Please join Catherine Wald at the Ossining Public Library for a reading and discussion series exploring aging. The dates will be: Tuesday, September 12, 26, October, 10, 24 and November, 7 from 10:30 am-12:00 pm in Budarz Theater. Reading material will be provided. Registration is required. Please contact Linda Levine 914-941-2416 X 317llevine@wlsmail.org. This event is sponsored by Humanities New York. Bob has spoken with one of Ossining’s librarians about the program. She said it was quite special and was eager to invite ESNW members and friends. Registration is limited to keep the group small enough for good discussions so people should register in advance (as soon as possible).
The reading list will be as follows:
READING LIST FOR AGING BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP
Week 1: How do we connect?
Short Story: “We Are Nighttime Travelers” by Ethan Canin
Poem “Now, Before the End, I Think” by Edwin Honig
Week 2: How happy will we be?
Newspaper/Magazine articles: (Xeroxed)
“Happiness May Come With Age, Study Shows” New York Times 5/31/10
“The U-Bend of Life” The Economist “Why Elders Smile” by David Brooks NYT 12/4/14
“Does Old Age Bring Happiness?” Letters to the Editor NYT (12/11/14)
“I’m Too Old for This” by Dominique Browning, NYT
Poem: “Warning: when I am an old woman, I shall wear purple” by Jenny Joseph
Week 3: Taking Care
Graphic Memoir: “Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant?” by Roz Chast
Poem: “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” by Dylan Thomas
Week 4: Dueling Generations
Short Story: “Porte Cochere” by Peter Taylor*
Short Story: “Everything that Rises Must Converge” by Flannery O’Connor
Poem “A Lady” by Amy Lowell*
Week 5: Truth-telling
Short Story: “Appropriate Affect” by Sue Miller
Poem: “Affirmation” by Donald Hall
List: “Top Five Regrets of the Dying” by Bronnie Wray
Week 6: Saying Goodbye
Novella: Tinkers by Paul Harding
Poem “First Gestures” by Julia Kasdorf
“Alone” by Maya Angelou