The unexamined life is not worth living.
—Socrates
I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it.
—Alice Walker
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
—Mary Oliver
I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train.
–Oscar Wilde
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.
—Walt Whitman
For many years now, I’ve asked friends to “share the wealth,” typically after we have a potluck dinner together. For example, six years ago, I invited my friend Fatima Rhodes to tell us about her journey to become a better speaker of Modern Standard Arabic when she was in her forties. Nine months ago, I encouraged Laura Lapinski to hold forth about one of her life’s great passions, the cinema of Wes Anderson.
In this summer class, I invite you to get in touch with the wealth of your curiosity, travels, maxims, relationships, resiliency, antiwar speeches, polyglotism, culinary gusto, enthusiasm for Russian literature, political compromismo, penchant for rollercoasters, Chiapas seminars, book project in the making, sense of history, athleticism, biophilia, bibliophilia, talents, relatives, gifts, musical verve, progeny, legal acumen, vivid memories, and awakenings. By writing on such topics, we will be in a position to share first with people in the course, both those in the Wednesday night class and those joining us online. We will also consider how we may share with others beyond and after this class.
Some specifics: We will meet on eight Wednesday nights, starting June 6 and going until August 1 (skipping Wednesday 4 July). We will gather at 6:45 p.m., and wrap up by 8:30. We have the delightful privilege of being together at the home of Marty and Jerry King at 830 Demun (third floor) in Clayton (63105). For those participating online, I will send an agenda to you on Thursday mornings, which will have writing topics and exercises for you to do as your schedule permits throughout the week. We will have a class blog at which we all can work with acknowledging our bashfulness and posting reflections when we are ready.
I am not going to recommend a particular book for the entire class; I do, however, urge that you choose a book that you’ve been eager to read or reread, and mine that book for its riches during our two months together. We can share our progress with our books in conversation and online.
Tuition for St. Louis participants—$175. Tuition for online participants—$125. You can pay through Paypal (markjchmiel@gmail.com) or via check.
If you’re interested, email or text me or knock on my front door.
To see many of the Share the Wealth invitations, visit here.
Mark
