Oh! Those lazy, hazy days of August! They are upon us.
What's the cure?
Alice Munro — 2013 Nobel Laureate in Literature.
We open to a page of Munro. She takes us by the hand and with that rhythmic golden voice she beckons us along, into her story, and before we know it we are enrapt in the land of cool lakes and tall pines, where the surface of things often belies the depths that draw us into the heart of it.
How does she do that? What's her secret?
Come join us for our last session of the season as OCWW concludes its “Reading like a Writer” Summer Series Program on August 20th — from 11 am to 1:30 pm — moderated by Aurelia Nichols.
What are we reading? Munro's short story, "Passion," first published in the March 22, 2004 edition of The New Yorker, and then some months later in her 2004 short story collection, Runaway.
Munro's works have been likened to a 3-D chessboard and this story is no exception.
What will we be talking about? Story structure, specifically the use of narrative layering and temporal framing techniques. Pacing. Narrative voice. The resonance of silence: how it's used to build tension; and how what is not told may be just as transformative as what is. The tension of dualities that Munro maintains in her work. And of course anything else people would like to discuss regarding the story.
Our prime focus will be on the final version of "Passion," published in Runaway. However, in the months following The New Yorker's publication of "Passion," Munro reportedly made over 200 changes to it, so both versions also offer us a rare opportunity to examine the final edits of a master story-teller, and understand her intentions.
Sign up for our final session by emailing OCWWSummerSeries@gmail.com, and letting us know you'd like to register. If you've already registered for it earlier in the season, you don't have to register again.
This online Zoom meeting is free, but participants must be current in their OCWW membership for the 2020-2021 season.
If you cannot attend, sessions are recorded and the link sent to those who registered. So, you can still "listen in," even if you cannot be there.
Hope to see you soon on Zoom!
