Arlington Community Education

Enjoy some of Arlington’s beautiful nature spots this spring and try your hand at writing haiku, a short nature poem. Haiku connect us more deeply to the natural world and can provide solace in difficult times. Join haiku poet Brad Bennett for one, two, or all three walks. During each class, we’ll learn a bit about haiku, take a short walk through a beautiful Arlington nature preserve for inspiration, and spend some time writing. All levels of experience are welcome. Please note: Each workshop will take place outside in a different location around Arlington and everyone will be asked to adhere to public health guidelines. Meeting location will be included in your receipt. Arlington Reservoir: Saturday, May 1, Rain date: Sunday, May 2 Menotomy Rocks Park: Saturday, May 15, Rain date: Sunday, May 16 Arlington’s Great Meadows: Saturday, June 5, Rain date: Sunday, June 6 Take more than one Haiku Walks and save. Email the ACE office for a discount. Take two: $45 Take all three: $69

What role do cities play in our lives? How does literature attempt to explore and answer this question? In many texts, the city is a setting for allegory and utopian/dystopian narrative, as well as often a character itself. How can we, as readers, access the city through literature? How do authors and artists describe the realities of urban and suburban living? Come read about cities real and imagined in poems, short stories, and excerpts from novels, along with selected essays and articles. Authors will include Italo Calvino, N. K. Jemisin, China Miéville, Jan Morris, and many others. This course focuses on reading and discussion, with some creative writing exercises at the end. We will also discuss some selected works of visual art. No previous knowledge of these subjects is necessary. All readings will be provided digitally.

Many popular books have been adapted for the big screen, some more successfully than others. Join one or both of these classes to discuss two recent film adaptations of novels and see if indeed “the book is better” or if the movie improved upon the novel we will be reading. Read the novel before the first session, as we will focus on our thoughts of the novel in the first class. Then between the first and second meetings we’ll each watch the movies on our own time, and come back together to discuss how well it was adapted in film and how the messages of the book and film relate to each other. Session One: News of the World -- The first session will be focused on Paulette Jiles’ moving tale, News of the World. We’ll read about an unlikely duo—a former confederate soldier making money by reading newspapers aloud and a kidnapped girl he is charged with returning to her family. We’ll start with a discussion of the novel that the Washington Post said, “affirms that the news of the world can be good, if we strive together to make it so,” followed by the new film adaptation starring Tom Hanks. 2 Mondays | Apr. 5–Apr. 12 | 7:00–8:30 pm Session Two: The Dig -- The second session will be dedicated to John Preston’s The Dig, inspired by one of the most famous modern archeological excavations in Great Britain, Sutton Hoo in Suffolk. Set in 1939, John Preston’s novel explores the characters who own the land, help with the excavation (one of which is the author’s aunt), and even those who try to thwart it, set against the backdrop of the approach of WWII. After reading the novel we’ll watch the new Netflix film adaptation starring Ralph Fiennes and Carey Mulligan. 2 Tuesdays | May 25–June 1 | 7:00–8:30 pm Take Both & Save for $59

kite weather an inchworm spins at the end of a thread Join award-winning haiku poet Brad Bennett for a Zoom introduction to haiku, the most popular form of poetry in the world. Following an introduction to haiku, a short history, and a discussion of the major elements of the form, we’ll try our hand at writing a few using a prompt. Everybody is welcome to join us!

Do you have a book on your shelf that you have been dying to read but haven’t found the time? Is that book Where the Crawdads Sing by first-time novelist and wildlife scientist Delia Owens? Then join me for an engaging discussion to discover why this beautiful and unique coming of age story has been on the bestseller list for 67 weeks. Throughout this class, we will explore the major literary elements, such as plot development, character, conflict, setting, theme, etc., to gain a deeper appreciation and understanding of this iconic piece of literature. Please come to class with a copy of the text and the first five chapters read.

Haiku, the most popular form of poetry in the world, connect us more deeply to the natural world and can provide solace in difficult times. This supportive writing workshop is designed for folks who have taken haiku classes or have written haiku previously. In this six-part on-line class, we will wade further into the haiku pond. We will learn more about key elements of haiku, including concision, structure, Japanese aesthetic concepts, and the juxtaposition of concrete experiences. In-class exercises and “homework” writing prompts will inspire our haiku writing. We will also create other related Japanese forms of poetry, including haiga (haiku linked with visual art), haibun (haiku linked with prose), and tan renga (a five-line poem often written by two people).