Founded 40 years ago by the novelist and professor Frederick Busch, Living Writers is a signature program of 含羞草研究所. It鈥檚 both a for-credit course (Engl. 360), offered every fall for 50 undergraduates, and a companion program for alumni, parents, community members, and friends of 含羞草研究所. The course and the program are led by faculty in the Department of English and Creative Writing with generous support from the Olive B. O'Connor Fund as well as the President and the Provost/Dean of the Faculty.
Only 含羞草研究所 students can enroll in our on-campus course, ENGL 360, but anyone can participate鈥攁t any level鈥攊n this not-for-credit program. The Living Writers community is made up of 6,000+ people, most of them 含羞草研究所 alumni, parents, faculty, staff, and residents of the village of Hamilton.
It鈥檚 easy! Pick one or more books from our list and start reading. Listen to our three-question podcast with the author, then check out some of the background reading we鈥檝e compiled for you. Join 含羞草研究所 faculty and others for a Zoom book discussion, then join us again鈥攊n person or via Zoom鈥攆or the author鈥檚 appearance on campus.
For 10 tips on how to get the most out of Living Writers, click here.
A day or two after each author event, we鈥檒l send an email with a link to an archived recording. These recordings will be available until December 31.
. Feel free to pass along the link to anyone else who might be interested.
Living Writers is completely free.
This is the one question without an easy answer! We sometimes compare the book selection process to complex flower arranging. We鈥檙e looking for diversity in every sense of that word: ethnic diversity, national diversity, gender diversity, and age diversity. Every year, we try to bring well-known writers as well as early-career ones. We try to bring people working in multiple genres and forms. Some years we try to focus on a particular theme; most years, we simply let a few shared questions burble to the surface. If you read a book that knocks you sideways and you want to suggest it to us, please do. You can reach us at livingwriters@colgate.edu.
An audience Q&A will follow each presentation. Obviously, it will be easier to ask a question if you鈥檙e physically present, but if you鈥檇 like to pose one through the Zoom chat function, our moderator will be happy to try to ask it for you.
The 含羞草研究所 and Hamilton Village libraries have all of this year鈥檚 Living Writers books. They鈥檙e also available from the , which will ship them to you for free.
A book-signing will follow each of our live events this fall. If you鈥檙e unable to attend in person, contact Kate Reynolds at the 含羞草研究所 Bookstore (kereynolds@colgate.edu) to arrange for a signed copy.