Class Description
Welcome to the Reader's Room, where we approach beloved books as works of art, combining the camaraderie of a book club with the rigor of a literature seminar. The Reader's Room welcomes anyone who loves books, whether or not they identify as a writer. Together, we'll discuss each book through the lenses of content, context, and craft. All that's required between sessions is to read.
Reading list: The Quilt and Other Stories by Ismat Chughtai (translated by Tahira Naqvi and M. Asaduddin); The White Book by Han Kang (translated by Deborah Smith). Please note: readings from The Quilt and Other Stories will be provided by the instructor.
In this six-week reading class, we'll explore two groundbreaking works by woman authors, which confront silence, taboo, and the limits of representation: The White Book by Han Kang and selected stories by Ismat Chughtai, including her landmark story "Lihaaf" ("The Quilt"). Though separated by language, geography, and historical moment, both writers challenge inherited narratives about womanhood, desire, loss, and the body.
The class will place these works within their broader literary and historical contexts. Fist, with Han Kang, we'll turn to contemporary Korean literature and the afterlife of personal loss and war, paying special attention to The White Book's hybrid form: part prose poem, part meditation, part lyric essay. Kang's fragmented, image-driven structure asks us to read across genres, where narrative gives way to reflection, memory, and silence.
Then, we'll discuss Chughtai's writing within postcolonial South Asia and the Progressive Writers' Movement, examining how her prose resists patriarchal and colonial norms through irony, realism, and daring psychological insight. Chughtai's "Lihaaf" is a prime example of queer literature at a time when homosexuality was a taboo.
Together, we'll ask: How do writers represent experiences that are forbidden, erased, or difficult to name? What happens when a narrative borrows the compression of poetry or the introspection of essay? How do translation, multilingualism, and historical context shape our reading of a text? Combining close reading with cultural and literary history, this class approaches these books not only as compelling narratives, but as risk-taking works that continue to reshape global literature.
No prior literary study is required—only curiosity and a willingness to read closely together.
Writing Roadmap: We've created a simple, goal-based writing roadmap to help you find the perfect GrubStreet course for your writing needs.
Thanks to the excellent literary citizenship of our donors, scholarships are available for all GrubStreet classes. To apply, click the gray "APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIP" button. In order to be considered for a scholarship, you must complete your application at least one week before the start date of a class. Please await our scholarship committee's decision before registering for the class. We cannot hold spots in classes, so the sooner you apply, the better. Scholarships cannot be applied retroactively.
For more detailed information about GrubStreet scholarships, including how to contribute to scholarship funds for other students, click here.
This class will take place using Zoom videoconferencing. After registering, a yellow Resources tab will appear in this section containing a link to join class. Please note that you will need to be logged into view the Resources tab.
Zoom Participation:
In our experience, the intimate nature of a writing workshop benefits from on-camera participation. Students are of course welcome to turn their camera off whenever they need to, but it is a community norm for cameras to be on most of the time. You can learn more about using Zoom here.
Zoom Accessibility:
You can enable closed captioning at any time during the meeting by clicking the CC button at the bottom of the screen. If you'd like to access the transcript after class, please make sure to let your instructor ahead of time that you'd like a copy.