Wallace Stegner’s "Crossing to Safety": Marriage through the Eyes of a Master Storyteller

Class Description

This seminar is dedicated to Wallace Stenger’s final novel published in 1987, Crossing to Safety. A Pulitzer Prize winning author, Stegner explores the foundation of friendship and marriage in this story centered on two academic couples whose love becomes layered over the long haul of lives well lived. In the cultural and historical context of the professoriate, we will consider Stegner’s literary contributions and how his exemplary writing and portrayal of the good life resonates in these turbulent times.

Through close reading, this course will examine Stegner’s technique, themes, and tone. Each week’s session will cover several chapters, up to 75 pages. We will read excerpts together and discuss reactions, reflections, and questions. To enhance class conversations and to add context, a selection of recommended readings, reference pieces, and resources will be provided based on students’ interests.

Susan Lyons applies interdisciplinary scholarship to study gender inequality. Her recent academic papers explore the “motherhood penalty”, an economic and sociological phenomenon not easily explained by feminist theory. She finds many interpersonal conundrums are better elucidated through literature than statistics.

What to Expect

Format: In Person 

Class Capacity: 18 

Class Style: Mostly discussion; participation-based 

Materials List

Required

• Wallace Stegner, Crossing to Safety. Random House, Modern Library, 1987. ISBN: 978-0375759314

Recommended

• Other Instructor-Distributed Materials

First Reading

• For the first session please read the Biographical Note, Introduction, and Afterword in Crossing to Safety, pp. v-xviii and 329-335.

• The instructor will send a pdf of the supplemental reading: “Wallace Stegner”, New York Times Book Review, June 7, 2020.

A Brief Syllabus

1. Introduction
2. Private Lives and Partnership
3. Starting Out
4. Education
5. Inner Lives
6. Crossing to Safety

Cost and Registration

6 Sessions, $245 ($220.50 for Newberry members, seniors, and students). Learn about becoming a member.

We offer our classes at three different price options: Regular ($245), Community Supported ($225), and Sponsor ($265). Following the models of other institutions, we want to ensure that our classes are accessible to a wider audience while continuing to support our instructors. You may choose the price that best fits your situation when registering through Learning Stream.

To register multiple people for this class, please go through the course calendar in Learning Stream, our registration platform. When you select the course and register, you’ll be prompted to add another registrant.

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