24 lectures, 30 minutes/lecture
Course No. 2317

Taught by Michael Krasny
San Francisco State University
Ph.D., University of Wisconsin

Imagine that, in one sitting, you could enter a world of imagination and witness the triumphs, tragedies, errors, and epiphanies that arise in the lives of ordinary and extraordinary people. Imagine that, in the time it takes to run an errand, you could gain remarkable insights about the true nature of humanity—its dark secrets and its saving graces. Imagine that, in the space of an hour, you could do this instead:

• Visit a Harlem jazz club and hear the inspired improvisations of gifted bluesmen
• Attend a glittering Parisian ball bedecked in borrowed jewels
• Confront a dangerous criminal on a lonely backwoods road
• Journey back to colonial America and encounter a coven of witches

This enlightening experience awaits you in Masterpieces of Short Fiction, a 24-lecture course that samples two centuries' worth of great short stories written by some of the acknowledged masters of the genre, including Anton Chekhov, D. H. Lawrence, Flannery O'Connor, Franz Kafka, and Ernest Hemingway.

Imagine is John Lennon's second solo album and is considered the most popular of his solo works. Recorded and released in 1971, the album contained songs that were gentler, more commercial and less avant-garde than the ones he released on the previous album, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. The difference, he said, was that Imagine was "chocolate-coated for public consumption", in reference to the strings so prevalent throughout.

   Lyrics added.

Subtitles added