Date Change for London Sound & The Fury; Emily in the Fields tomorrow

The conversations that have erupted recently in the Ulysses study leave me (and others) spinning. We grapple and argue about the nature of truth, of art, of gender and words–and to put these conversations down into electronic strokes seems cheap. But a great work of literature with an energetic gathering of minds does just this: brings to the surface the power and possibility of language to illuminate our humanity.

Forgive me: I am feeling full of Spring.
kinda fourquartets

15 April 3-4 PM Poetry Salon: Emily Dickinson at The Fields Beneath Cafe–all welcome.
26 April 5:30-10 PM Between the Acts Salon Intensive–register now to receive opening notes & start reading…
2 May 6-10:30 PM The Sound and the Fury Salon Intensive–register now to receive opening notes & start reading…

To accommodate participant requests, I have moved the Sound and Fury study ahead to give time to read–but do sign up now so you can recieve the opening notes. This is one of those books that teaches you to be a better reader–and a more aware human being.

Tomorrow, April 15th, The Fields Beneath Cafe is hosting the second Poetry Salon— a casual drop-in study from 3-4PM.
We will be considering two poems of Emily Dickinson whose work trips off the tongue but engages the soul. No preparation necessary; this is for poetry lovers and those who are unsure how to approach the stuff….next week, T.S. Eliot’s J. Alfred Prufrock: Let us go then.

Tell All The Truth

Tell all the truth but tell it slant,
Success in circuit lies,
Too bright for our infirm delight
The truth’s superb surprise;

As lightning to the children eased
With explanation kind,
The truth must dazzle gradually
Or every man be blind.
–Emily Dickinson

Southbank International School Community Learning Salon

Sonny's Blues author James Baldwin 

More voices! More words! The Southbank International School in London is hosting a community learning Salon: an exclusive opportunity for members of this lively educational community to join together in the exploration of ideas.

Community Learning Salon

 

Program description:  The Community Learning Salon offers members of the Southbank community (parents, students in G9-12, staff, faculty, administrators…) an opportunity for a playful exchange of ideas beyond the classroom. In our weekly hour-long after-school meetings, we will use a short work of literature to consider the human experience and sharpen our critical learning skills through the discussion. The nature of the Salon conversation allows for a bridge across age and life experience to find shared ground in discovery and knowledge.  The study is facilitated by Toby Brothers, a dynamic literature instructor with experience conducting seminars for adults and students in English and world literature, poetry and creative writing in London, Paris and San Francisco.  For history and more details about the Salon, see  http://clone.checkyourtestsite.co.uk/

 

“To think that we have at our disposal the biggest thing in the universe and that it is language. What one can do with language is infinite.” Helene Cixous, French Philosopher

 

 

Week One Introduction, poem study: Elizabeth Bishop’s ‘Sestina’ Bishop uses a demanding form to explore the uncontrollable nature of grief; this sharp and tender poem is a good starting place for a close consideration of language. No pre-reading is necessary for the first meeting.

Week Two: September 29th  Short Story: ‘The Liar’ by Tobias Wolff offers a protagonist caught in his own world, using language to separate and shield himself from those he loves- and fears. Email Toby for copies of the story at litsalon@gmail.com.

Week Three  October 6th  Short Story: ‘The Yellow Wallpaper‘ by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Often disappears into the category of a feminist work, this subversive first person narration gives a glimpse to the dangers of an artistic temperament smothered by care- loving, oppressive care. I will provide readers with notes on the world of late 19th ct. women, particularly in regards to medically care and psychiatric treatment. This is a haunting and riveting read.

Week Four Poetry study: Emily Dickinson: poetess of playful subversion… ‘I Started Early, Took My Dog’ and  ‘Tell all  the Truth But tell it slant’  Dickinson is considered one of the great American poets but many find her work elusive. We will use these two sample works to discover howDickinson uses language to enter profound questions about meaning, purpose and belief in short, tightly structured bursts of sparkling language.

Week Five   ‘Sonny’s Blues‘ by James Baldwin
Set in racially-divided Harlem in the 1950s, Baldwin’s long short story tells of a lost brother, mean streets, inheritance, nobility and cowardice, and ultimately of the transcendence available in art. This piece- with its riffs, swoops and echoes comes as close as almost any text I have read to the experience of musicality in writing.

 

The remaining five sessions will be determined by participant interest. Choices include a longer work (Rushdie, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Faulkner are just a few of the possibilities) or continued consideration of short stories and poetry with an opportunity for creative writing in response to the ideas generated by the Community Learning Salon. 

 

DETAILS Thursdays 3:45 to 4:45 pm, starting 15 September…Study continues for 10 weeks (recommended participation: minimum 6 sessions). Free of charge to members of the Southbank Community.


 

 

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