Following up on our successful Neil Gaiman discussion, the Summer Tales Book Club turned to a classic: F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Sleeping and Waking,” a piece about insomnia that straddles the line between short story and personal essay in a way that today we might call autofiction. Participants in our online forum talked about the kinds of anxieties that come late at night, the distinction between dreams and waking fantasies, and the clock-watching anxiety about being able to fall asleep that can make actually falling asleep so hard to do. We held a successful live session as well — many thanks to our participants for joining on BigBlueButton!
O
ur third session kicked off with a bang, as distinguished author Joyce Carol Oates joined a live session to discuss her short story “Where Is Here?” and thoughts about her own writing craft.
Join us on the Summer Tales Canvas site as we bring the summer (much like a good short story) to a satisfying conclusion!
Not affiliated with Rutgers? Check out our public guide about the Summer Tales Book Club for reading recommendations for the rest of the summer. Stay tuned for more books to read suggested by the members.
PS: if you’re interested in entering the Summer Tales creative contest, the deadline has been extended to August 10!