Upcoming Salons in London—Jan-February
•
Ulysses by James Joyce (20 week study-£300)
starts 23.01.14
• Black Voices in American Literature (12 week study through City Lit-£98)
starts 14.01.14
• “The Wasteland” by T.S. Eliot (One-meeting Intensive-£35)
meets 26.01.14 NOTE DATE CHANGE
• Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (One meeting Intensive-£45) 02.02.14
To register for any of the studies above, please follow the link to the events page on the website or email the Salon: gift your mind a workout for the New Year!
Salons in London coming in later Spring: Moby Dick, Middlemarch, Absalom, Absalom! and The Odyssey… Salons in Paris (February 22nd, April and May weekends) include Betweeb the Acts, more Moby Dick, Sebald’s The Emigrants, Absalom, Absalom! and short stories: details to come.
Reading Makes Us Smarter
Now we even have a study that says so:
NEUROSCIENTSTS FIND THAT READING STORIES CAN LEAD TO BIOLOGICAL CHANGES IN THE BRAIN.
Bibliophiles are right–a book can change your life. Immersing yourself in a fictional story can lead to changes in brain function for up to five days, according to a recent study published in Brain Connectivity.
Over the holidays, it was my happy privilege to attend an all-day Middlemarch marathon-10 AM-10 PM- at the Orange Tree Theatre –mind-altering. I left wanting to strive forward with purpose, wanting to re-read George Eliot, wanting to clean up all the messy corners of my life, wanting an ironic narrator to keep me honest (though in a pinch, the husband will do). Hearing Eliot’s text spoken aloud made me newly aware of how lyrically she zings into human absurdity, revealing our best and worst inclinations all woven together:
“And certainly, the mistakes that we male and female mortals make when we have our own way might fairly raise some wonder that we are so fond of it.”
“We mortals, men and women, devour many a disappointment between breakfast and dinner-time; keep back the tears and look a little pale about the lips, and in answer to inquiries say, “Oh, nothing!” Pride helps; and pride is not a bad thing when it only urges us to hide our hurts— not to hurt others.”
“If we had a keen vision and feeling of all ordinary human life, it would be like hearing the grass grow and the squirrel’s heart beat, and we should die of that roar which lies on the other side of silence.”
― George Eliot, Middlemarch
So yes, I hope to offer a Middlemarch Salon in the late Spring…stay tuned!