Benjamin Franklin is credited with this saying: “The man who is too old to learn, probably always was too old to learn.”

Why not learn how to write? And to write the stories of others?

There are Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes at more than one hundred universities around the country. They are learning communities for adults 50 and older and are funded in part by the Bernard Osher Foundation. The OLLI program at each institution is unique so to find out what a specific program offers, you need to research that particular program.

For instance, the OLLI program at the University of Pittsburgh offers more that 240 informal short courses each year taught mostly by active and retied university instructors as well as domain knowledge experts. These run the gamut from American Presidents’ Wives to Yoga and always include writing courses–typically four to six each year. The program is affordable and membership includes the additional right to audit up to two full undergraduate University courses per academic term, and there are three academic terms per year at Pitt. To see what at least this one Osher Lifelong Learning Program looks like, the one at the University of Pittsburgh , looks like, click here.

You can learn more about the Bernard Osher Foundation and its programs here.

To find a college or university near you that offers an Osher learning program, click here.:

Additionally, there are many other such university adult learning programs available that are not underwritten by the Osher Foundation. Entrance to such programs does not require a college degree. Many, if not most, offer writing courses for those wanting to hone their skills. If you think you might want to try your hand a capturing another’s story, there are places that you can get training in writing all over the country.

There are many online communities that encourage memoir-type writing of all sorts.Click on the Writing / Memoir Writing  menu to find one that might be of interest to you.