All upcoming Authors, Books, & Writing programs

In September 1929, William Faulkner published The Sound and the Fury and the singer-songwriter Charley Patton released a record with the eerily parallel title “Screamin’ and Hollerin’ the Blues.” Tim A. Ryan, a professor and author of Yoknapatawpha Blues: Faulkner’s Fiction and Southern Roots Music, examines how working in different media Faulkner and Patton mobilized similar imagery, language, themes, and experimental forms to depict their shared Mississippi world.

Guided by the founding instructor of the National Gallery of Art’s Writing Salon, Mary Hall Surface, immerse yourself in the colors, light, and forms of Claude Monet’s exquisite The Japanese Footbridge to explore the bridge as a metaphor for the thresholds and journeys of our lives. Designed for writers of all levels, and for the curious, the workshop invites you to look outwardly at art and to look inwardly through writing.

Winner of four Pulitzer Prizes, Robert Frost was a groundbreaking artist and cultural icon, a rural sage who became America’s “national poet.” His poetry suggested how small encounters between the individual and the natural world could often serve as metaphors for the larger themes of the human condition. Author Daniel Stashower delves into Frost's life and legacy and actor Scott Sedar brings the poet's words to life with readings from his most celebrated works.

A deep connection between literature and visual art characterized the Renaissance, with the written word significantly shaping painting and sculpture. Epic poems, classical texts, humanist treatises, and folk stories provided the period’s artists with themes, narratives, and philosophical foundations. Art historian Elaine Ruffolo delves into these literary sources and uncovers the intricate connections between text and image. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

Henry James’ The Portrait of a Lady from 1880–81 is considered one of the greatest works in American literature, though its American-born author, Henry James, lived for long stretches in Europe, particularly England. Joseph Luzzi, professor of literature at Bard College, examines James’ gorgeous use of language, his profound understanding of human psychology, and his keen insights into differences in national and cultural traditions.

Does free-market capitalism promote economic growth at the expense of virtue and happiness? Steven M. Emmanuel, chair of the philosophy department at Virginia Wesleyan University, examines texts in the canonical literature of Buddhism that describe an ennobling form of economic activity that is compatible with moral and spiritual growth and promotes the conditions for a peaceful, prosperous, and happy society.

Your family is unique in all the world, but how do you best tell its story? Whether you’re starting with boxes (or digital folders) of photos, diaries, news clippings, recipes, and other mementos, or whether memories are your main material, documenting a family history can be daunting. Writer Mathina Calliope offers the tools and guidance you need to confidently create the most meaningful story to share with the people you love.

Discover how visual art can inspire creative writing and how writing can offer a powerful way to experience art. Join Mary Hall Surface, the founding instructor of the National Gallery of Art’s popular Writing Salon, for five online workshops that explore essential elements of writing and styles through close looking, word-sketching, and imaginative response to prompts. This writing session is inspired by 20th-century artist Edward Hopper’s People in the Sun.

The Bhagavad Gita is one of the world’s most beloved sacred texts. Graham M. Schweig, a professor of religion and translator of the Bhagavad Gita, illuminates some of the exquisite passages in this Hindu philosophical poem and examines their rich narrative context. He also reveals how the voice of wisdom and compassion in a work created around the 2nd century speaks to the challenges of the modern world.

Presidential speechwriters provide a unique lens through which to view the nation’s chief executives. Learning about how presidents prepared their speeches and who helped them can reveal much about their views of the job. Author Robert Schlesinger explores the evolving role that presidential speechwriters have played over the last century and by extension how presidents have approached the bully pulpit.