FICTION
 With Peter Grybauskas Join scholar Peter Grybauskas in exploring how an English defeat against Vikings in August 991 inspired J.R.R. Tolkien’s scholarship, his only published play, and even some aspects of The Lord of the Rings. Three Sundays: December 3, 10, 17 from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. ET Online |
 With Nicole Miller This holiday season, join us for three evenings of spine-tingling phantom tales by master storytellers, phantom tales as we page through dozens of masterpieces by heart-warming and spine-tingling Victorian storytellers, including A Christmas Carol, “The Signalman,” “The Jolly Corner,” “The Private Life,” “All Souls”, “Bewitched” and “Pomegranate Seeds.” Three Mondays: December 4, 11, and 18 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. ET Online |
 With Garrett Peck Join author Garrett Peck to explore how Willa Cather, one of the twentieth century’s greatest novelists, wrote about the pioneers of the American frontier. Three Fridays: January 5, 12, 19 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET Online
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 With Brittany Kerfoot Join instructor Brittany Kerfoot for a lively discussion on Lauren Groff’s thrilling new novel, The Vaster Wilds. This discussion-based class will explore the thrilling adventure story trying to find a new way of living in a world that resists progress. One Monday: January 22 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET Online |
 With Supriya Goswami This class spotlights Bengali-American writer Jhumpa Lahiri’s Roman Stories, her latest collection of nine short stories written in Italian and then translated into English. We will explore how these vignettes give us a compelling portrait of Rome along with a memorable cast of unnamed characters, native and immigrant, who inhabit this city. One Wednesday, January 24th from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET Online |
 With Kara Keeling Dorothy Sayers was one of the Queens of Crime Writers of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction in the 1920s–30s, and Lord Peter Wimsey was her aristocratic great detective. Join us to discuss three of Sayers’ Wimsey novels: Clouds of Witness, The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club, and Murder Must Advertise. Three Thursdays: January 11, 18, and 25 from noon to 1:30 p.m. ET Online |
 With Victoria Pedrick With the appearance of Emily Wilson’s translation of the Iliad, we have a fresh chance to immerse ourselves in the monumental archaic poem that is the dark and violent beginning to western literature. How we tell the story of male heroism and the catastrophic consequences of passion traces its roots to this epic, and this course offers a leisurely pace of reading for us to experience the pleasures and challenges of the poem itself as well as Wilson’s intense poetic verse. Seven Wednesdays: January 10, 17, 24, 31, February 7, 14, and 21 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET Online Class is SOLD OUT. To be placed on the waitlist, please email classes@politics-prose.com |
 With Aaron Hamburger Read Strout's highly acclaimed "Lucy" books in order to chart the journey of this iconic fictional character. In four shimmering, taut novels, author Elizabeth Strout has charted the life of Lucy Barton, a character whose personal struggles intersect increasingly with questions of history. Four Tuesdays: January 23, 30 February 6, and 13 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET Online |
 With Carrie Callaghan George Orwell’s wife Eileen was an integral part of his creative and publishing life, but she remains unknown to most readers. Join us as we explore Orwell’s autobiographical Homage to Catalonia and then compare it to Anna Funder’s breathtaking Wifedom: Mrs. Orwell’s Invisible Life. Three Sundays: February 4, 11, and 18 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET Online |
 With Michele L. Simms-Burton Join us for four weeks to read, discuss, and learn more about Zora Neale Hurston, Jessie Fauset, Nella Larsen, and Dorothy West. We will explore not only these women’s works of fiction but also delve into how each one of these Black women left their indelible marks on the Harlem Renaissance. Five Saturdays: January 13, 20, 27, and February 3, and 10 from noon to 2:00 p.m. ET Online |
 With Sarah Pleydell In this class we will delve into a selection of published interpretations of the novel, mostly --though not exclusively --focused on its insights into the female experience. We will look at this text not through a classical reading lens but instead finding the ways in which her writing style and technique can and is used by modern writers. Three Saturdays: February 17, 24 and March 2 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. ET Online |
 With Elaine Showalter Winter is an ideal time to read the great British novelist Graham Greene, and to explore his novels from the masterly, edgy studies of espionage, love, betrayal, and moral ambiguity, to the thrillers and comedies he called “entertainments.” Five Mondays: February 19, 26, and March 4, 11, 18 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET Online |
 With Maria Frawley Join George Washington University professor Maria Frawley as we revisit some of Jane Austen's most beloved novels. Eight Thursdays: February 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, March 7, 14, 21 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET Online |
 With Joanna Davis-McElligatt Join Joanna Davis-McElligatt as she leads this class through Zadie Smith’s first novel, White Teeth (2000), and her most recent, The Fraud (2023). We will explore her construction of the Atlantic world, from England to Jamaica, as well as their entanglements with places beyond, including Australia and India. Four Tuesdays: March 5, 12, 19, 26 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. ET Online |
 With Michael Moore Join Michael F. Moore, award-winning translator of Alessandro Manzoni's The Betrothed as he dives into the historical background of two seminal works on the southern Italian experience; Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa's The Leopard and Carlo Levi's memoir Christ Stopped. Four Wednesdays meeting bi-weekly: March 6, 20, and April 3, 17 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET Online |
 With Verlyn Flieger What is The Lord of the Rings? It has been called a fairy tale, an epic, a romance, and a tragedy. Join Tolkien scholar Verlyn Flieger in a discussion to explore J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings as all of the above—a complex fabric whose narrative threads run over, under, around and through each other as they weave the story. We’ll follow the threads one by one as they lead Sam through a fairy tale, Merry and Pippin to a romance, Aragorn to an epic, and Frodo to the tragedy that both climaxes in and foreshadows the end of his story. Three Sundays: April 7, 14, 21 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET Online |
 With Helen Hooper Halldor Laxness is both a writer’s writer and one of Iceland’s cherished national treasures. He won the 1955 Nobel prize in Literature, was widely read in his day, and though his fame has faded he continues to be the favorite of authors and literature nerds everywhere. Four Wednesdays meeting bi-weekly: March 13, 27 and April 10, 24 from 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET Online |
 With Leigha McReynolds First contact. For you, does that mean E.T. or Pocahontas? In this discussion-based, seminar-style class we’ll read two science-fiction, first contact novels: the classic The Mote in God’s Eye (1974), by Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven, and the recent A Half-Built Garden (2022), by Ruthanna Emrys. We’ll explore how these novels represent universal human experiences and, at the same, respond to their specific historical contexts. Two Mondays: April 29 and May 6 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET Online |
POETRY
 With Indran Amirthanayagam Explore the world of poet Derek Walcott, mapmaker, painter, namer of the flora and fauna and people of the islands in the Caribbean Sea. Three Tuesdays: November 28 and December 5, 12 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET Online |
 With Frank Ambrosio For those willing to undertake the steep ascent of Dante’s seven-story Mountain, nowhere in the legacy of human culture is the process of becoming a “whole person” more closely observed or rendered with deeper psychological and social insight than in the cantos of Dante’s Purgatorio. It is certainly possible to read, understand and enjoy Purgatorio without having read the Inferno. Six Thursdays: November 2, 9, 16, [skip 23 - no class], 30, and Dec 7, 14, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. ET Online |
 With Gigi Bradford Join us this winter as we dive into the work of Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926), who wrote the above quote and is acknowledged one of the most important writers of the 19th and 20th Century. Three Tuesdays: January 16, 23, and 30 from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET Online |
 With Sandra Beasley Join poet Sandra Beasley for a two-hour seminar to discuss foundational elements of Glück’s aesthetic and her most beloved books, before moving on to consider three collections that she chose for the Yale Series of Younger Poets. One Sunday: February 25 from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET Online |
 With Annie Finch Meter may be poetry’s best-kept secret—and scansion (the art of mapping meter) is the key to its delectable treasures. Now poet Annie Finch guides us through great poems in the powerful, grounded, revolutionary meter of the body and the earth. Four Tuesdays: April 2, 9, 16, 23 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET Online |
 With Richard C. Sha Join Richard Sha while he tackles Blake’s Songs of Innocence and of Experience, and his Marriage of Heaven and Hell; Shelley’s “Mont Blanc,” “Ode to the West Wind,” “Hymn to Intellectual Beauty” and Keats’ major Odes. Three Tuesdays: March 19th, 26th, and April 2 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET Online |
 With Indran Amirthanayagam Allen Ginsberg was the hardest queer worker on the American lathe, in its poetry, and he was a friend and model. In this course we will read widely in his Collected Poems, and also discuss his song lyrics, his interpretations of William Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience, and his deeply moving elegies to his parents. Four Wednesdays: April 10, 17, 24, and May 1 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET Online |
 With Frank Ambrosio Readers and critics alike almost universally praise Dante's Paradiso for the sublimity of its poetry, but sublimity comes at a price. Trying to imagine ourselves toward the outermost limits of human hope at the brink of real Mystery is beyond our capacity as earth-bound pedestrians. Dante had the same experience and his greatness lies in never forgetting that poetry's task is give human beings wings. Six Thursdays: March 28, and April 4, 11, 18, 25 and May 2, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. ET |
MEDITATION & PHILOSOPHY
 With Jerry Webster Using the remarkable and unexpected lives of Ruth Ozeki and Issan Dorsey as models, this class will show how sometimes highly unlikely individuals can become our paragon for a meditative life. Four Wednesdays: November 29, and December 6, 13, 20 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. ET Online |
WRITING
 With Randon Billings Noble Winter can be a hard season both literally and metaphorically. But it’s also a good time to look inward. In this class we’ll use Katherine May’s book Wintering as a jumping off point to do a series of writing exercises that will show us different ways of looking at and living through the coldest season. One Wednesday: January 10 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET Online
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 S. Hall, M. Armstrong, V. Zhou Join us for the P&P Young Writers Slam at the Wharf Store, a thrilling in-person gathering where young DMV writers will showcase their work. One Saturday: January 20th from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. ET at our Wharf location bookstore |
 With Michaele Weissman Join Michaele Weissman, author of the literary memoir, “The Rye Bread Marriage,” for a workshop helping writers, however far along they are, understand the memoir form; teaching them techniques for approaching its challenges; enabling them to move forward. Three Sundays: January 14, 21, 28 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET Online |
 With Nevin Martell Turn the food you can’t stop eating into stories people can’t stop reading. Learn how to write restaurant reviews, articles about the secrets of intriguing ingredients and culinary cultures, chef profiles, social media posts about your cooking and dining adventures, and the stories behind beloved family recipes. Four Mondays: January 8, 15, 22, 29 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET Online |
 With Tiphanie Yanique Join award-winning author Tiphanie Yanique to write eco-poetry -- poetry that comes out of the natural world. Three Thursdays: January 18, 25 and February 1 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. ET Online |
 With Randon Billings Noble New year, new you? Find out (in part) by starting – or restarting – a journaling practice! In this class we’ll explore the many forms a journal can take through in-class writing and take-home exercises. No experience necessary – just a notebook, a pen, your honesty, and a sense of play. Four Mondays: January 29 and February 5, 12, 19 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. ET Online |
 With Randon Billings Noble Winter can be a hard season both literally and metaphorically. But it’s also a good time to look inward. In this class we’ll use Katherine May’s book Wintering as a jumping off point to do a series of writing exercises that will show us different ways of looking at and living through the coldest season. One Wednesday: February 21 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET Online |
 With Joyce Winslow Four sessions of lecture and in-class workshops teach the most successful ways to write, pitch, and place OP Eds. You’ll learn the proper structure, how to persuasively make your point and take down opposing arguments (politely). Four Thursdays: February 8, 15, 22, 29 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET Online |
 With Donna Hemans Focusing on narrative structure and creative storytelling techniques, this workshop will help writers revise and polish their personal essay drafts. Four Mondays: February 26, March 4, 11, and 18 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET Online |
 With Brittany Kerfoot Give your characters a voice with this writing workshop focused on dialogue in fiction. We’ll read and discuss works with outstanding scenes of dialogue before diving into a workshop of your own scenes where both the students and instructor offer helpful feedback to make your dialogue sharp and engaging. Four Mondays: March 25, April 1, 8, 15 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET Online |
POLITICS & PLACE
 With Andrew Imbrie Join us for an engaging and eye-opening talk by Andrew Imbrie on the fascinating world of Artificial Intelligence. One Friday: April 12th from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the Den Coffeehouse |
 With Clint Smith Across the country are innumerable places that have direct ties to slavery—our schools, our streets, our prisons, our cemeteries, our cities—places that illustrate how some of this country’s most essential stories are hidden in plain view. In this talk, #1 New York Times bestselling author Clint Smith discusses how the history of slavery has shaped the contemporary landscape of inequality, and shares what he learned from trips to different historical sites throughout the country that are tied to slavery’s legacy. Thursday, March 28th from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the Den Coffeehouse |
 With Margaret L. Andersen At a time at great national division when we urgently need to understand the nation’s racial challenges, this course will examine how life histories, especially those of people of color, can generate interracial empathy and help us understand how people succeed despite the odds. Join nationally-known sociologists Margaret Andersen and Maxine Baca Zinn to learn how life histories can transform knowledge about racial inequality and help us identify factors that enable interracial understanding and individual achievement. Two Thursdays: March 14 and 21 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. ET Hybrid Online and In-Person Connecticut Ave. Condo Classroom |
MEMOIR
 With Leonard Downie About 1.3 million Americans turned 80 last year. Former executive editor of The Washington Post, Leonard Downie has written in "80 -- An Octogenarian's Journal -- A Daunting Yet Rewarding New Time in Life." Downie will be in conversation with Margaret "Pooh" Shapiro, who edited a selection of Downie's journal entries for The Washington Post. They will talk about aging well. Thursday, February 15 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. ET at the Den Coffeehouse |
 With Susan Rubin Suleiman Simone de Beauvoir was already famous, the world over, as a novelist, philosopher, and feminist icon (as well as part of a quasi-legendary couple, partner of Jean-Paul Sartre), when she published the first volume of her autobiography, Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter, in 1958. But this book was in many ways a first, a pioneering work of women’s autobiography in France. We will devote two classes to discussing this important work, emphasizing Beauvoir’s own evolving sense of herself as a young girl, a woman, and a writer. Two Tuesdays: February 20 and 27 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET Hybrid Online and In-Person Connecticut Ave. Condo Classroom |
 Karen Leggett Abouraya This class will explore books by authors with a wide variety of disabilities – blind, deaf/blind, Down Syndrome, learning disabilities, visible and invisible. Some books focus on life with a particular disability, some on totally unrelated topics: we are constantly reminded that with a few limiting exceptions, these authors are exceptionally capable and often brilliant. Four Mondays: February 5, 19 March 4, 18 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. ET Online |
HISTORY & BIOGRAPHY
 Christopher Griffin Join us as we read Fintan O'Toole's We Don't Know Ourselves: A Personal History of Modern Ireland, over four consecutive Friday evenings. In this latest of his 19 books, Fintan O’Toole writes with wit, indignation, insight, and pathos about Ireland since his own birth in 1958. Combining memoir, journalism, and critical analysis, he traces the forces that have shaped his life and his country’s struggles. Four Fridays: February 2, 9, 16, 23 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. ET Online |
NONFICTION
 With Janet Hulstrand In this class we will look at Paris through the (necessarily rather unromantic) eyes of those who have lived the life of those who serve the rest of us in Parisian restaurants. Four Biweekly Thursdays: February 8, 22, and March 7, 21 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. ET Online |
LIFESTYLE
 With Kathy Jentz Join Kathy Jentz, editor and publisher of the award-winning Washington Gardener Magazine, to learn how to prepare your garden for the spring. One Monday: April 8 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET Online |