Walrus Courses

COMING UP IN NOVEMBER…

Crafting the Voice: A Creative Writing and Reading Workshop

The voice is the heart of literature. It picks us up and carries us along the journey as it unfolds on the page before us. At times, this voice is off-putting, or requires patience for us to find our way into the unique cadence and tone we are met with. Often, though, for those of us who have writers we return to time and again, the voice is precisely the lure that keeps us coming back for more. We can recall the voice of the beloved writer–albeit conveyed through the narrator or speaker–with vividness and proximity.

In this 6-week course, we will explore, through various forms and genres, the construction of voice. Reading will encourage us to understand how writers capture a voice in order to shape meaning, as seen through poetry by Carol Ann Duffy and Marie Howe, short stories by Jamaica Kincaid and George Saunders, and creative nonfiction by Jo Ann Beard and Allie Middleton.

Accompanying the reading will be our own dive into the construction of voice through short in-class exercises and the workshopping of longer pieces written at home. By the end of the course, participants will have at least one polished piece, in addition to, hopefully, a more solidified sense of their voice, answering questions like: Who are we as writers? What do we have to say? How does it come out of us? And how can the natural personalities of our voice be expressed on the page thoughtfully and with intention?

Wednesdays 7-8:30pm, Nov. 5-Dec. 10
59,000 pesos for the 6 week course
Taught online via Zoom

Mackenzie Levitan was born in the United States but moved to Buenos Aires in 2013 after finishing her undergraduate degree in Written Arts and Latin American Studies at Bard College. She received her MFA in Creative Writing from UNTREF in 2019 as a poet and essayist. She teaches literature at a local high school, tutors students who are preparing for international exams and is currently editing a translation of Emily Dickinson’s poetry.

Reserve your spot today: [email protected]

🔥🔥🔥ONLY 3 SPOTS LEFT🔥🔥🔥

The Short Stories of Raymond Carver and John Cheever

While from opposite sides of the USA and completely different social backgrounds, what unites these two former drinking buddies is their mastery of the short story form to express — though in very different ways — their character’s individual struggles and corresponding societal constraints in the context of a non-existent, or at best elusive, American Dream.

Usually set in the Pacific Northwest and peopled with down and out characters that can’t seem to get a break, Raymond Carver’s stories are written in a spare prose style that serves to highlight working-class realities in a genre that has become known as ‘dirty realism’.

John Cheever, on the other hand, often uses a more elaborate and figurative language to depict the miseries of commuter boredom and infinite lawn maintenance in the affluent East Coast suburbs of the 1950s and 1960s.

This six-week course will devote three classes to each author while we read and discuss classics such as Carver’s “Why Don’t You Dance?” and Cheever’s “The Swimmer”.

Thursdays 7:15-8:45pm, October 30-December 4
Taught at Walrus Books (Estados Unidos 617)
59,000 pesos for the 6 week course

Cayley Taylor lives in Buenos Aires but is originally from Canada. She holds an undergraduate degree in English Literature and Philosophy and an MA in Social and Political Thought. In addition to working as an editor and translator, she has taught literature courses in Canada, Mexico, and Argentina.

To sign up, please write to us at: [email protected]

Poetry: An Odyssey Into a Misunderstood Genre

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Poetry! Pretty much all of us have read it at some point in our lives, and willingly or unwillingly, we’ve also probably tried to write it. But what, exactly, is a poem? And perhaps more importantly — what makes a good one? During this six-week course, we will read a wide range of contemporary poems in search of answers to these questions. As we learn from the likes of Jenni Fagan, James Merrill, Gwendolyn Brooks, Ada Limón, Ocean Vuong, and Anne Carson, students will be invited to write, read, and workshop their own poems. No previous experience reading or writing poetry is needed — just a willingness to show up, bare your heart, and have fun!

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Mondays 7:15-8:45pm, October 20-December 1 (no class Nov. 24)
Taught at Walrus Books (Estados Unidos 617)
59,000 pesos for the 6 week course

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Born in the Rust Belt city of Buffalo, New York, Alex Mogavero has lived in Buenos Aires for close to a decade. He studied Spanish Language and Literature at Buffalo State University, as well as English and Creative Writing. Since finishing his BA, he’s racked up a number of certificates in education and counselling, and is currently studying psychology at the University of Buenos Aires. When he’s not teaching languages or literature, you might find him reading Tarot, baking bread, or playing Brahms on the viola.

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To sign up, please write to us at: [email protected]

*THE WALRUS SCHOOL ONLINE*
🔥🔥 ONLY TWO SPOTS LEFT!!! 🔥🔥

The Ties That Bind: Stories of Parents and Children

They say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree—and yet, sometimes it rolls. Whether we feel love, longing, loss, or something more complicated, our relationship with our parents shapes us in ways we’re often still discovering. As a new mother myself, I’ve been reflecting on the power and complexity of that bond: what it means to be a parent, a child, or both at once.

Join me for a six-week journey through powerful short stories by Alice Walker, Tillie Olsen, Ray Bradbury, and others as we explore the many faces of parenthood—across cultures, generations, and emotional landscapes. We’ll ask: What makes a “good” parent? What happens when parents and children see the world differently? Can we ever really know the people who raised us? What is the new role that technology plays as we raise our kids?

Whether your experience of family is joyful, painful, or something in between, these stories will open up space for meaningful discussion, insight, and connection.

TUESDAYS 7-8:30PM
SEPTEMBER 9-OCTOBER 14
TAUGHT BY ASRIEL MEDINA
**ONLINE VIA ZOOM**
59,000 PESOS FOR THE 6 WEEK COURSE

Sign up today: [email protected]

💥💥💥 ONLY THREE SPOTS LEFT!!! 💥💥💥
Reserve yours before this course sells out: [email protected]

The Short Stories of Katherine Mansfield and Virginia Woolf

When Katherine Mansfield died at just 34 years old in 1923, Virginia Woolf famously confessed that the New Zealander’s writing was the only writing she had ever been jealous of. The stylistic and formal innovations found in the short stories of both authors have come to characterize literary modernism, a movement that encapsulated the sweeping scientific, political, cultural and social changes that were taking place at the beginning of the 20th century. From Woolf’s epistemological critique in “The Mark on the Wall” to Mansfield’s exploration of epiphany in “The Garden Party”, this six-week course will compare the groundbreaking short stories of these two modernist megastars.

THURSDAYS 7:15-8:45 PM
SEPTEMBER 4-OCTOBER 9
TAUGHT BY CAYLEY TAYLOR
AT WALRUS BOOKS (ESTADOS UNIDOS 617)
59,000 PESOS FOR THE 6 WEEK COURSE

Stories of Motherhood

Writer Sarah Menkedick once wrote: “Patriarchal culture has reduced motherhood to an exercise no serious artist would tackle as a subject.” Fortunately, this belief is gradually being challenged. Present or absent, adored or despised, we all have mothers, although we don’t all understand them. While the topic of motherhood itself has long been overlooked, the figure of the mother is ubiquitous in literature. The experience of motherhood is complex and varied. In this course we will explore stories of biological mothers, stepmothers, mothers by choice and mothers by circumstance. Authors will include Chimamanda Adichie, Tessa Hadley, Colm Tóibín and more.

SATURDAYS 10-11:30 AM
AUGUST 30-OCTOBER 4
TAUGHT BY REBECCA WOLPIN
AT WALRUS BOOKS (ESTADOS UNIDOS 617)
59,000 PESOS FOR THE 6 WEEK COURSE
Sign up today: [email protected]

🔥🔥🔥🔥ONLY FOUR SPOTS LEFT!!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Passages: A Journey Through Travel Writing

Set out on a literary adventure that explores the craft of travel writing through short stories and essays. Each week, we’ll tour new places–real and imagined–through the eyes of celebrated writers. Our readings will include enthralling travel accounts from roaming authors like James Baldwin, Kate Chopin, and Martha Gellhorn. Experience the thrill of discovery, the complexities of crossing borders, and the personal transformations that travel inspires. We’ll also explore how authors capture place, culture, and the self in motion, all while considering our own experiences as observers on the move. These six weeks will be your passport to evocative journeys through places like France, East Africa, and Cuba. No bag packing required.

WEDNESDAYS 7:15-8:45 PM
AUGUST 20-SEPTEMBER 24
TAUGHT BY JUSTINE BROWNING
AT WALRUS BOOKS (ESTADOS UNIDOS 617)
59,000 PESOS FOR THE 6 WEEK COURSE
Sign up today: [email protected]

James Joyce’s Dubliners

A priest dies. A young boy goes to the market. A woman hesitates at a port. A man attends a Christmas party.

The stories in James Joyce’s Dubliners may seem simple on the surface, but in Joyce’s hands, the mundane becomes monumental. These are not heroic tales, but portraits of ordinary people navigating missed chances, quiet disappointments, and sudden epiphanies. With quiet brilliance, Joyce captures small moments that reveal the emotional and psychological undercurrents of daily life in early twentieth-century Dublin—a city shaped by religious tradition, colonial influence, and a culture of silence and restraint.

In this six-week course, we’ll explore selected stories from Dubliners, considering how Joyce’s precise style creates stories that still resonate today. Whether this is your first reading or a long-overdue return to a modernist classic, join us for thoughtful discussion on how a collection over a century old still feels startlingly relevant today.

Thursdays 7:15-8:45pm, May 22-June 26
49,000 pesos for the 6-week course
Walrus Books, San Telmo (Estados Unidos 617)
Taught by Paloma Apesteguía
To sign up: [email protected]

Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights

When Emily Bronte’s only novel, Wuthering Heights, was first published in 1847 under the male pseudonym Ellis Bell, critics were divided. Some considered it strange and baffling, while others recognized it as a work of genius. When it was revealed three years later that the author was not a man, but a previously unknown woman writer, the book’s themes of unmodified power and social transgression sparked controversy and challenged Victorian expectations.

Told from the perspective of various narrators, Wuthering Heights describes the doomed love between Catherine Earnshaw and her father’s mysterious adopted son, Heathcliff, followed by the latter’s grief-fuelled pursuit of revenge on the two families he believes destroyed his life.

Set in a remote Yorkshire district of Northern England, the rugged moorland and stormy weather serve to amplify the Gothic elements of the novel, resulting in a highly charged atmosphere of emotional upheaval and foreboding intrigue.

This 6-week course aims to provide an in-depth analysis and the opportunity to discuss and debate this haunting Victorian classic.

Saturdays 10am-11:30am, May 17-June 21
49,000 pesos for the 6-week course
Walrus Books, San Telmo (Estados Unidos 617)
Taught by Cayley Taylor
To sign up: [email protected]

STARTING APRIL 14 🔍

🏃‍♀️ ONLY A FEW SPOTS LEFT 🪂

Crime… and Punishment?

Is there always a clear line dividing right from wrong, justice from injustice?

Crime fiction is an incredibly diverse genre. While some traditional works can be considered light, comfortable reading where in the end order is restored—the criminals pay, the victims are vindicated, societies are reaffirmed in their values—in the hands of a great writer it can go far beyond the mere offer of suspense. From classics like Edgar Allan Poe to more modern authors such as Roald Dahl or Susan Glaspell, the genre has retained its entertainment value while exploring the concepts of crime and punishment, justice and injustice, right and wrong. The focus shifts from detection and discovery to consideration of human nature, human suffering, guilt, and empathy. The tone may be serious, didactic or light and satirical. The crime serves as a lense to observe the individuals and societies portrayed, but also serves as a mirror for our personal and social conceptions and biases. Are we always meant to condemn the criminal and seek justice for the victim? Is it always clear who the victim is, and what justice would actually look like?

This six-week short story course is well suited to anyone keen to engage in a lively discussion of the human issues presented in the stories that reaffirm or challenge our preconceived notions while at the same time exploring the authors’ craft in building suspense and engaging readers’ interest.

Mondays 7-8:30pm, April 14-May 19
Taught online via Zoom
42,000 pesos for the 6-week course
Taught by Valeria Pietronave
To sign up: [email protected]

🔥🔥🔥ONLY A FEW SPOTS LEFT🔥🔥🔥

Beginning next Thursday…

Strangers in Strange Lands: Stories About Outsiders and Misfits

Odd figures, mysterious personages, newcomers unaware or defiant of the customs and conventions of a given place, characters that break with social norms challenge us as readers in our perceptions and assumptions. Do we sympathize or empathize with them or are we horrified by their behaviour or appearance, indignant and siding with the status quo? What do our reactions to “others” say about who we are and the values we hold?

This course will focus on a selection of six short stories that introduce us to a variety of odd, misunderstood, or eccentric characters. Join us as we analyze a series of stories that tend to alarm, comfort, or sadden readers, stories that say as much about the present and about us as the period and the society in which they were written. Authors will include Flannery O’Connor, Toni Morrison, Joyce Carol Oates, and more.

Thursdays 7-8:30pm, March 20-April 24
In person at Walrus Books, San Telmo (Estados Unidos 617)
42,000 pesos for the 6-week course
Taught by Rebecca Wolpin

(Note: This is a SECOND section of this course that we opened up after the Saturday morning section originally advertised by email SOLD OUT immediately!)

⭐️🌟⭐️ NEW!!! 🌟⭐️🌟

Introductory Workshop for Hesitant Students

Are your English skills slightly rusty from lack of use? Are you somewhat unsure about trying a more advanced discussion-based class? This six-week course is designed to help you get started reading and discussing accessible literary works as an initial approach to literature in English or as a refresher. We will explore a range of short stories from classic authors like Ernest Hemingway and Oscar Wilde to more contemporary works such as Ali Smith, with a selection of poetry along the way. Together we will set out to explore the language these writers use and navigate their literary seas, taking a closer look at what’s under the surface. The pace of this course will be slightly slower than that of our more advanced offerings to ensure no one is left in choppy waters. This course is perfect for first time Walrus students looking for a welcoming way to gain confidence in their skills and ease into our more advanced courses!

Wednesdays 7-8:30pm, March 26-April 30
Taught in person at Walrus Books, San Telmo (Estados Unidos 617)
42,000 pesos for the 6-week course
Taught by Elias Valentin Rodrigues

To sign up: [email protected]