Five Thursdays: September 21, and October 5, 19, and November 2, 9, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. ET Online
Guided Discussion. This live class will be recorded and available for later viewing.
In this class we will explore poverty in America through three classic works of American literature, and one anthology of poetry, essays, and excerpts of longer works. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith, is the compelling story of an Irish-American family living in Williamsburg, Brooklyn in the early twentieth century. Giants in the Earth: A Saga of the Prairie by Ole Rolvaag tells the story of a Norwegian immigrant family as they struggle to survive by farming in the harsh social and geographic environment of the Dakota Territory in the 1870s. John Steinbeck’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath, set during the Depression, follows the Joad family as they move from Oklahoma to California in the 1930s, in the Dust Bowl migration. In reading selections from the anthology Growing Up Poor we’ll have the chance to explore poems and excerpts from other literary works that reflect the ethnic diversity of the country. In all of these works we’ll have the opportunity to better understand those who have struggled against the odds to pull themselves up “by their bootstraps”—and will see just how difficult that can be.
Discussion Schedule:
Sept 21: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
October 5: Giants in the Earth by Ole Rolvaag
October 19: The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Nov 2: Growing Up Poor: A Literary Anthology, editor Robert Coles
Nov 9: Wrap-Up Discussion
Five Thursdays: September 21, and October 5, 19, and November 2, 9, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time Online
Janet will be joining us live at Politics and Prose to discuss her new book, A Long Way from Iowa: From the Heartland to the Heart of France. Please join us on Saturday, September 23 at 5:00 p.m. For more information, click here.
Required Books:
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn 9780061120077
Giants in the Earth 9780060931933
The Grapes of Wrath 9780143039433
Growing Up Poor: A Literary Anthology 9781565847446
Janet Hulstrand is a writer, editor, writing coach, and teacher. She grew up in Minnesota, lived for many years in New York City and Washington DC, and is currently living in France. She has taught Paris: A Literary Adventure for City University of New York study abroad programs since 1997, and literature and culture classes at Politics and Prose since 2011. She is the author of Demystifying the French: How to Love Them and Make Them Love You, and A Long Way from Iowa: From the Heartland to the Heart of France.
REFUND POLICY: Please note that we can issue class refunds up until seven (7) days before the first class session.
