event

Tuesday mornings, September 29, 2026, through November 17, 2026, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

In the 1940s, Harvard scholar F. O. Matthiessen reinvented U.S. literary history by resurrecting the almost forgotten writers from the years before the Civil War: Hawthorne, Thoreau, Melville, and Whitman (along with the still-recognized Emerson). Since then, Matthiessen’s roll call of the greats has dominated much of what we see as the move from the early Republic to the Civil War crack-up in 1861. However, Matthiessen’s scholarship omitted vast swaths of writers who didn’t fit his notion of the Transcendentalist mindset. In this literary seminar, we’ll take our initial cue from Matthiessen but work to expand his cast of authors by including other voices, thereby broadening the scope of what it meant to be a U.S. citizen in the fateful years before the chaos.

Live only.

Registration is required. Free, but donations are welcome.

The Reading Schedule:
9/29/2026 Walt Whitman, LEAVES OF GRASS (1855), The first poem (“I celebrate myself. . . .”—skip the Preface)

10/6/2026 Walt Whitman, LEAVES OF GRASS (1855), the remaining poems (“Come closer to me” through “Great are the myths. . . .”), and then the Preface

10/13/2026 Frederick Douglass, MY BONDAGE AND MY FREEDOM (1855), chapters 1 (“The Author’s Childhood”—skip the introduction) through XIX (“The Runaway Plot”)

10/20/2026 Frederick Douglass, MY BONDAGE AND MY FREEDOM (1855), completed, plus “Letter to his Old Master,” “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” and the introduction

10/27/2026 Nathaniel Hawthorne, THE SCARLET LETTER (1850), chapters I (“The Prison-Door”—skip “The Custom-House”) through XII (“The Minister’s Vigil”)

11/3/2025 Nathaniel Hawthorne, THE SCARLET LETTER (1850), completed, plus “The Custom-House”

11/10/2025 Elizabeth Stoddard, THE MORGESONS (1862), chapters I through XXI

11/17/2025 Elizabeth Stoddard, THE MORGESONS (1862), completed

Two notes on the texts (with which the library can also help):

1. Whitman wrote, revised, and republished LEAVES OF GRASS across his adult life. Please read the original 1855 edition. (None of its poems had titles; these were added later.) There’s an inexpensive Dover edition with the ISBN 978-0486456768, although there are many other editions available. Always check for the 1855 dating.

2. Douglass wrote three autobiographies throughout his life. We’re working with the middle one, MY BONDAGE AND MY FREEDOM (1855). There’s a solid Penguin edition with the ISBN 978-0140439182, although many other editions are available. Always check the title.

Saturdays – November 7, 14, and 21 from 10 am to 11:30 am

Design your own Winter scenes and holiday messages for creating cards or gift paintings.  Supplies including cards, watercolors, and ink pens will be available at the class – bring your own supplies if you already have them.

Fee:  $75 includes 3 weekly Saturday sessions – payable to instructor at first class

Registration is required.

Tuesday mornings, September 29, 2026, through November 17, 2026, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

In the 1940s, Harvard scholar F. O. Matthiessen reinvented U.S. literary history by resurrecting the almost forgotten writers from the years before the Civil War: Hawthorne, Thoreau, Melville, and Whitman (along with the still-recognized Emerson). Since then, Matthiessen’s roll call of the greats has dominated much of what we see as the move from the early Republic to the Civil War crack-up in 1861. However, Matthiessen’s scholarship omitted vast swaths of writers who didn’t fit his notion of the Transcendentalist mindset. In this literary seminar, we’ll take our initial cue from Matthiessen but work to expand his cast of authors by including other voices, thereby broadening the scope of what it meant to be a U.S. citizen in the fateful years before the chaos.

Live only.

Registration is required. Free, but donations are welcome.

The Reading Schedule:
9/29/2026 Walt Whitman, LEAVES OF GRASS (1855), The first poem (“I celebrate myself. . . .”—skip the Preface)

10/6/2026 Walt Whitman, LEAVES OF GRASS (1855), the remaining poems (“Come closer to me” through “Great are the myths. . . .”), and then the Preface

10/13/2026 Frederick Douglass, MY BONDAGE AND MY FREEDOM (1855), chapters 1 (“The Author’s Childhood”—skip the introduction) through XIX (“The Runaway Plot”)

10/20/2026 Frederick Douglass, MY BONDAGE AND MY FREEDOM (1855), completed, plus “Letter to his Old Master,” “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” and the introduction

10/27/2026 Nathaniel Hawthorne, THE SCARLET LETTER (1850), chapters I (“The Prison-Door”—skip “The Custom-House”) through XII (“The Minister’s Vigil”)

11/3/2025 Nathaniel Hawthorne, THE SCARLET LETTER (1850), completed, plus “The Custom-House”

11/10/2025 Elizabeth Stoddard, THE MORGESONS (1862), chapters I through XXI

11/17/2025 Elizabeth Stoddard, THE MORGESONS (1862), completed

Two notes on the texts (with which the library can also help):

1. Whitman wrote, revised, and republished LEAVES OF GRASS across his adult life. Please read the original 1855 edition. (None of its poems had titles; these were added later.) There’s an inexpensive Dover edition with the ISBN 978-0486456768, although there are many other editions available. Always check for the 1855 dating.

2. Douglass wrote three autobiographies throughout his life. We’re working with the middle one, MY BONDAGE AND MY FREEDOM (1855). There’s a solid Penguin edition with the ISBN 978-0140439182, although many other editions are available. Always check the title.

Saturdays – November 7, 14, and 21 from 10 am to 11:30 am

Design your own Winter scenes and holiday messages for creating cards or gift paintings.  Supplies including cards, watercolors, and ink pens will be available at the class – bring your own supplies if you already have them.

Fee:  $75 includes 3 weekly Saturday sessions – payable to instructor at first class

Registration is required.