I’ve gotten several questions lately about a writing contest offering enormous prizes: the Lichfield Institute Writing Contest (screenshot above).
Just about every temptation for a hungry writer is here. Big bucks for the winners. Feedback on every submission from distinguished judges–at least, one assumes they’re distinguished, since they’re finalists for important literary awards. Monthly stipends! Consideration by literary agencies! What more could a contest offer, even if it does charge a $15 submission fee?
Well…
You’ll probably already have noticed some…oddities…both in the screenshot above and on the contest page. The mis-spelling of Hemingway, to start (plus, it’s PEN–it’s an acronym–not Pen). The curious absence of judges’ names. Guidelines that fail to state when winners will be announced and how they will be notified. An entry form with a copy-and-paste box for submitting your entry (have fun reading, no-name judges).
In fact, there’s a ton of crucial information missing. How are the extremely large prizes funded? How many honorable mentions will there be, and what exactly are the “monthly stipends” they are promised? Which literary agencies will be considering? How long will judging take? What are winners’ obligations? How will they be paid? How will currency exchange be handled, since the contest “welcomes entrants from outside the United States”? These things and more would normally be covered in a contest’s guidelines–but the Lichfield Institute apparently doesn’t think we need to know any of them.
So…what, or who, is the Lichfield Institute?
According to its About page,
Okay, well, that’s pretty vague.
Three people are identified as the Institute’s “current leadership”. The first, Jordan de Lupis, turns up just a handful of results on a web search, none of which are able to confirm that he is indeed “a researcher and doctoral student specializing in Germanic languages and literatures at New York University.” The second, David Levine, is said to be “a researcher and writer at Harris Legal Group, an immigration law firm,” but a websearch on his name plus “Harris Legal Group” produces no results, and he isn’t mentioned on what appears to be the Harris Legal Group’s website.
The third, Omar F. Najjarine, is described as one of the Institute’s tutors. “Trained in analytic philosophy, he hosts academic interviews and produces cultural and literary vlogs online.” He would appear to be this guy. You can see his work history–which does not include any stints in academe–on his LinkedIn.
In keeping with its mission statement, the Institute invites the public to “Study With Us,” claiming guest lecturers who “hold PhDs or have other significant experience in serious and in-depth intellectual work” and are willing to volunteer their time (suggesting that the Institute is not well-funded and raising yet more questions about those big prizes). However, like the contest, the Fall 2023 lecture topics are curiously devoid of important details, such as the dates of the lectures and the names of the tutors. Registration for the fall session is said to be closed–although with a web domain that was only created on September 13, it’s a bit hard to see how anyone had time to register, let alone close out all the sessions.
So what’s really going on here?
When I first looked into the contest, I thought the Lichfield Institute must just be fluff to dress the contest up, and probably the whole thing was a scheme to steal credit card information or collect $15 from unwary entrants.
Delving deeper, I’m not so sure. There does seem to be at least one real human behind it, and his social media posts and vlogs do seem to fit with the Institute’s purported focus. While I still suspect the Institute is largely fluff, and I’m skeptical that anyone other than Mr. Najjarine is involved, I think this may be a genuine, if very weird, venture…or, rather, an attempt at one, more of a hope than an actual thing, with no strategy other than “if you build a website, they will come”. In that light, maybe the contest is not just a way to generate income, but an effort to build a mailing list.
Regardless, there’s nothing to indicate that Mr. Najjarine is capable of delivering either the contest prizes or the promises of feedback, stipends, etc.. Even if the contest isn’t just a scheme to steal entrants’ $15, in my opinion there’s no good reason to enter.
UPDATE 11/25/23: Of course I submitted a poem. I stopped short of paying the entry fee. Even so, I just got this:
January, then. We shall see.
UPDATE 1/19/24: In the comments, one person reports receiving an offer of $200 for their poem (it’s not clear if this is a prize or not). They don’t report receiving the promised feedback.
Other writers do report receiving feedback, in the form of some generic “writing principles” and a series of number grades (8.5/10, etc.) for categories like Originality of Voice and Style.
Another commenter reports that they tried to sign up for one of the Spring 2024 courses, but received an email from a Melissa Garmen claiming that “interest in this group has greatly exceeded available space, and I’m sorry to say that we are unable to place you this semester. We’ve added you to the waitlist and will be in touch if a reader withdraws.” This is my shocked face.
The Litchfield website has been updated to announce that the Spring 2024 contest is “coming soon”, with prizes “TBA”. Still no judges’ names. Still no meaningful entry rules. Still a submission fee of $15.
UPDATE 1/24/24: Well, as promised, the Lichfield Institute has announced the contest winners. There’s a first, second, and third prize winner, plus a number of finalists, some of whom are said to have been awarded stipends.
Of course, the announcement is only as good as the pixels that compose it, since absolutely none of it can be verified: not the authors, not the writings, not the prizes. I’m working on that, though.
UPDATE 1/25/24: I’ve reached out to one of the prizewinners and one of the stipend-winning finalists, and both confirm that they entered the contest, have been notified of their selection, and have received the prize/stipend money. They asked me not to use their names.
To be honest, I’m surprised. But congratulations to the winners, and I’m glad to confirm that the contest, at least, does not appear to be a sham.
I do still have a lot of questions, though, and The Lichfield Institute remains, in my opinion, a very odd venture.
Mr. Najjarine, I would love to interview you. Please reach out: beware@sfwa.org.
UPDATE 4/3/24: New on the Litchfield website: two books for sale, How to Build Your Creative Career (“Learn how to make $10,000 to $20,000 a month sharing your passion”, priced at $15.00) and How to Become a Successful Novelist (“Welcome to the path of the novelist, where every word you write is a step towards realizing your dreams”, only $4.99). Credited only to the Litchfield Institute (no authors), there are no excerpts, not even a page count: just synopses, which in the case of the Creative Career book smacks of the kind of “make big bucks writing” schemes that are all over the internet:
Section 1 - Launch This is where I help you cultivate your passion, publish quality work, and establish your brand. Look over my shoulder as I walk-through how to launch your platform.
Section 2 - Grow Now it’s time to build your audience. Discover the secrets to capturing people’s attention with viral content and high value lead magnets. Build your audience and get started in the cheapest way possible.
Turns out that’s not an accident, because…Mr. Najjarine has launched his own make-big-bucks-writing scheme! The Independent Artist Accelerator invites you to Monetize My Passion, a “more than 20 hours” training course that will show you how to “run and grow your brand from scratch to at least $10-20K in 90 days.” You can sign up for just $49 per month (13 members so far). To my lack of surprise, the Accelerator’s “modules” (Launch, Grow, Sell, and Scale) are identical to the synopsis for the Creative Career book (barring some strategic substitutions of “we” for “I”, though as is apparent from the quote above, Mr. Najjarine missed a couple). So I guess we know who wrote that one, anyway.
What are Mr. Najjarine’s qualifications for running this training course? The information he offers about himself, including a claim that in 2023 he “went from $0 to $17,000/mo in just 5 months marketing and selling a single literary offer” (the contest? Something else? It isn’t said), is short on specifics, leaving the answer unclear.
Late to the party, but I also entered this contest in 2023. A friend sent me the link so against my better judgment I submitted. Of course, afterwards I felt I shouldn’t have fallen for it. I wrote it off as a scam, tried to dispute payment (didn’t work), and kept an eye on my card. No issues. Then in late December ’23 I actually got feedback and told I was a long-listed finalist! The feedback was short and based on a weird numbering system, but was relevant to my specific story, so I figured it was legit. Anyway, I didn’t make it past the long list so didn’t get my name mentioned or money, but it seemed like a real contest after all? I don’t think I’d submit again though.
Edit: Actually, I just looked at the email again: There was no feedback given. They gave some general story advice (not specific to mine) and then rated me from 1-10 on a few different areas without explanation.
And now the Lichfield Institute’s site is down. Sad, but not really surprising: even a completely genuine and well-intentioned venture can sink pretty easily if only one or two people are really backing it.
I’ve seen it, ironically, with both of the magazines that had published my English-language stories (and one of them was Daily Science Fiction, home to a multitude of amazing works).
Oh. Now it seems to be back up again. Weird.
I submitted multiple entries and I’m blown away by the level of detail and careful suggestions of each feedback. I didn’t want to leave a comment until I received my feedback, but I feel inspired to revisit some of my stories and make changes.
This article and a couple of the comments give a very different impression to the public, which makes me wonder why Victoria hasn’t corrected the record.
I’d be glad to update my post with a note that the feedback has changed, as long as I can independently confirm it’s really the case. Will you share the feedback you received with me so I can do that? I’ll keep it confidential. beware@sfwa.org
I just want to say that I received my feedback from Lichfield today and I found it very insightful and detailed. Several paragraphs which looked closely at my intent as a writer, pointed out the things they thought were successful on a linguistic, thematic and structural level, and a few things they think I should consider changing which I thought were very much worth thinking about even if I ultimately don’t take them on board.
I only found this site because I googled Lichfield Institute Contest to see if the winners had been posted. They haven’t yet.
I don’t dispute your other reservations and notes of caution, but if it looks like prizes are being paid out, and the feedback is actually far more substantial than I expected for $15 (and considerably more than I got for a paid feedback service from a lit mag which charged three times more) then I think maybe they deserve more benefit of the doubt? Those prizes are huge, however, and I do wonder if they can possibly be covering it with entry fees alone
That sounds like quite a change from earlier feedback, which is just as I’ve reported in my 1/19/24 update (I’ve seen several examples, shared with me by the people who received them). Would you be willing to share your feedback with me, so I can see how it’s changed? Anything you share is confidential, and won’t be publicly posted. Thank you.
I entered the contest during spring 2024. I just received feedback. I will say that compared to some other people’s comments they might have upped their game a bit. At the very least I didn’t receive a rating but I did get feedback, albeit brief, that was relevant to my work.
They also gave me a section with suggestions on how I could improve my story which again all seemed relevant and helpful to the piece I submitted.
That being said I’m still unsure about it based on what others have said. I would love to hear more about the winners experience and if they have had any problems since receiving their money.
Hello Victoria.
They are running another round of writing contests that close in a month. I am on the mailing list and received an email tonight that the entrees will be closing in a month. I have seen the first prize winner of Fall 2023 on Instagram and was surprised at this person winning. (To be honest) I decided I should definitely enter this round. .. However, I did my research before doing so and now feel quite skeptical of it all.
I am particularly curious about you reaching out to one of the winners and them confirming their entree as well as being paid?? Because that seems hopeful?
Has there been any updates regarding all this… before I too … lose $15 for nothing.
Thank you Victoria
I wonder if you should edit the bit about being surprised at the first prize winner. That wouldn’t be a very nice thing to discover if you were the winner.
In the several attempts at scamming me, I have dodge the bullet by luck, but have also learned a few things. Something that is a pattern, Nigerians almost always use the term “Kindly..” Kindly reply, Kindly submit, Kindly provide… I am not sure why, but it is a thing. **I am NOT saying only Nigerians use the word kindly, nor that every message you get using that word is a scam. This is just a comment to take in consideration.
Large organizations do not ask for your PayPal account, Cash app, Zelle, Venmo. For tax purposes they would make the deposits to a bank or send checks through registered mail.
I was a student in their Thoreau seminar last year, everyone was super involved and helpful. I emailed David (our instructor) about the writing contest and he shared that they’re working with a network of professional writers, and may be adding creative writing as a seminar later this year.
Thanks for your comment, James. Can you let me know David’s full name, and what his affiliations are? I’d also be interested to know how many participants there were. Thank you.
Our discussion leader was David Levine, and I believe there were 11 students in total. I’m not certain about his affiliations, but he had taught the transcendentalists before.
Thanks. So odd that the Litchfield website doesn’t provide instructors’ names; since there really do seem to be seminars, I can’t think of any reason why they’d keep that info secret.
Here are the lucky winners of the contest:
1st prize ($10,000): Where is Home? by Bethany Cole (poem)
2nd prize ($5,000): Crimson Horror by Miriam Khouri (poem)
3rd prize ($1,050): The Wife’s Apprentice by Au-Co Tran (story)
And the following finalists have been awarded stipends:
Mara Adamitz Scrupe
Peter Altschuler
Irena Kaçi
Ian Fuller
Victoria,
This is the email I received from Lichfield:
Melissa Garmen
Thu, Jan 18, 2:00 PM (21 hours ago)
to me
Dear Jill,
We hope this message finds you well.
Congratulations again. As a finalist, we’d like to award you a small stipend of $200 in recognition of your outstanding contribution. Additionally, we would be honored to feature the title of your entry on our winners page.
1) To facilitate the payment transfer, we utilize PayPal for its efficiency and security. If you do not currently have a PayPal account, we would encourage you to set one up, it is quick and simple. For us to proceed with payment, kindly provide your PayPal-associated email address and the name (first and last) linked to your PayPal account.
2) Next, to ensure accurate representation on our winners page, please share with us the name (first and last) and the exact title of your entry, as you wish them to appear publicly.
3) Lastly, we emphasize the importance of confidentiality regarding the details of any financial transaction. While PayPal ensures privacy and encryption, it is a legal requirement for both parties (Lichfield Institute and You the entrant) to keep all details pertaining to financial transactions strictly confidential. Any disclosure of sensitive details will result in legal action. Please acknowledge that you understand this by replying to this email with the statement, “I understand my legal responsibility.”
Thank you for your attention to these details. We eagerly anticipate your response and are excited to celebrate your literary accomplishment. Please try to get back to us before January 26th.
Warm regards,
The Editors
Lichfield Institute
I am really weirded out by # 3 and don’t feel I can trust them. Let me know what you think.
Jill Charles
“… it is a legal requirement for both parties (Lichfield Institute and You the entrant) to keep all details pertaining to financial transactions strictly confidential. Any disclosure of sensitive details will result in legal action. Please acknowledge that you understand this by replying to this email with the statement, ‘I understand my legal responsibility.'”
In other words, to summarize, “We plan on robbing you.”
Thank you, David. You have told me all I need to know. I will seek out more legit publishers for my work.
The website talks of ‘monthly stipends’ as a reward. A single payment is not a ‘stipend’ as generally understood – it needs to be a regular payment to be called as such. And where does it go from now? They put the title of the poem on their ‘winners page’ and that’s it! What’s the use of that?
For the #3, I would personally interpret that “details pertaining to financial transactions” as in the payment information. Like their PayPal info. Would that be possible?
IMO, #3 is ridiculous; I would assume it’s intended not to protect anyone’s financial details, but to prevent you from sharing information with people like me.
Maybe tell them you don’t want to use PayPal, but would accept a check?
“IMO, #3 is ridiculous….”
It is also utterly silly, as there has been no contract and the receiver of email is allowed to share it anywhere one wants, unless there is in place an agreement to not do so. Some times I receive emails from people hoping to rob me that includes, at the end of the email, threats of legal reprisal if I share the email to any “third party:” I send these to the FBI’s The Internet Crime Complaint Center, then let the sender if the email know I have done so.
Victoria, I submitted a poem to this site and they are now offering to pay me $200 via PayPal. I don’t know if they are legit.
They asked me to give them my name, email used for PayPal and story title (which they should already have) and a statement about not giving out any details of the transaction that says “I understand my legal responsibility. “
Hi, Jill,
I don’t think you compromise security by providing your email, as long as the sender also has a PayPal account. However, since you submitted, they should already have your email, so asking for that and for the title of your poem is pretty weird. Also, $200 is so much less than the gigantic prizes initially promised–do they say specifically that the money is a prize?
If you do respond, I’m curious to know if you actually get the money.
Would you share the email with me? beware@sfwa.org
Melissa Garmen
Hello David,
Thank you for your interest in our reading group on Thoreau’s works, meeting on Thursdays. Unfortunately, interest in this group has greatly exceeded available space, and I’m sorry to say that we are unable to place you this semester. We’ve added you to the waitlist and will be in touch if a reader withdraws.
We wish we were able to accommodate every reader’s desire to study with us, and hope that you will be able to participate in another course or term. Please don’t hesitate to write if you have questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
–Melissa
LOL, David. You must be so disappointed!
“LOL, David. You must be so disappointed!”
The disappointment is crushing; I may never get out of bed again, as life now has no purpose or meaning. The thirty-two days it took for a reply have been filled with laughter at joyful thoughts of “attending” this reading group, and tears at the shocking, mind-numbing possibility that my query might be ignored or rejected. I am man enough to admit I cry myself to sleep these days, contemplating my great personal, emotional, and intellectual loss of just how insightful and unique Jordan de Lupis’ brilliant exegeses of Thoreau’s _WALDEN_ surely must be.
Regrettably, I entered the contest not really noticing this stuff, since a trusted sibling referred me. Sort of like that scam where a trusted person sends you a link and you click because you trust them. Anyway; I was charged money, but it doesn’t seem like anything terrible has happened on the surface. Perhaps I’m just clueless though.
I also did hear back from them regarding my writing, sort of. I wrote a very detailed essay of several pages long. The “feedback” I received gave me nothing to work with, no recommended changes, no personalized compliments, or anything of the sort. All I got was some ratings out of ten on various categories.
So I guess I paid $15 for a glorified review that I waited several weeks to get. And a few numbers out of ten was all they had to say, I got better feedback from my family. Feels awful but I guess it’s on me for falling for this.
How did you pay your $15? Depending on the method you might be able to recover the money – complain to the company whether it’s PayPal or a regular credit card. Even if they don’t reimburse you they would register a possible red flag regarding these people.
Exactly what was the feedback like? Was it completely generic and could have applied to anything submitted (hoping to exploit the Barnum effect) or was it just merely a string of numbers from one to ten?
I paid using my debit card, I don’t necessarily care for a refund so long as nothing worse will happen, but you make a good point that they could be registered a red flag in the future.
The feedback was generic and could apply to anything submitted, yes. I’m not sure if I should reveal exactly what was graded with what numbers, I could still see the “feedback” being uniquely altered in some way so they’d be able to connect this comment to me and try using the personal information they’ve already obtained to do some damage. I dunno. But yeah it could apply to pretty much anything, similar to rating punctuation out of ten. Almost exactly like an Amazon review actually, ratings on various categories but it could apply to any writing. “We love your writing, 8/10 punctuation. Don’t be discouraged you didn’t win, writing is a journey and you’re just getting started” is more or less what they said.
It still seemed appropriately chosen, the rating numbers and categories all seemed to match what I understand my writing strengths to be. But there was nothing in the email that actually suggested they read it, nothing personalized whatsoever. Unless they gave me a unique rating on any of the categories (or made some up specifically to grade me on) I imagine it could be the same email everyone else would have gotten.
Winston, thanks for commenting. The generic (form?) review fits with what seems to be the case here, there’s really just one person running the thing.
Let us know if you get any announcements about the prizes.
VERY IMPORTANT UPDATE!!!
Hello, fellow writers and researchers! I am am avid writer and poetry enthusiast. I entered three separate pieces of poetry to this contest.
And I got the EXACT same cookie-cutter email back that the other entrant described on this comment string. Very general and tbh a lot of the things truly did not pertain to my work at all. I got that same exact email for ALL my three pieces… the first and biggest thing however that caught my eye was the response regarding my first piece – The title is “Come Back”… But in the email that Litchfield sent, they referred to it not as “Come Back”- but instead as “The devour of my daughter’s flesh” — which is the first line of the first verse. It didn’t make sense. For a contest/organization so “prestigious & official” to make that king of oversight… anyway- so I began digging into the name of the woman named as sender. “Melissa Garmen”. This writer’s beware site came up….
Upon discovering this page- and reading all of the flags and suspicious details I was floored. I can’t even explain the feeling’s severity. I just felt my heart drop hard. Not just for “no chance at prizes in the first place”- or feeling scammed and played for a fool-but because my work is so very precious to me – that to know that it’s floating around in someone else’s hands who obviously likely has bad intentions, scares me so much…
So I wanted them to know that first and foremost my work has all been registered in the US library of copyrights years ago. I sent them pictures of my certificates of authenticity- they are framed and on my wall- I sent them to “Melissa Garmen”… from the Litchfield email… I also asked her to clarify all the things that were mentioned on writers beware… (without mentioning this page directly)
Here is the copy and paste of what I sent her regarding my work’s protected copyrights and questions on the legitimacy of their contest/organization… I KNOW the punctuation and flow is not perfect- I just wanted to hurry up and get it out to her…. here it is…:
“Please be aware that all of my work submitted to the “Litchfield Fall Writing Contest 2023” has already been registered and certified in the United States Copyright Office. Solidifying that all said works are LEGALLY the intellectual property of Amanda Guzman. Any copyright infringements will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. I have blind copied my copyright lawyer to protect my rights as the author for all works I’ve submitted to the Litchfield Institute.
Furthermore, I, along with other entrants I am in contact with- are involving legal experts in researching the legitimacy of this contest, and your organization as a whole, as well the credentials of all the judges and group study conductors of the workshops offered.
Please, kindly provide the names of the judges who were mentioned (but not specified) in the contest details of the promotion for said contest. Also, a reference to the past works that the prior year’s winners were awarded for, as well as any authors for honorable mentions in the past. Please, also provide the names of the literary agencies that you bring your winners’ work to in order to help further support the writers’ futures- as claimed on your website. I hope we remain in touch. Thank you for your time and attention to this email.”
I sent that on Sunday- January 14th… I have heard no response at all….
Thanks for your comment, Manda. Please come back and let us know if you do get a response.
I entered under similar circumstances; a trusted friend sent me the link. I had red flags almost immediately after submitting my poem, because they took payment, but I never received a confirmation email. Nor did I ever see any “updates” or have ANY contact from them. I clicked the “contact us” link on the web page, and emailed them asking for a confirmation. The response was from a Melissa Garmen, and it was evident that English was a second language, based on her wording and grammar. Her email read, “Hi Lisa! Yes we received your submission very well. I see you submitted November 20th.
You should have received both a ‘thank you for your submission’ and a ‘payment confirmation’ email. I’m sorry if both didn’t go through, technical issues can happen, but they are rare.
Your poem is being reviewed by our literary panel, expect to hear from us soon!”
I’ve emailed a few times since, but with only crickets in return, until this morning. I woke to the same exact email that you described; generic advice that could apply to any writing, and a series of scores. Oddly enough, also 8-8.5/10 as well, which makes me wonder how legit the scores are.
I wish I would have seen this warning before I submitted… 😞
Lisa, I’d be very interested to see that email, if you’d be willing to share it with me. beware@sfwa.org. Thanks!
The response I got was also from a Melissa Garmen, and the scores were pretty much the same there too. 9.5/10 was one score that I got.
There was also a segment at the end talking about how writing is an ever-evolving art, to keep writing and consider either submitting a new entree (with another fee, I’m sure) or entering their spring contest. I wonder if the high ratings are to lessen the blow to our confidence, or in the hopes people try again.
Now that I think of it, they probably aren’t able to steal any additional funds from us, or else I imagine they wouldn’t be encouraging more entries to try winning. That’s a good sign, I think. Perhaps they’re just stealing the $15 entry fee. And our writing. And probably selling our personal information to other scammers. Yikes.
I would be interested to hear more of this spring contest, though. It seems weird they’d host another if re-entry is already an option.
Thanks for this update. Would you be willing to forward Melissa’s response to me? beware@sfwa.org. Regardless, please come back and let us know if you hear more!
I think that Mr Najjarine has read this page – all the mistakes noted here have been corrected on the Lichfield site.
Ha! He corrected both mentions of Hemingway, but only one of two mentions of PEN (the lack of capitalization still appears on the home page).
Stumbled upon this article only after I entered… any idea on how to get my money back?
Dispute the charges with your credit card company.
Neither his Instagram, nor his LinkedIn have been updated in years. If you’re out there doing the Lord’s work, educating heathens so can spel & rite good, wouldn’t you want to shout it out loud? (Also, the logo on that legal website makes me think of an attorney who graduated from the University of American Samoa Law School. 🤣😂😆)
His Instagram is totally up to date. He has a pinned post from two years ago, but he posts (a lot of pseudo deep thoughts) often. None of his posts mention the contest, though, so I wonder if someone has stolen his likeness for a fake contest.
Ah – I’m still learning about Insta, so I apparently scroll beyond the “pinned” post. But…leaving your professional LinkedIn profile collect dust all that time when it’s free advertising? SMH.
There’s a link to the Lichfield Institute in his Instagram bio.
That submission box is really basic–less sophisticated than this comment box really. The low tech and vagaries really make it seem suspicious. Sadly I’m sure someone will enter to get their work evaluated by a “Pen/Hemmingway winner.”
Quoting the website:
“D1: Which religion is closest to truth? Guest lecturer from University of Melbourne.”
Good gods, how I wish I had attended” this apparently imaginary lecture.
“D3: Which political-ethical system leads to the most humane society? Guest lecturer from John Hopkins University”
Answer: Democratic Socialism, which is of course a version of capitalism. But then, is this not obvious?
“R3: The Federalist Papers”
Funny, but the Federalist Papers say the NRA and the USSC is 100% wrong about the USA’s Second Amendment.
“R11: Henry David Thoreau, Life Without Principle, Walden”
I read _Walden_ every November, and I have done so since I was 23 years old (I am now 63 years old). I wonder what this “Omar F. Najjarine” has to say on the subject. It appears that there is a email list one can join if one is “confident that you can commit to the regular readings and meetings.” This is sooooo tempting to join….
“Guest lecturer from John Hopkins University”
Nice typo there.
If you want to study with them then now’s your chance: “Registration for our Spring 2024 session will open on Wednesday, December 20th, 2023.”
Yet me see…. year 2024 “study” includes:
“D1: Which religion is closest to truth?”
None Of The Above
“D3: Which political-ethical system leads to the most humane society?”
Democratic Socialism.
“D4: Which path to transcendence: religion, secular spirituality, philosophy, naturalism?”
No.
”R3: The Federalist Papers”
Do not read this to the National Rifle Association: they will insist the USA Constitution does not say what it says, nor did the Founders mean what they wrote.
“R4: Carl Jung, The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche”
But he knew nothing about these subjects.
“R5: Friedrich Nietzsche, Daybreak and Human, All Too Human”
Yeah, that sounds like endless laughter.
“R11: Henry David Thoreau, Life Without Principle, Walden”
But seriously, HDT is my God (also Edward Paul Abbey is my God), therefore I am going to ask to “attend” this and I suppose eventually I will report here in the comment section if this “discussion” actually happens.
I’m almost sure that Mr Najjarine reads this blog – so even if you don’t sign up under your own name he’ll already be wary of any Thoreau fans trying to sign up. I have the strong feeling that whatever else happens, no-one will end up in any of these study groups; most likely applicants will be rejected because they haven’t supplied good enough reasons for wanting to study although they could simply be asked for such ridiculously large fees for something that is so vaguely described that they will drop out. But, of course, applicants can be refused just because the group is said to be already fully subscribed.
I think that’s a good analysis. And of course, from the outside, there’s no way to know whether the courses happened or not.