Photo Michele Roehrig
Chautauqua Literary & Scientific Circle
The CLSC is the oldest continuous book club in America and has remained a leader in adult education through quality programming. Each season the authors of the year's CLSC book selections address the weekly CLSC Roundtable/Lectures in the Hall of Philosophy. The CLSC has brought many Pulitzer Prize and National Book Club award winners to Chautauqua. Here is the 2010 schedule:
CLSC Historic Book List - 1878 to 2009 (book list titles)
Week 1 - Thursday, July 1
Roger Rosenblatt
Making Toast: A Family Story
Veteran Chautauqua lecturer and three-time CLSC author Roger Rosenblatt will present his upcoming book, Making Toast: A Family Story, a memoir of a family finding ways to cope with the loss of a daughter, wife and mother, on July 1. Renowned author E. L. Doctorow called Making Toast “a painfully beautiful memoir telling how grandparents are made over into parents, how people die out of order, how time goes backwards.”
The late William Safire of The New York Times wrote that Rosenblatt’s work represents “some of the most profound and stylish writing in America today.” His television essays for “The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer” on PBS and essays for Time magazine have won multiple awards.
Rosenblatt has worked as a literary editor of The New Republic, a columnist and editor at large for Life magazine, the editor of U.S. News & World Report, a columnist and editorial board member of The Washington Post and editor-at large of Time Inc. He is a member of the English faculty at Stony Brook University.
Rosenblatt is the author of 12 books, including the national best-seller Rules for Aging. His book Children of War (1983) was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Lapham Rising (2006), his first novel, was loosely based on the lecture he delivered on major trends of the 20th century at Chautauqua in 2004. He presented his novel Beet, a satirical skewing of higher education, for the CLSC during Chautauqua’s 2008 Season.
Also during Week One programming, Rosenblatt will join a different fellow writer and friend at 10:45 a.m. every weekday on the Amphitheater stage for discussion on their work and the craft of writing.
Making Toast is scheduled for a February 2010 release.
Week 2 - Thursday, July 8
Lawrence Hill
Someone Knows My Name
Lawrence Hill is the son of American immigrants — a black father and a white mother — who came to Canada the day after they married in 1953 in Washington, D.C. On his father's side, Hill's grandfather and great-grandfather were university-educated, ordained ministers of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. His mother came from a Republican family in Oak Park, Illinois, graduated from Oberlin College and went on to become a civil rights activist in D.C. The story of how they met, married, left the United States and raised a family in Toronto is described in Hill's bestselling memoir Black Berry, Sweet Juice: On Being Black and White in Canada. Growing up in the predominantly white suburb of Don Mills, Ontario in the 1960s, Hill was greatly influenced by his parents' work in the human rights movement. Much of Hill's writing touches on issues of identity and belonging.
Lawrence Hill's third novel was published as The Book of Negroes in Canada, Great Britain, South Africa and India and as Someone Knows My Name in the United States, Australia and New Zealand. It won the overall Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best Book, the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize, the Ontario Library Association’s Evergreen Award and CBC Radio’s Canada Reads. The book was a finalist for the Hurston/Wright LEGACY Award and longlisted for both the Giller Prize and the IMPAC Award.
Hill is also the author of the novels Any Known Blood and Some Great Thing.
Formerly a reporter with The Globe and Mail and parliamentary correspondent for The Winnipeg Free Press, Hill also speaks French and Spanish. He has lived and worked across Canada, in Baltimore, and in Spain and France. As a volunteer with Canadian Crossroads International, he has traveled to the West African countries Niger, Cameroon and Mali. He has a B.A. in economics from Laval University in Quebec City and an M.A. in writing from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Hill now lives, writes and runs in Hamilton, Ontario.
Week 3 - Thursday, July 15
Kati Marton
Enemies of the People: My Family’s Journey to America
Born in Hungary, Kati Marton has combined a career as a reporter and writer with human rights advocacy. She will present her latest book, the critically acclaimed memoir Enemies of the People: My Family’s Journey to America, for the CLSC on July 15. Enemies of the People is the result of Marton’s quest to discover who her journalist parents really were — and how they survived the Nazis in Budapest and imprisonment by the Soviets during the Cold War. The New York Times called it “a powerful and absorbing narrative … [with] all the magnetism and yes, the excitement of the very best spy fiction.”
Since 1980, Marton has published seven books and contributed as a reporter to ABC News, Public Broadcasting Services, National Public Radio, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Times of London, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Vanity Fair and The New Republic. Her other books include Wallenberg, American Women, Hidden Power: Presidential Marriages that Shaped History and Great Escape: Nine Jews Who Fled Hitler and Changed the World. Marton has served as the host of the NPR international affairs program America and the World, as ABC’s Germany bureau chief and as a reporter for NPR and WCAU-TV in Philadelphia.
From 2003 to 2008, Marton chaired the International Women’s Health Coalition, a global leader in promoting and protecting the health and human rights of women and girls. She was chief advocate for the Office of the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict at the United Nations and is currently a director and formerly chair of the Committee to Protect Journalists. Marton also serves on the board of directors of the International Rescue Committee, Human Rights Watch and the New America Foundation, a public policy think tank. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, P.E.N. International and the Author’s Guild.
Marton has been honored many times for her writing, reporting and human rights advocacy, including a George Foster Peabody Award for a one-hour documentary on China. Most recently, the president of the Republic of Hungary awarded Marton the Commander’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary.
Marton attended Wells College in Aurora, N.Y., the Sorbonne, and the Institute des Etudes de Science Politiques in Paris. She earned a bachelor’s degree in romance languages and a master’s degree in international relations from the George Washington University. She has also received two honorary doctorates — one from Roger Williams University in Rhode Island in 2000 and another from Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., in 2009.
Week 4 - Thursday, July 22
William Heyen
A Poetics of Hiroshima
William Heyen, professor of English and poet-in-residence emeritus at SUNY Brockport, has won prizes and fellowships from NEA, Guggenheim Foundation, Poetry and American Academy of Arts and Letters. He is the author of 30 books, including Home: Autobiographies; The Hummingbird Corporation: Stories; Pig Notes & Dumb Music: Prose on Poetry; Crazy Horse in Stillness (winner of the Small Press Book Award in 1997); Pterodactyl Rose: Poems of Ecology; and Shoah Train: Poems (a finalist for the National Book Award in 2004), and edited The Generation of 2000: Contemporary American Poets and September 11, 2001: American Writers Respond. His work has appeared in hundreds of magazines and anthologies.
In A Poetics of Hiroshima, Heyen has broken through to face full square what has been working its way to the surface through several of his highly praised earlier books: the interfusions, in art and in our desire for art, of beauty and atrocity. Joyce Carol Oates calls Heyen “a remarkable poet in whom the ‘visionary’ and the unblinkingly ‘historical’ are dramatically meshed.”
Week 5 - Thursday, July 29
David Friend
Watching the World Change: The Stories Behind the Images of 9/11
David Friend, Vanity Fair’s editor of creative development and formerly Life’s director of photography, will present his book Watching the World Change: The Stories Behind the Images of 9/11 for the CLSC on July 29.
Watching the World Change is a unique and powerfully affecting account of the most universally observed news event in human history: the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Friend tells the stories behind the images that altered our sense of the world forever — from the happenstance shots taken by bystanders as the north tower was struck to the now-iconic tableau of three firefighters raising the American flag at the site that would soon be known as Ground Zero. Author and journalist Christopher Hitchens said of Watching the World Change: “At last we have a book that looks steadily through the lens and does not flinch, but which cancels voyeurism by its care and measure and by the multiplicity of its perspectives.”
Friend won Emmy and Peabody Awards as an executive producer of the CBS documentary 9/11. He has covered conflicts in Afghanistan and Lebanon, and, as an editor, broke the “Deep Throat” story in 2005, revealing that Mark Felt was Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein’s secret Watergate source. As a writer, Friend contributes frequently to Vanity Fair, American Photo and The Digital Journalist Web site. His humorous articles and cartoons have appeared in The Washington Post, Discover, The Common Review and Salon; his poetry has appeared in The New Yorker. Friend has also served as curator for photography exhibitions in galleries around the world. A graduate of Amherst College, he is currently working on a book about the culture wars of the 1990s
Week 6 - Thursday, August 5
Ha Jin
A Good Fall
Award-winning Chinese-American author Ha Jin will present his latest work, A Good Fall, for the CLSC August 5. A Good Fall is a collection of narratives that paint a multigenerational portrait of life in Flushing, one of New York City’s largest Chinese immigrant communities.
“Reading [Ha Jin] is almost like falling in love: you experience anxiety, profound self-consciousness, and an uncomfortable sensitivity to the world and somehow it’s a pleasure,” said The New Yorker of Jin’s writing. “Like the best realist writers, Ha Jin sneaks emotional power into the plainest declarative sentences.”
A member of the People’s Liberation Army during the 1970s, Jin received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in China before pursuing his doctorate in American literature at Brandeis University. Following the Tiananmen Square incident in 1989, Jin said he felt betrayed by his country and chose to stay in the U.S. and write exclusively in English. He described his decision in an April 2009 New York Times op-ed: “I cannot leave behind June 4, 1989, the day that set me on this solitary path. The memory of the bloodshed still rankles, and working in this language has been a struggle. But I remind myself that … literature can transcend language. If my work is good and significant, it should be valuable to the Chinese.”
Jin’s previous works include A Free Life and Waiting; his 2004 novel War Trash was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. He is currently a member of the English faculty at Boston University.
Week 7 - Thursday, August 12
David Grann
The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon
David Grann, a staff writer at The New Yorker, will present his best-selling book, The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon, for the CLSC August 12. Published by Doubleday, The Lost City of Z is an exploration into what happened to British explorer Percy Fawcett and his quest to find the lost city of El Dorado, which he called “Z.” The book is Grann’s first and is being developed into a movie by Brad Pitt’s Plan B production company and Paramount Pictures.
In his career, Grann has written about everything from New York City’s antiquated water tunnels to the hunt for the giant squid to the presidential campaign. His stories have appeared in several anthologies, including What We Saw: The Events of September 11, 2001, The Best American Crime Writing (2004 and 2005 editions) and The Best American Sports Writing (2003 and 2006 editions). A 2004 finalist for the Michael Kelly Award for the “fearless pursuit and expression of truth,” Grann has also written for The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The Wall Street Journal, The Weekly Standard and The New Republic.
Before joining The New Yorker in 2003, Grann was a senior editor at The New Republic, and, from 1995 until 1996, the executive editor of the newspaper The Hill. He holds master’s degrees in international relations from the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy and in creative writing from Boston University. After graduating from Connecticut College in 1989, he received a Thomas Watson Fellowship and did research in Mexico, where he began his career in journalism. His second book, The Devil and Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness, and Obsession, is due out in March.
Week 8 - Tuesday, August 17
Salman Rushdie
The Enchantress of Florence
To coincide with his Aug. 17 Chautauqua visit, Salman Rushdie’s The Enchantress of Florence has been named as one of two Chautauqua Literary & Scientific Circle selections for Week Eight. “An Evening with Salman Rushdie,” a special 8:15 p.m. event in the Amphitheater, will serve as the Roundtable discussion. The CLSC selection for the Thursday, Aug. 19, Roundtable has yet to be announced.
The Enchantress of Florence, published by Random House in 2008, is two stories in one: a tale about three boys from Florence in the age of Lorenzo de' Medici, and a story of Akbar, greatest of the Mughal emperors, who established both the wondrous and short-lived city Fatehpur Sikri and a wondrous and short-lived policy of religious tolerance. In her review for The Guardian, Ursula K. Le Guin called The Enchantress of Florence a “brilliant, fascinating, generous novel,” and a “sumptuous, impetuous mixture of history with fable.”
Week 8 - Thursday, August 19
Lauren Belfer
A Fierce Radiance
Best-selling author Lauren Belfer will present her new novel, A Fierce Radiance, for the CLSC August 19. A Fierce Radiance is at once a thriller, a love story, a family saga and a window into American history, evoking the pure essence of wartime New York. It portrays the tumultuous early days of World War II, when many feared that America would lose the war, when even children were caught up in the sacrifices demanded by the nation’s mobilization, and when individuals clung fiercely to their loved ones, because no one could predict what tomorrow would bring.
Born in Rochester, N.Y., Belfer grew up in Buffalo, where she attended the Buffalo Seminary. Her debut novel, City of Light, was also a CLSC selection, as well as a New York Times best-seller, a Barnes & Noble Discover Award nominee, a New York Times Notable Book, a Library Journal Best Book and a Main Selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club. City of Light was a best-seller in Great Britain and has been translated into seven languages.
Belfer's fiction has also been published in the Michigan Quarterly Review, Shenandoah and Henfield Prize Stories. Her nonfiction has appeared in The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post Book World and The Christian Science Monitor.
A Fierce Radiance is scheduled for a June 15 release.
Week 9 - Thursday, August 26
Ken Gormley
The Death of American Virtue: Clinton vs. Starr
Previous CLSC author and Duquesne University law dean and professor Ken Gormley returns to Chautauqua in 2010 to present his latest book, The Death of American Virtue: Clinton vs. Starr on August 26. A revealing analysis of the events leading to the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton, The Death of American Virtue, released in February 2010, features exclusive interviews with the scandal’s key players, including Clinton, Kenneth Starr, Monica Lewinsky and Paula Jones.
A member of the Duquesne School of Law faculty since 1994, Gormley specializes in constitutional law and is a renowned expert on the Watergate scandal. His Archibald Cox: Conscience of a Nation, published in 1997, was a 1998 CLSC selection and won the 1999 Bruce K. Gould Book Award for outstanding publication related to the law. The Death of American Virtue has already received the 2010 Bruce K. Gould Book Award as well as critical acclaim in publications including The New York Times Book Review (Editor's Choice), Washington Post Book World, Wall Street Journal, Los Angles Times, Atlantic magazine, and dozens of others. Gormley has appeared on NBC's Today Show, The Charlie Rose Show, Hardball with Chris Matthews, NPR's Fresh Air, and hundreds of television and radio shows in the United States, Canada, Australia, Russia, Germany, India and worldwide. He has testified three times before the United States Senate and has appeared as a legal commentator on national radio and television broadcasts.
Gormley previously clerked for U.S. District Judge Donald E. Ziegler, taught at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, engaged in private practice, served as executive director of the Pennsylvania Legislative Reapportionment Commission, and was the first academic to serve as President of the Allegheny County Bar Association. Gormley earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh, summa cum laude, and his law degree from Harvard Law School. He was appointed Dean of Duquesne Law School in 2010.
CLSC Alumni
The Alumni Association of the CLSC was incorporated in 1893 to provide an organization that encourages CLSC graduates to continue reading and study. It occupies the first and part of the second floors of Alumni Hall and maintains the valuable banners and artifacts contained in that building and in Pioneer Hall. Alumni Hall rooms can be rented both for meetings and private gatherings.
The Alumni Association serves to support the many CLSC activities and programs conducted by the Alumni Association-including the Brown Bag luncheons/Book Reviews and Eventide programs. It is also the parent organization for the graduated classes. Many of these classes are active for several decades or more.
The Guild of Seven Seals is the graduate degree of CLSC. There are four levels of reading accomplishment within the Guild that are recognized by the awarding of additional seals. The "Guild" operates under the umbrella of the Alumni Association, and actively searches out new books to recommend as CLSC selections.
The current Alumni Association President is Dick Karslake. He is supported by six Vice Presidents: Education, Building and Grounds, Membership, Activities, History and Traditions, and Operations. There are also two Secretaries and a Treasurer and many opportunities for volunteers on the numerous committees.
Membership is available to all CLSC graduates on either an Annual or Life Membership basis. For more information on any of the above, please call the desk at Alumni Hall during the Season at 716-357-9312. From September to June you can write to:
CLSC Alumni Association
Box 1034
Chautauqua, NY 14722
Check out the CLSC Flickr photostream.
2010 CLSC Young Readers
The CLSC Young Readers Program encourages the enjoyment of good reading. The books have been chosen for their quality, the variety of styles and subjects, and their appeal to young adult readers. A special program is offered each Wednesday at 4:15 p.m. Book selections and program information are fully described in the Young Readers brochure available at the CLSC Veranda.
NON-FICTION
- A River of Words, William Carlos Williams
- Charles and Emma, Deborah Heiligman
FICTION
- Fairest, Gail Carson Levine
- When You Reach Me, Rebecca Stead (2010 Newbery Medal winner)
- The Magician’s Elephant, Kate DeCamillo
- Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, Grace Lin
- Everything For A Dog, Ann M. Martin
- Haroun and the Sea of Stories, Salman Rushdie
CLASSIC
- Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
CLSC Membership
Applicants pay modest membership dues and may purchase CLSC selections at substantial savings when they register. Click here to download the 2010 CLSC Membership Application and Order Form. In order to graduate from the CLSC, candidates must have paid four years of membership dues (the years need not be consecutive), must have read and reported any 12 titles from the CLSC historic booklist, must have paid the initial year of class dues and, finally, must have completed an application form for graduation.
During our summer season (June 26-August 29, 2010), please call the CLSC Veranda at 716.357.6293. At any time of year, you can send email to clsc@ciweb.org, call the Education Department at 716.357.6310, or write to the CLSC at the following address:
Chautauqua Institution
Attn: Education Office/CLSC
PO Box 28
Chautauqua, NY 14722
