Literary Favorites

Where classic authors come to life

I’m Lauren Radick, a passionate literature instructor dedicated to more than just summarizing great books—I bring their authors to life. My lectures explore the personal histories, creative battles, friendships, rivalries, and cultural forces that shaped the world’s most iconic literary voices.

Through rich storytelling and insightful analysis, I guide lifelong learners beyond the page to truly discover the authors behind the classics—who they were, how they lived, and why their voices still echo today.

Available for in-person lectures in South Florida, and via Zoom.

All lectures offered individually, as a complete series, or customized to meet the unique interests of your community.

Background:

Before turning to teaching literature, I spent many years as an early childhood center administrator—an experience that fostered my lasting appreciation for curiosity and learning at every stage of life.

Today, I lead dynamic lectures for adult learners, bringing classic authors to life through their personal histories, relationships, and cultural moments. My signature series, The Life and Times of Literary Favorites, explores the real people behind the books we love.

My academic background includes a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Literature from Emerson College and a master’s in Education from The George Washington University.

Lectures from The Life and Times of Literary Favorites:

• Agatha Christie: The Real-Life Gone Girl
• F. Scott Fitzgerald: Love, Loss and the American Dream
• Gertrude Stein: Paris, Picasso, and the Making of Modern Culture
• Mark Twain: Wit on the River
• Charles Dickens: Voice of the People
• Jane Austen: Social Critic and Comedian
• Oscar Wilde: A Life of Brilliance, Wit and Wisdom
• Virginia Woolf and the Bloomsbury Group
• Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: Beyond Sherlock Holmes
• Sylvia Plath: Poet and Fashionista
• The Bronte Sisters: The Lives of Three Remarkable Writers
• The Hoax Execution of Fyodor Dostoevsky
• George Eliot: A Mind of Her Own
• Elizabeth Gaskell: Stories of Society
• Thomas Hardy: Fate and Fiction
• Harriet Beecher Stowe: Voice of Justice
• Nathanial Hawthorne: The Scarlet Legacy
• Louisa May Alcott: Courage and Compassion
• The Lost Generation: Hemingway, Fitzgerald and Stein
• The Transcendentalists: Emerson, Thoreau and Alcott
• The Beat Generation: Kerouac, Ginsberg and Burroughs
• Ron Chernow and the Biography: Twain, Washington and Hamilton
• Mary Shelley: The Woman Who Created Frankenstein
• Walt Whitman: Father of Free Verse
• Edgar Allan Poe: Master of Suspense

Lectures from the Literary Anniversaries:  

• 90th Anniversary of Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
• 60th Anniversary of Truman Capote’s Black and White Ball at the Plaza
• 40th Anniversary of Beloved by Toni Morrison
• 100^th Anniversary of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• 65^th Anniversary of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Lectures from Acting Out The Classics: From Page to Stage:

• Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway and James Joyce’s Ulysses
• Harriet Beecher Stowe Uncle Tom’s Cabin and Mark Twain Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
• Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Bram Stoker’s Dracula
• Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird and Truman Capote’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s

Other classes:

• True Crime: When Real Lives Become Stories
• What Should I Read Now? A Fresh Guide to Choosing Your Next Book
• Contemporary Jewish Woman Novelists
• Voices of Today: Women in Writing

Where I teach:

• Nova Southeastern University Life Learning Institute, Fort Lauderdale
• Florida Atlantic University OLLI, at Boca Raton and Jupiter Campus
• Florida International University OLLI, Biscayne Bay Campus, Miami
• University of Miami OLLI, Coral Gables
• Rochester Technical/Community College, Learning Is ForEver (LIFE) (via Zoom)
• Brockway Memorial Library, Miami Shores
• Pembroke Pines Jewish Center, Pembroke Pines
• Plaza at ParkSquare, Aventura
• William Island Club, Aventura
• The Waterford Senior Living, Juno Beach
• The Palace, Weston
• Vi Living, Aventura
• Broward County’s Stirling Library
• University of Pittsburgh OLLI (via Zoom)
• Florida State University OLLI, Tallahassee (via Zoom)
• Washington University at St. Louis OLLI (via Zoom)
• California State University at Channel Islands OLLI (via Zoom)

Upcoming and Recent Presentations:

Gone with the Wind at Pembroke Pines Jewish Center on August 18: Calendar | PPJC

The Bronte Sisters at FAU on August 26: The Brontë Sisters: The Legacy of Three Remarkable Writers – Bundle Eligible

America at 250: Mark Twain at Broward’s Stirling Library on August 23, and then Ron Chernow on August 30: https://broward.libnet.info/event/16927983

The Bronte Sisters at The Palace, Weston on August 28: 6a68c7795aba026c1255f1e7_Palace-Weston-Activities-Calendar-IL.pdf

Five-week series at U of Pittsburgh OLLI begins September 3 The Life and Times of Literary Favorites, Part 2

Truman Capote at NSU LLI on September 15: Truman Capote, the Swans and the 60th Anniversary of the Black and White Ball – LibCal – Nova Southeastern University

Three-week series at Florida State University OLLI begins October 1: The Life and Times of Literary Favorites

Four-week series at Brockway Memorial Library begins October 2. www.eventbrite.com/e/life-and-times-of-literary-favorites-american-movements-4-week-series-tickets-1993936322215

Four-week series at OLLI at California State University Channel Islands begins October 22

Gone With the Wind NSU LLI on October 20: Gone with the Wind at 90: The Story that Still Sweeps Us Off our Feet – LibCal – Nova Southeastern University

The Beat Generation at OLLI at FAU on November 30: The Beat Generation: Rebels, Roads, and Revolution – Bundle Eligible

NSU LLI on December 1: American Icons at 250: Ron Chernow and the Art of Biography – LibCal – Nova Southeastern University

Mark Twain at the Pembroke Pines Jewish Center on December 15: Calendar | PPJC

Toni Morrison and the 40th Anniversary of Beloved: An American Masterpiece – LibCal – Nova Southeastern University

The Transcendentalists: Emerson, Thoreau and Alcott in a Revolutionary Age – LibCal – Nova Southeastern University

The Bronte Sisters: Three Remarkable Writers – LibCal – Nova Southeastern University

The Beat Generation: Kerouac, Ginsberg and Burroughs – LibCal – Nova Southeastern University

Seminar: Writers of The Lost Generation: Hemingway, Fitzgerald and Stein

All lectures offered individually, as a complete series, or customized to meet the unique interests of your community.

Please contact Lauren Radick at LRadick10@gmail.com.