Literature and Belonging

Throughout time, authors have struggled to find their location and identities in often chaotic and unsettling worlds. From the 8th century classical Chinese poet Du Fu, who wrote some of his finest poems during the catastrophic An Lushan Rebellion, to the Native American novelist Louise Erdrich, who writes of her grandfather's argument for Indigenous rights before the US Congress, creative writers have tried to find company and community to guide them. We will read authors such as bell hooks, James Baldwin, Valeria Luiselli, Ghassan Kanafani, and Viet Thanh Nguyen, Lulu Miller, and yes, Du Fu. We will also view the remarkable film, "All That Breathes," which connects human belonging and that of non-human animals. The pace will be deliberate and discussions conversational, with additional lectures by the professor.