PWR's lecturers have been busy over the summer--teaching, researching, writing, traveling, reading, watching, listening, and relaxing. Read on for some highlights!
Sarah Peterson Pittock
"I just listened to a podcast episode that may interest some in our community: it's two very successful writers in conversation, Susan Cain and Sharon Salzberg, reflecting on the writing life, readers, learning, and teaching. The Pico Iyer quote at the end regarding writers and readers is worth waiting for, as is the guided reflection prompt.
I also enjoyed a family reunion in New Mexico celebrating my parents' 60th wedding anniversary (!!) and teaching in Stanford School of Medicine's Storytelling and Medicine Summer Scholars Program as a workshop leader and writing mentor to students in the medical humanities."
Harriett Jernigan
"I’ve been on the road for almost two months, so just a few highlights: I spent a week in Linz, Austria, at Das-Kollektiv, a non-profit school for women refugees and asylum-seekers, participating in German, English, and creative writing classes and leading an antiracism workshop for the staff. After that, Cole and I hung out in Vienna for a week and then made our way to Lake Constance, where I officiated a wedding for one of my best friends. A small error on the way there landed us in Munich for one night, so we spent the evening at a local Hofbräu, something I hadn’t done in 20 years! I then went to South West France, where I sampled gorgeous food and wine and made some new friends. I’m spending these last two weeks in my second home—Berlin—kicking around with old friends, learning to make Feijoada and Farofa, and just doing some general goofing off. I love doing this in tandem with teaching SOAR and welcoming frosh to campus!"
Adam Banks
Over four Saturdays in July and August, Adam Banks lead a community reading group on Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower in Cleveland. Read more about the community-based classes he offered this spring and summer in his From the Bridge article.
Hayden Kantor
Hayden's son, Solomon Ruben Kantor, was born on Saturday, June 22.
Alexander Greenhough
Alex says "Here’s the link to my videographic adaptation of “Jane Eyre,” with accompanying essay, that recently appeared in MAST: Journal of Media Art Study and Theory."
Christine Alfano
"Summer (as always) was busy with teaching (SOAR) and prepping for the upcoming year. I’m not sure if it’s a exactly a “highlight,” but I helped my daughter move out of her apartment in Brooklyn and prepare to relocate to Seattle, WA. It was a crazy four days of organizing, packing, and deep breathing exercises. After that, I got to take a week off to re-charge with family and friends on a house on a bluff – with extremely limited phone service and internet – off the coast of Massachusetts. Pictured here is dusk from the front porch. One of my favorite local moments was a visit from PWR legend and my dear friend, Alyssa O'Brien. In terms of entertainment: Favorite books read include Real Americans, Lincoln in the Bardo, All the Sinners Bleed, and Solito. Most fun streaming experiences include The Gentlemen, Parks and Rec (binge-ing), and Umbrella Academy's final season. Most beautiful flowers of the summer include my agapanthus (CA), my mother’s hydrangeas and zinnias (NY), and all of Filoli."
Ruth Starkman
"My news is special, probably just to me. This year, I have a Frosh who is the son of a former student, whose father was also my student. The Grandpa student is from Berkeley in the 1980s, the Dad from UCLA in the 2000s. So I guess this is my first grand-student!!!"
Laura Joyce Davis
"My summer adventures kicked off with Harriett Jernigan’s fabulous live storytelling event First Person, where I had a lot of fun sharing a story I’ve been waiting 13 years to tell. We visited both sides of the family in Massachusetts and Minnesota (my favorite place to be in the summer), and my 7-year-old Mattéa completed an essential Davis family rite of passage and learned to waterski (gotta keep up with the siblings and cousins!). Other adventures included sending our 12-year-old son Gabe off by himself for month with his grandparents, hiking through summer snow in Tahoe (with the kids), backpacking in Yosemite and summitting Clouds Rest and Half Dome (without the kids), boogie boarding and surfing in the Atlantic, and slalom waterskiing at sunrise and sunset. In my spare time, I gave my kids haircuts and florescent pink highlights, sent off a book proposal I’ve been working on since February, and worked on my novel.
What I’ve been reading/watching/listening to: Hanya Yanagihara’s To Paradise, The Outsiders (with my son), Voyage of the Dawn Treader (with all 3 kids), “The Bear,” and the Olympics (especially track & field and gymnastics)!"
Kevin Moore
“My West Coast summer, by the numbers: two trips to Seattle, one to LA, one to Tecate, Baja California. One (fortunately mild) appendicitis and emergency appendectomy. Half-a-dozen Thursday writing retreats with Sarah and Meg to work on our science communication textbook in Sweet 303 (once joined by Cassie, too!). About ten hikes in Marin (way too few, in my opinion). About a hundred hours reading on the roof of my building in SF (pictured). Another fifty doing the same in Huntington Park on Nob Hill. Five weeks teaching twelve amazing SOAR students. At least 500 figs eaten. Probably an equivalent quantity of farmers market tomatoes."
Roberta Wolfson
"This summer was fun and memorable. I traveled to Florida, where I visited some of my extended family, including my ailing grandparents. When I returned, I spent a lot of time exploring town with my daughter Cassidy (who is now 2.5 years old). She started swim lessons for the first time, and she absolutely loved getting to know the water. We also went on fun excursions to visit local friends and family in San Jose, Half Moon Bay, Alameda, San Ramon, Moraga, and Fairfield. One of the biggest highlights of the summer was when I received my book in the mail and held it in my hands for the first time. What a thrill! It was a real joy to celebrate the publication of my book this summer with family and friends. I’ve included a picture I took with Cassidy the day my book arrived. We were all smiles! As far as reading recommendations go: I’m currently reading and really enjoying The Girl Who Fell From the Sky by Heidi W. Durrow. I can’t vouch for the ending since I’m not there yet, but the journey is enjoyable so far!"
Katherine Rothschild
"This summer was full of firsts: it was the first time I sent a child away for her own adventures (three weeks dancing with the Oregon Ballet Theater), the first time our house has been quiet in ten years, and the first time I sent in final pass pages for a CCCs article (coming this month!). We picked up my older daughter in Oregon and stayed with our family in Oregon and visited local wineries. I also attended another yet writing retreat and started planning my first week-long retreat--New Orleans, 2025!"
