Literary Arts Steps It Up–Drinking and Delve!

Once again, Literary Arts has impressed me by improving one of my favorite programs that they offer. If you haven’t tried Delve, you really should. I’ve only done one of the seminars (Virginia Woolf’s The Waves a few years ago), but it was amazing and I really need to do another.

It made me nervous at first because it smacked so much of college. They bring in smarty-pants professors and pick sometimes challenging books (Hello! The Waves?!). But it’s not like that at all. First of all, everyone really wants to be there, so they’re all excited and geeking out over the book (not sullen and hungover from the rugby party the night before). Second, the professor is actually referred to as a “guide.” It becomes less of a classroom and more of a really, really good book club. There definitely are no stupid questions. And no wrong answers.

Well… There are sometimes wrong answers. But no panic about writing a paper. Bonus!

And the improvement? Now you can go out drinking at a bar while discussing the book! Brilliant! Delve Over Drinks is offering two options this season. William Makepeace Thackeray’s Vanity Fair and one over graphic novels. Can you imagine? A mild-mannered business man and a soccer mom have a couple of glasses of wine and get into over whether or not Becky was genuinely calling the shots or just a female struggling to make her way in a man’s world.  Proactive or reactive? Red or white?

 

More Literary Arts and the Arts and Lectures series.

First of all, my boyfriend is coming for the Portland Arts and Lectures series.

Sebastian Junger may not know he’s my boyfriend… All right. I admit it. He doesn’t even know I exist. But he’s the perfect rugged journalist/writer/James Bond type. He’s the one who wrote The Perfect Storm. I suppose that’s what he’s best known for, although it wasn’t my favorite… But I really love War.

That sounded bad. But you know what I mean.

It’s an amazing book. When his Hummer is nearly hit by a bomb, the writing is so raw you can tell how messed up his emotions are afterwards. The action scenes feel a little contrived and I don’t always agree with what his opinions and philosophy, but his portrayal of the soldiers and what they’re thinking and feeling is really well done.

I just think he would be an amazing speaker. I’m really looking forward to it.

And then there are some other people coming. Some lady named Annie Proulx will be there…? I think she must be famous or something. Tee hee…
 

Literary Arts Has a New Season of Portland Arts & Lectures!

I really love this series. How fantastic is it to live in a town like Portland and have this kind of lecture series offered up? It’s nearly as good as living in New York City, only without the traffic. Literary Arts – Portland Arts & Lectures.

I was lucky enough to see a lecture from Stephen Jay Gould before he died, and Grace Paley (also before she died…) and Billy Collins… Collins is amazing. And funny. It was really nice to see a poet who didn’t take himself too seriously. Honestly, a poet laureate who writes funny poems? Who has ever heard of that?

One year I went to see Ira Glass…such a crush on him. At the little meet and greet they held afterwards, I was busy stuffing my face with appetizers and macaroons (I was very excited about the macaroons…). When he entered the room to much applause, I happened to be right in his path. Thrust out my hand to shake his and tell him how wonderful and brilliant and funny he is, and ended up spewing macaroon crumbs all over him.

The 2010 season has Ursula K. LeGuin and Margaret Atwood for the opening act, and then they finish it off with Art Spiegelman. It’s fantastic. I mean, have you ever read The Wild Party? Totally worthwhile.

As soon as I get a bunch of money from selling my fabulous novel, I’m buying a Patron Subscription and going to all of them, even if I haven’t read the book or don’t like the author.