Hearts & Minds: Katherine Mansfield - II
Fiction and Nonfiction Workshops
Tuesday March 5, 12, 19, 26
Thursday March 7, 14, 21, 28
My father gave me my copy of Katherine Mansfield’s Collected Stories, and the first thing I noticed about the book was its white-veined spine. Dad said, it’s the translator’s copy, to explain. To say it was a well-used copy would be too kind. It was battered. I imagined the book pushed open, page after page, day after day, as its sentences traveled from English to Turkish. Then he said, she’s not a writer to be missed, I don’t understand why she is not more famous.
I dismissed the lack of fame. I said, because she’s a woman, and put the book in my bookcase. And while I wanted to read it, it stayed there for some time. Over the years, I learned more about Katherine Mansfield, although now I cannot trace the information back to its source. I learned that Mansfield admired Chekhov, read as much as she could from him, and even plagiarized a story he had written. I learned that she was friends with D. H. Lawrence, who based one of the characters in Women in Love on her. I learned that she was the only writer Virginia Woolf was jealous of. I learned that she left her first husband on the day of their marriage, that she had lovers male and female, that she led a secretive and unruly life. Having learned all this, and more, I had to edit my response to Mansfield’s lack of fame. It wasn’t because she was a woman. It was because she was too much. Too much for the patriarchal mindset, too much for her time, just too much. They didn’t know what to do with her. Had she been a quiet talent, she could have easily become more famous, but she was loud, she disrupted, challenged, and disturbed people and the social contracts. And I believe, she’d have made herself famous, had she not succumbed to tuberculosis at the age of 34. She rightfully deserved it.Two years ago, I opened the first Katherine Mansfield class, in which we read 6 of her stories. As I do in most classes, I shared another 6 six stories as voluntary reading, and at the end of the class, I prepared a list of stories for further reading, that is, for the participants who didn’t wish to read all of her stories, 88 in total, and every single one of them worth reading.Reading and rereading those stories, I’ve added even more veins to the spine of my book. The corners of the cover split and over time a page came off, which I tenderly push back to its place every time I reopen Katherine Mansfield’s Collected Stories, which I’ve done quite a few times recently while preparing the second Katherine Mansfield class.For me, Katherine Mansfield is the queen of psychology. She moves into the inner worlds of her characters with impressive ease and reveals the workings of the heart and the mind. In this 4-week class titled after one of her books, we will read and study 4 more stories by Mansfield and write our own slice-of-life stories.You may choose Tuesday or Thursday classes. Submitting a story is encouraged but not required. You may sign up for the classes by contacting me. If we are not already friends, please add me on WeChat. I hope to see you in classes soon!
Busy in March? Check out the Class Calendar to see when else you may take a class!
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If you prefer to take a class with me before making your decision whether or not to sign up, join me for the next OPEN CLASS on Wednesday, Februay 28, 2024, at 8PM. All information you need will be available in a couple of days!
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