Catherine and Tobias Wolff: Imagination, Creativity and Beyond

When our imaginations speculate about the afterlife that most of us believe in, they are probably less effective (as Sir Thomas Browne pointed out) than two infants still in the womb trying to describe our far more mundane adult human reality. But as Catherine Wolff demonstrates in Beyond, that does not stop us from trying. Over and over again. Autobiographical storytelling is a similar act of our imaginations’ desire to understand reality by editing it vigorously.

Join us to discuss how we think about the beyond with Catherine Wolff, and with her husband Tobias Wolff, a master of that autobiographical art. We will delve into the overlapping boundaries of our imaginations, our creativity, our dreams, and what comes next. If anything.

MLF ORGANIZER

George Hammond

NOTES

MLF: Humanities

This program is part of The Commonwealth Club's Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation.

SPEAKERS

Catherine Wolff

Former Director, the Arrupe Center for Community-Based Learning, Santa Clara University; Author, Beyond: How Humankind Thinks About Heaven

Tobias Wolff

Ward W. and Priscilla B. Woods Professor, Emeritus, Department of English, Stanford University; Author, This Boy’s Life and In Pharoah’s Army

In Conversation with George Hammond

Author, Conversations With Socrates

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on February 15th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California.

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