This three-session virtual course taught by Kit O’Toole, traces the artistic development from his earliest days through his 1970s “classic period” and beyond. In addition, the class explores the chief influences on his distinctive style such as Ray Charles, Marvin Gaye, and Tonto’s Exploding Head Band. Finally, Wonder’s vast impact on music will be studied through his influence on other artists.
Join us for a World Cinema Series zoom discussion illuminating the theme “Living on the Edge: Displacement, Identity, and Resilience” by analyzing the message and impact of the 2018 film, Shoplifters. Shoplifters is a 2018 Japanese drama film directed, written and edited by Hirokazu Kore-eda. Starring Lily Franky and Sakura Ando, it is about a family that relies on shoplifting to cope with a life of poverty.
This three-session virtual course taught by Rick Geffken will cover the period of historic New Jersey slavery starting in the 1620s to the passage of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1865. Attendees will learn that New Jersey was the last northern state to agree to abolish slavery once and for all, after many furtive attempts. The course will highlight the enslavement of African Americans and Lenape Native Americans in Monmouth County. Runaway slave ads in newspapers, maps, and images of the enslaved and slaveholders will illustrate how endemic and important slavery was to the growth of the Garden State. Stories gathered from contemporary descendants of enslaved people will provide insight into a vital part of American history only now coming to public attention. Attendees will be introduced to the work of many scholars who have studied and published books on slavery in New Jersey.
Join us for a zoom reading and Q&A with author Anna Qu. Anna is the author of the memoir Made in China (Catapult 2021). Her work has appeared in Poets & Writers, Lithub, Threepenny Review, Lumina, Kartika, Kweli, Vol.1, Brooklyn, and Jezebel, among others. Anna serves as the Nonfiction Editor at Kweli Journal.
Join us for a World Cinema Series zoom discussion illuminating the theme “Living on the Edge: Displacement, Identity, and Resilience” by analyzing the message and impact of the For Sama (Syria, 2019).
FOR SAMA is both an intimate and epic journey into the female experience of war. A love letter from a young mother to her daughter, the film tells the story of Waad al-Kateab’s life through five years of the uprising in Aleppo, Syria as she falls in love, gets married and gives birth to Sama, all while cataclysmic conflict rises around her.
This three-session virtual course taught by Mike Farragher (88) builds on the wildly popular Intro to Memoir Writing workshops with an emphasis on character development, dialogue, and scene setting that will make any story a page turner. Practical lessons are interspersed with writing prompts to get the creativity going during this 3 week course. No prior writing experience needed and all levels welcome!
Join us for a zoom reading and Q&A with author Jane Wong. Jane Wong is the author of How to Not Be Afraid of Everything (Alice James, 2021) and Overpour (Action Books, 2016). Her poems and essays can be found in places such as Best American Nonrequired Reading 2019, Best American Poetry 2015, American Poetry Review, POETRY, AGNI, Virginia Quarterly Review, McSweeney’s, and Ecotone. A Kundiman fellow, she is the recipient of a Pushcart Prize and fellowships and residencies from Harvard’s Woodberry Poetry Room, the U.S. Fulbright Program, Artist Trust, the Fine Arts Work Center, Hedgebrook, and others. She is an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at Western Washington University.
Angela Kariotis is a community engaged culture worker and educator building creative programs serving the needs of cities, institutions, and students of all ages for public good. Kariotis integrates restorative practices for a transformative learning experience and a healing centered education. Using a design thinking framework and appreciative inquiry for experiential learning, Kariotis synthesizes art-making for social entrepreneurship. Angela is winner of a NJSCA fellowship in playwriting, a National Performance Network Creation Fund Award, and a Tennessee Williams Theater Fellowship. As a performance artist, she’s been presented by venues such as UCLA, University of Texas at Austin, People’s Light, Legion Arts in Iowa, and Contact Theater in Manchester, UK. Kariotis is Curriculum Director and Facilitator of Walking the Beat, a national arts education program interrogating the history of police, the way we police each other, and ideating alternative cultures of care.
Join us for a very special Adult Education Series Earth Day lecture with Heide Estes introducing the topic of Climate Crisis: What Can We Do? Climate crisis is real, and is constantly in the news, and triggers climate grief and climate anxiety. We need to take action, and fast … but how? We need change at all levels: individual, corporate, and governmental, and this lecture will provide strategies for how to engage in all three areas. You will learn about the importance of talking about climate with friends and family members, voting with climate change in mind, and disinvesting from fossil fuels — via your retirement fund, your workplace, anywhere you have influence. You will find out about ways you can change your diet, your home, and your transportation to lower your own carbon footprint, and provide an example to those people you’re talking with. You will learn about resources you can use to get educated, and to stay up to date with the latest developments. The important thing: do something, not nothing.
(Free, Registration Required) Join us Earth Day, April 22, for a screening of Drift, a documentary exploring 50 years of growing pains on Barnegat Bay, followed by an expert panel discussion looking toward the future for the state’s largest body of water and its surrounding communities. The film was produced by the nonprofit Save Barnegat […]
