Greek Myth Retold
$360
While Greek Mythology has never truly left the cultural zeitgeist, it’s clear that lately these old stories are at the forefront of the contemporary imagination. Over the past several years, no less than hundreds of retellings of Greek myths have been released in cinematic, best-selling novels, inventive scholarly works, and piles of poetry. What is compelling us to fervently consume these symbolically rich but often fraught tales of gods and goddesses, monsters and oracles, full of brutality, rebirth and transcendence?
In this seminar we’ll read three works that explore this question while updating the stories with poetic insight and contemporary flair: Madeline Miller’s Circe, Anne Carson’s Autobiography of Red and Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad. These books retell these myths through feminist and queer lenses while bringing the characters and their worlds to life in vivid technicolor. We’ll discuss the transformative and tragic quality of these stories, the recovery of the feminine voice out of patriarchal mores, and why these tales, which remain alluring after thousands of years, might still have something vital to say about what it means to be human.
Access Program
We want our writing classes and seminars to be accessible to everyone, regardless of income and background. We understand that our tuition structure can present obstacles for some people. Our Access Program offers writing class and seminar tuitions at a reduced rate. Most writing classes have at least one access spot available.
Please apply here for access rate tuition. Contact Susan Moore at susan@literary-arts.org if you have questions.
Liaison position
Every in-person class and seminar at Literary Arts has one liaison position. Liaisons perform specific duties for each class meeting. If you are a liaison for a class or seminar, the full amount of your tuition is covered by Literary Arts.
Apply here for the liaison position.
Jesse Carsten
Jesse Carsten, PhD (they/he) is a mythologist and multidisciplinary artist, poet, musician, and educator. They hold a doctorate in mythology with an emphasis in depth psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute, and a BFA in creative writing and performance studies from the Art Institute of Chicago. Their doctoral thesis centered on the cosmic jazz composer Sun Ra's revolutionary personal mythos as embodied creative practice. Jesse has been composing music under the Half Shadow moniker for more than a decade, and self-publishes essays and zines. Salt, a book of prose poems and photographic images was published, in collaboration with visual artist B. Ingrid Olsen, by Hassla Press in 2017. A new chapbook entitled Ultraviolet Chapel is expected in 2027.
