To the Editor:

Newly retired in Princeton after years of teaching gifted children, I was in search of a way to keep intellectually active within my local community. This, of course, is not hard to do around here. But I wanted the intellectual rigor of a University-level experience without the requisite reading load which an audited course would entail. I found just what I was looking for at the Evergreen Forum. First, I took a course entitled Exploring Princeton Architecture. The course description read: “We will focus on the social, communal, and cultural settings in which Princeton’s buildings were commissioned, designed, used, preserved, viewed, and assigned meaning.” I was hooked. Armed with this new knowledge, I was able to bring an additional depth of understanding to my walks through the town and on campus. This course was taught by both a Princeton Museum Docent/Historical-Society guide and a recently retired Princeton University architect and director of that institution’s physical planning department.

This spring I took “More Shakespeare off the Page: As You Like It.” Again, I was drawn in not only by the teacher’s love of the play and knowledge of the theater as well as the Bard, but also by the interactive part of the class. We read and dramatized as we were learning the ins-and-outs of Shakespearean language, as well as seeing in depth the meaning of the play within the context of its time. All of this, while role-playing and learning to read the lines in an effort to express all their inherent meaning and emotion. The teachers in both courses asked us to do some additional reading, which was well within my expectations. Overall, I was impressed with the wealth of talent and knowledge that is part of the fabric of our community. So for all new retirees out there looking for additional opportunities to learn while enjoying themselves, I highly recommend The Evergreen Forum.

Nancee Goldstein

Vandeventer Avenue