Crucial for children's psychological development, fairy tales offer much to older folk. Symbolic, often dark, narratives like "Hansel and Gretel" or "Cinderella," provide a framework for understanding life's difficulties and achieving a sense of mastery and hope.  Even the humblest stories reveal depths of meaning that astonish adult readers. The stories will be read aloud in class and discussed as we go. You will be entertained and elucidated as you cultivate a knack for decoding archetypes and spotting elusive hidden meanings.

Moderator: Rick Sowash is a classical composer, author, and publisher of his own music, books, and CDs. He has studied fairy tales for decades, tapping the writings of thinkers like Carl Jung and Bruno Bettelheim. With degrees in Music Composition as well as Comparative Literature, he enlivens a multi-disciplined perspective with the instincts of an entertainer. Fun and astonishment are offered. He is a recipient of OLLI's Stephen Appel Award for excellence in teaching.