant and reflect the poet’s energy! These Fevered Days tells, in ten chapters, of ten pivotal days in the life of Emily Dickinson. Ackmann told attendees at our event about how she asked friends and Dickinson scholars what their top ten moments would be, and then chose her own, including a day in Dickinson’s youth when she wrote that “all things are ready,” the time in her 20s when she decided she wanted to be distinguished in her life, and all the way through to the day of her death. Ackmann worked hard and did tremendous research to make the town and the...