F4E. The Unhinged Storyteller
Literature & Writing | Registration closed 9/13/2025
Good literature is all about the story. Writers often craft unstable, deceptive, or psychologically complex narrative voices to challenge our perceptions of truth and reality. Examining a variety of short fiction and poetry, we will consider how this narrative lens forces the reader to carefully assess the narrative’s ability. Readings will include Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Notes from the Underground, Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart,” John Cheever’s “The Swimmer,” and James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues,” among others. Some of the poets to be considered include Robert Browning, Sylvia Plath, and Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
- "Unhinged" by David Offill/AI
David Offill
Presenter
David Offill taught literature and writing for over 30 years at several independent schools. He also developed a curriculum and served in various administrative roles. A highlight of his professional life was participating in an Endowment for the Humanities seminar on Moby Dick in Santa Barbara, California. He currently spends his time reading, writing, and sharpening his harpoons.
Nina Lynch
Class Manager
Nina Lynch (LLI), has been working with older adults since the early 1970s. She retired from the Dutchess County Office of the Aging in 2011 and is a founding member of Rhinebeck at Home.