COURSES – SPRING 2026 (Under Dev) / Literature
The courses listed below, in the general area of literature, are currently offered at Quest.
Click on any title to view the related course page.
CONTEMPORARY SHORT STORIES
Coordinators: Nancy Richardson, Mary Buchwald, Frieda Lipp
This long-standing class discusses short stories from all over the world.
CONTEMPORARY POETRY
Coordinators: Ellen Rittberg, Frieda Lipp, Karen Millard, Linda Schwartz
We will explore important and well-regarded modern poets, their poems, and their place in the literary continuum/historical context.
HONORÉ DE BALZAC: PÈRE GORIOT
Coordinators: Sheryl Harawitz, Tatyana Chernomaz, Andrea Irvine, Ellen Shapiro
Balzac’s Père Goriot captures the birth of modern life – a world driven by ambition, wealth, and self-invention.
ORAL INTERPRETATION OF POETRY
Coordinators: Joyce Hinote, Peter Dichter
The Origins of Poetry: Poetry is a fundamental form of expression of human emotions. It often arises from, channels, and distills our most fundamental emotions — love, grief, wonder, longing, rage, joy. Poetry can feel like an emotional instinct, a primal response to the complexity of life.
TIMELESS WRITINGS: THE CANTERBURY TALES
Coordinators: Sheryl Harawitz, Mary Ann Donnelly, Judy Hampson, Andrea Irvine
This spring, we travel with Geoffrey Chaucer’s unforgettable band of pilgrims on their road to Canterbury.
TWO NOVELS BY VIRGINIA WOOLF
Coordinators: Lynnel Garabedian, Sandy Kessler
Virginia Woolf was one of the most influential writers of the 20th century.
WONDERFUL BOOKS OUT LOUD: SLOUCHING TOWARDS BETHLEHEM
Coordinators: Harriet Finkelstein Larry Shapiro, Ruth Ward
When published in 1968, Slouching Towards Bethlehem was critically acclaimed and cemented Joan Didion’s reputation as a uniquely insightful cultural observer.