Literary Salon

3rd Thursday of the Month, 10am-12pm 

Facilitated by Andrea Markowitz, join other enthusiasts as we open discussion on a new topic each month! Choose any book, or other medium (film, music, stage play, podcast, art, etc.) that you feel really represents or relates to that month’s topic. We’ll discuss how the theme plays a significant role in the work you’ve selected, as well as anything else you’d like to share about it with the group. See below for topics and descriptions of the upcoming discussions! 

A voracious reader and writer of fiction and nonfiction, Andrea earned degrees in English, music and psychology, and explored a variety of careers in education and writing. After “retiring” she discovered her true calling is to write plays and musicals. Her dedication to writing for the stage was acknowledged recently with an ariZoni Award for best new script for “Fair Game,” a musical satire based on a true story about fake news! 

Andrea Markowitz 
Playwright, Lyricist, Composer
www.feedingthefuries.com

Winner, Zoni Award for Original Script, 2021-2022
Nominated, Zoni Award for Original Score, 2021-2022

Playwright in Residence, Desert Foothills Theater
www.DFTheater.org

Read her plays on the New Play Exchange
https://newplayexchange.org/

April 18 - Heists 

Who are the masterminds behind heists (thefts of valuables such as art, jewelry, and large amounts of money, bonds and bullion? What do they steal, and why (greed, desperation, revenge, a lark)? What steps did they devise to pull the heist? 

Choose any literary genre, nonfiction or fiction, that features a heist. Tell us about the people involved, their motive, how they carried it out, and the aftermath. 

May 16 - Banned Books in the United States 

Per Harvard University’s Gutman Library website, the USA’s first book ban took place in 1637 in what is now Quincy, Massachusetts. The Puritan government banned Thomas Morton’s “New English Canaan,” for being a harsh and heretical critique of Puritan customs and power structures. In 2022, the American Library Association documented 1,269 demands to censor 2,571 unique titles, the highest number of attempted book bans in more than 20 years. 

Choose any literary genre, nonfiction or fiction, about the subject of book banning in the United States. Who called for the ban(s)? What did they object to? If they were successful in having the book(s) censored, how long did the censorship last? What were the political and/or social roots and ramifications of the ban? 

June 20 - Contemporary European, Asian, Latin American and Indigenous Literature 

What kinds of stories, issues and topics are being explored by European, Asian, Latin American and Indigenous writers? Choose a book (fiction or nonfiction), film, play, poem or song with a theme or message that touches you intellectually, emotionally, or both. Tell us if it resonates with, challenges or changes your perception of the topic you read about, and what you learned from it. 

No registration necessary