PLEASE NOTE: the main entrance to the Winnetka Community House (on Lincoln) is closed all week. There are entrances on either side of the building.
The most vital and, often, most memorable pages of any narrative are the last ones—and the first. For purposes of reading, analysis, and recitation, the advantage of “the beginning” is that it stands alone, requiring no background or introduction. Author/actor/educator Paul McComas gives dramatic performances of especially compelling initial pages from fictional works (and one memoir) by a variety of authors, then explains how each one deftly “hooks” the reader—or listener—while also setting the stage for what's to follow.
Paul McComas is the author of two novels, Planet of the Dates and Unplugged; two short-story collections, Twenty Questions and Unforgettable: Harrowing Futures, Horrors, & (Dark) Humor; and the novella Fit for a Frankenstein. He’s also the editor of two anthologies, First Person Imperfect and Further Persons Imperfect. Paul co-authored the novel Logan’s Journey (slated for 2014 publication) with William F. Nolan, bestselling author of the SF classic Logan’s Run, and is co-authoring Exile on Poverty Row: The Life and Films of Edgar G. Ulmer for 2015 publication by an academic press.
His short narrative films and videos have garnered international, national, and regional prizes, been screened at festivals worldwide, and been shown on network, public, and cable TV. Since 1998, Paul has taught writing, literature, and film at numerous sites and at multiple levels, from adult-ed to Master’s programs, winning teaching awards from Northwestern and National-Louis universities. He has been a Visiting Artist at twenty universities, academies, and arts-centered high schools; he lectures about literature, film, and writing nationwide; and he has paneled at annual meetings of the the Association of Writers & Writing Programs and the National Poetry Foundation, among other organizations.
Paul has received grants from the Illinois Arts Council, the Evanston Arts Council, Northwestern University, and Notre Dame University.
Members $10; Nonmembers welcome, $15
No manuscripts accepted for this session.
