Reading as a Writer: Two Modernist Classics
"Reading as a Writer" is fully enrolled. Please contact the office if you'd like to be added to the waitlist.
What can modernist novelists teach us as writers? This course offers some answers as we delve into the literary techniques of Faulkner and Woolf. By reading critically, we’ll consider how As I Lay Dying benefits from fragmentation, juxtaposition, surprise, and narrative diversity. Then we’ll see how To The Lighthouse works with repetition, time shifts, “plotlessness,” and stream of consciousness.
Each class will incorporate lecture, discussion, and in-class writing shared in small groups. At the last class meeting, students may submit a short piece of creative writing for written feedback from the instructor. (You need not be a Modernist to take this course!)
Faculty Bio
Deborah Lichtman has taught for 30 years. She directed the MFA in Writing Program at the University of San Francisco, where she developed and taught courses in creative writing. She was visiting professor of English at Mills College and UC Berkeley. She holds a doctorate in English from UC Berkeley.
This is an In-Person Course
- Classes meet in person at the Golden Bear Center, Suite 300, at 1995 University Ave., Berkeley
- Limited to 18 members
- You must be a current OLLI @Berkeley member to register. Learn about membership, including our fee assistance program.
Schedule Highlights
- Course starts on Thursday, Feb. 15 and ends on Thursday, March 7
- Classes meet for four weeks, two hours per session (2–4 PM) (note change in time from brochure listing)
- Course materials will remain available to view and enjoy through March 31
Member Praise for Deborah Lichtman
Everything works for me in this class. Deborah is a fabulous instructor, knows her content, is very well prepared and also knows how to teach.
Deborah uses clear and precise language for lectures and responses to questions. Excellent clarity in terms of meanings of terms. Impressive. Strong knowledge of her subject and teaches with clear objectives for the writers in the class. Very well prepared.
Deborah's devotion to writing, to her students, and to the teaching of writing was wonderful. Her handling and encouragement of in-class participation was masterful. I’m a brand new writer, but I found all her presentations both interesting and very helpful.