A place for the meeting of minds . . .
“Thank you, thank you, thank you. I never would have read Ulysses but am very glad that I have. It was frustrating, moving, enigmatic, and uplifting – and that was just the first page. It – and the salon – were also a gift for me this year. Life has been challenging and the Salon was a pocket of time when everything else went away. It was a rare moment in which I was truly immersed in the here and now. And that doesn’t seem to happen much these days.”
– Ulysses Salon participant
Image credit: Jose Barba www.jajed.com
The Portrait of a Lady
Beginning 15 February
“It’s just as when one has been trying to spell out a book in the twilight, and suddenly the lamp comes in. I had been putting out my eyes over the book of life, and finding nothing to reward me for my pains; but now that I can read it properly I see that it’s a delightful story.”
― Henry James, The Portrait of a Lady
Homer's Iliad
Beginning 16 February with Mark Cwik
“Rage—Goddess, sing the rage of Peleus’ son Achilles,
murderous, doomed, that cost the Achaeans countless losses,
hurling down to the House of Death so many sturdy souls. . .”
New Kid - Online Study
Beginning 23 February
Barb Turk leads this study of the 2020 Newbury Medal winner New Kid by Jerry Craft, examining the experience of a Black student starting out in a predominantly white secondary school in the Bronx.
Coming Travel Studies 2021
Literary adventures abound: Virginia Woolf in St Ives, The Odyssey and then The Iliad in Greece, Henry James and Dacia Maraini in Umbria with Yoga
On-going Proust studies
In Search of Lost Time Vol. V & VI – The Captive and the Fugitive
“Every reader, as he reads, is actually the reader of himself. The writer’s work is only a kind of optical instrument he provides the reader so he can discern what he might never have seen in himself without this book. The reader’s recognition in himself of what the book says is the proof of the book’s truth.”
Joyce's Ulysses - Online Study
For first timers – afternoon and evening options
“Plenty to see and hear and feel yet. Feel live warm beings near you. They aren’t going to get me this innings. Warm beds: warm full blooded life.”
Welcome to the London Literary Salon
The London Literary Salon creates community around the study of great literature and ideas.
In light of the global crisis facing us, all of the Salons are now offered virtually, using face-to-face video conferencing that recreates the live, interactive, small-group experience of our in-person Salons. We will offer some donation-only studies alongside the regular-priced opportunities. In recognition of the extraordinary stress of the times and the need for connection that the Salon offers, if you are interested in a study but are unable to pay, please contact the facilitator. We will also offer free tutorials on the conference platform.
The Salon offers unique discussion-based studies of outstanding works of fiction, philosophy, poetry and drama. We welcome all readers with a curiosity and openness to the insights of others—no academic preparation is necessary.
Our expert facilitators help to weave the ideas of participants with questions the books raise about what it is to be human. We visit realms imagined by writers and thinkers from ancient times to modern.
Studies range from one-meeting intensives to six-month and two-year odysseys, along with travel retreats to locations around the UK and Europe.
Click here to read more about the Salon experience or browse upcoming studies below.
What's coming up this year?
february 2021
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"The best actors in the world, either for tragedy, comedy, history, pastoral, pastoral-comical, historical-pastoral, tragical-historical, tragical-comical-historical-pastoral; scene individable, or poem unlimited." How does
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“The best actors in the world, either for tragedy, comedy,
history, pastoral, pastoral-comical, historical-pastoral,
tragical-historical, tragical-comical-historical-pastoral; scene
individable, or poem unlimited.”
How does one introduce a play that is so deeply imbedded in our cultural history? For this Salon, we come to study Hamlet afresh, not worrying about whether we see it as Shakespeare’s greatest play ever or whether we stand breathless at the language – but finding within the play what has so riveted audiences and readers for centuries. In addition, we have Shakespearean actor Jane Wymark as facilitator: Jane offers deep insights: having played Ophelia to Derek Jacobi’s Hamlet for over 200 performances, she has Hamlet in her bones. We welcome to this Salon those who have never read or seen the play along with those who have memorized entire soliloquies – we will need both perspectives to carefully negotiate our way through the “constantly shifting register not only of action but of language” (Frank Kermode, Shakespeare’s Language, 2000).
What is Hamlet about? Themes include the most precise questions of loyalty, revenge and allegiance, what it means to be human, the role of fate and self-will, the truth of madness- the essences of human experience. The language must stand up to the weight of these themes – we will closely examine the words and structures to decide if it does and if so, how. Hamlet as a character is utterly compelling: the sinuous dance of his mind, his outrage at human frailty, his exquisite language infused by his agony at a world too small and mean for his spirit inspires the reader.
As with any other Salon dealing with a dramatic work, we will read aloud — sections of the text and I will suggest viewing various filmed adaptations. For those who are keen to stretch themselves, there will be opportunities for a prepared reading. We will include in our discussions reflections on various productions and how this play speaks to this strange time we are living; we shall also consider diversity in casting and setting of the play over time.
SALON DETAILS
- Facilitated by Jane Wymark
- Monday early eves 18-20:00 PM BST
- Six meetings over six weeks from February 8th to March 15th
- Meetings conducted virtually via ZOOM
- There are many editions; to simplify for this study please use the Arden Shakespeare– loads of notes and opportunities to read around the text and understand the differences in editions ASIN: B015QL4M8S
- £130 includes background notes and resources
THIS SALON IS NOW FULL– if you are interested in this study, please contact us to schedule another Hamlet…
To register, please use the Paypal button below (one for previous Salon participants, one for first timers) Upon receipt of payment, I will send you the opening notes, resources and preparation suggestions.
Reflections from our previous study:
“Thank you for such an engrossing salon, and so well-choreographed. Hamlet feels like a play that’s a companion through life, and at this turbulent time it has meant so much to me to share it with you and the group. Thank you. You get it, and that makes such a difference.”
“The word ‘joy’ is not one I’ve ever associated with Hamlet before, but
it perfectly describes my experience studying the play under Jane’s
expert tutelage. Reading scenes aloud between discussions about the
text brought Shakespeare’s words to life in a way I hadn’t experienced
since working in theatre. Jane created a welcoming environment where I
felt comfortable sharing thoughts, ideas, and even questions about
lines I didn’t understand. It was truly a delight.” JM Hamlet Salon 2020
“There is one peculiarity which real works of art possess in common. At each fresh reading one notices some change in them, as if the sap of life ran in their leaves, and with skies and plants they had the power to alter their shape and color from season to season. To write down one’s impressions of Hamlet as one reads it year after year, would be virtually to record one’s own autobiography, for as we know more of life, so Shakespeare comments upon what we know.”
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“It has made me better loving you... it has made me wiser, and easier, and brighter. I used to want a great
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“It has made me better loving you… it has made me wiser, and easier, and brighter. I used to want a great many things before, and to be angry that I did not have them. Theoretically, I was satisfied. I flattered myself that I had limited my wants. But I was subject to irritation; I used to have morbid sterile hateful fits of hunger, of desire. Now I really am satisfied, because I can’t think of anything better. It’s just as when one has been trying to spell out a book in the twilight, and suddenly the lamp comes in. I had been putting out my eyes over the book of life, and finding nothing to reward me for my pains; but now that I can read it properly I see that it’s a delightful story.”
― Henry James, The Portrait of a Lady
The Portrait of A Lady by Henry James
The book is a painted portrait or even a kaleidoscope. We watch and guess what Isabel will do. But like a portrait, she is (perhaps) caught in a frame and frozen by the artistry –or the terms of her world.
Previous studies have included considerations of gender roles, the negotiated space between self and other, the corruption or freedom offered by privilege, the challenge of looking at nationalities in generalizations (and the tempting ease to do so), the ways in which humans reveal themselves…these Salon discussions are full of wonder: the meeting of the gathered minds and the provoking text is a powerful thing.
Ralph Waldo Emerson seems to echo in the lines and characters of Henry James, Isabel in particular: “You think of me the child of my circumstances: I make my circumstance…I—this thought which is called I, –is the mould into which the world is poured like melted wax. The mould is invisible, but the world betrays the shape of the mould. You call it the power of circumstance, but it is the power of me.” –from Emerson’s essay The Transcendentalist
Our study of PoAL may include a consideration of this quote in light of Isabel’s life and choices: how much do we make ourselves? How does the world impose itself on the individual in the act of self-creation?
Salon Details and Registration
- Seven weeks : February 15th – March 29th 2021
- ZOOM Virtual Study
- Facilitated by Salon Director Toby Brothers and Salon facilitator Sarah Snoxhall
- Cost £190 includes notes and critical resources
- RECOMMENDED EDITION: Norton Critical Edition Oct. 2017; ISBN-10: 0393938530
To register for the Salon study, please use the Paypal button below to pay £190: Please ensure that the email that is connected to your Paypal account is the same email that you use for correspondence (if you prefer direct bank transfer, please Contact Us)
From J. Smiley’s 13 Ways of Looking at the Novel
“The question (could a novel be art) were…framed in terms of technique, but the ideal was no longer just to promote the novel’s ability to communicate more and more details about more and more things, but also to have an aesthetic shape or effect that would be intended by the author and felt by the reader as consciously graceful, beautiful or ‘right.’ Foremost proponent of these ideas was Henry James…” p. 134
“Everything that Isabel has learned about love and marriage growing up in the United States turns out to be wrong—in Europe, marriage is a pure commodity relationship, and it is the fate girls to be bought, sold, and dominated. Their only choices are to accept their fate knowingly or undergo it without understanding it. ..In Pofa Lady James does what he intended to do…uses intense psychological analysis and careful depiction of settings to fill the spots where the vulgar might have been. “ p. 135
“H. James …recognized that, as vital and satisfying as the English novel was, English novels were missing something that French novels possessed—psychological refinement and depth. …HJ wanted to write…important novels about the progress of the inner life, in which the climax might be only a silent recognition by the protagonist that she has made a commitment fatal to her happiness. Readers had to be educated to understand the weight of such subterranean drama…” p.136
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THIS STUDY IS NOW FULL. If you would like to be placed on a wait list, please
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THIS STUDY IS NOW FULL. If you would like to be placed on a wait list, please contact facilitator Mark Cwik.
“Rage—Goddess, sing the rage of Peleus’ son Achilles,
murderous, doomed, that cost the Achaeans countless losses,
hurling down to the House of Death so many sturdy souls. . .”
The first great work of European literature is a magnificent poem that challenges us to think about what really matters: about what is worth living—and dying—for. Homer’s Iliad recounts the story of the Trojan War, covering just a few pivotal weeks near the end of the ten-year siege of the mighty city of Troy. The invading Greek army’s greatest warrior, Achilles, withdraws from the fighting after a dispute with their leader Agamemnon, bringing the threat of defeat and destruction upon the Greeks. His action precipitates devastating results for both sides, ultimately leading to the fall of Troy itself.
Homer portrays a world in which his characters are pulled by forces most of which seem beyond their control. On the human plane, they are driven by loyalties to comrades, fidelity to an oath, responsibility to family and city, subordination to authority, and the lure of fame. Above them, the Olympian gods exert influence both benevolent and malign. Looming over everything is the obscure force called Fate.
Though memorable for its scenes of bloody battle and the squabbling of gods on Olympus, the Iliad exudes an intense humanity, infusing a tragic longing for peace amid the seeming inevitability of war and destruction. Homer invites us to put ourselves into the world of the war: a place no one wants to be, where the gods seem unpredictable, and where there’s a genuine question of whether justice is anywhere to be found. Through the struggles of Homer’s warriors, the Iliad brings us face-to-face with fundamental questions about honor, community, justice, love, and loyalty, as the story’s characters search to make sense of their inescapable mortality.
Each week of this eight-meeting study we will examine closely several key passages of the poem, allowing us to take an in-depth look at the wealth of fascinating characters, conflicts and big questions raised by Homer’s epic. The study will take place on Zoom. Each session will last 2 1/4 hours, with a short break mid-session.
SALON DETAILS
- Facilitated by Mark Cwik
- Tuesday afternoons 2:00 pm – 4:15 pm
- Eight-meeting study, 16 February, 2021 to 06 April, 2021
- Online discussions using Zoom meeting interface. Zoom is free for participants, instructions will be sent upon registration.
- Recommended edition:
- The Iliad, by Homer, translated by Robert Fagles, introduction by Bernard Knox; Penguin Classics; ISBN-13: 978-0140275360
- £190 for eight-week study, includes notes and questions for preparation.
TO REGISTER for the study, please use the secure Paypal payment button below to pay £190. If you would prefer to pay by bank transfer, please email facilitator Mark Cwik to arrange payment.
ABOUT THE FACILITATOR: Mark Cwik has been organizing and leading discussions of great literature for over twenty years in London, Chicago and Toronto. He specializes in works from the ancient, mythic and religious world. He was trained as a discussion facilitator while at the Great Books Foundation in Chicago and has been a passionate advocate for great books education since attending St. John’s College, Santa Fe and the University of Chicago Basic Program in Liberal Education.
“I’ve been coming to Mark’s discussion groups for about 15 years . . . Mark is amazing in his ability to keep the group functioning smoothly. He asks questions that get to the heart of the piece and he keeps the group focused on those questions. You don’t feel that he’s trying to steer us to any conclusion; he’s in it with us to figure out what the author is saying. He makes everyone feel welcome and their opinions are respectfully heard. He’s always prepared and totally dedicated to advancing our understanding of the great books.” — group participant.
If you have any questions about this study, please contact facilitator Mark Cwik.
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“This distinct, timely, and honest story respects children and gives its readers a glimpse into what it means to be other.” -
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“This distinct, timely, and honest story respects children and gives its readers a glimpse into what it means to be other.” – Newbery Medal Committee Chair Krishna Grady
Seventh grader Jordan Banks loves nothing more than drawing cartoons about his life. But instead of sending him to the art school of his dreams, his parents enrol him in a prestigious private school known for its academics, where Jordan is one of the few kids of colour in his entire year.
As he makes the daily trip from his Washington Heights apartment to the upscale Riverdale Academy Day School, Jordan soon finds himself torn between two worlds—and not really fitting into either one. Can Jordan learn to navigate his new school culture while keeping his neighbourhood friends and staying true to himself?
Barb Turk facilitates this study of the first graphic novel to win the Newbery Medal, examining reading strategies, building visual literacy and offering a platform for middle-grade students to consider racism through the characters’ relationships and interactions at school and home.
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Art is organisation — a searching after order. The primal artistic act is God’s creating of the universe out of chaos — shaping
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Art is organisation — a searching after order. The primal artistic act is God’s creating of the universe out of chaos — shaping formlessness into form. Therefore evaluate a poem by its unity, coherence and proper placement of emphasis: structure, form, pattern, symmetry (reflect) the human instinct for design.
– notes from Perrine’s Sound & Sense pg. 219
Since Sir Thomas Wyatt introduced the Petrarchan sonnet to the English Court in the early16th century poets have been using this deceptively simple 14-line form to express their thoughts on love, mortality, politics and just about everything else. Adapted by Shakespeare to accommodate the challenges of rhyming in English and used by a succession of poets from Milton to Frost, the sonnet is very much alive and well in the 21st Century – in recent years two poets have received TS Eliot Prize nominations for collections comprised entirely of sonnets.
This two-part study considers the enduring appeal of the sonnet through the study of form, metre and voice. Sonnets written in the 1600’s or in 2000’s will be looked at in detail to help us understand how poets have found expression for their ideas through fitting them into a tightly woven square of rhymed iambic pentameter. Throughout the course we will read these “little songs” aloud and dig deeper into their meaning as we hear their music.
Salon Details:
Facilitated by: Caroline Hammond and Jane Wymark
Wednesday Evenings: 6pm – 8pm
2 meeting study: 24th February & 3rd March 2021
Recommended Books: TBC
£50 for two meeting study includes background materials and opening notes
To register, please use the PayPal button below to pay £50.
Upon receipt of payment, I will send you the opening notes, resources and preparation suggestions. If you have any questions about this study, please contact us.
march 2021
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In the beginning was the Word: A 'taster session' on reading the Bible as literature From William Shakespeare to T.S Elliot,
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In the beginning was the Word: A ‘taster session’ on reading the Bible as literature
Salon Details:
The discussion will refer to two popular translations (New Revised Standard Version and King James) however you are welcome to use any version, as our reading will follow verse numbers in the text.
It is not necessary to own a Bible as the text is freely available on many websites, for example, www.Biblegateway.com
The entire King James version may be downloaded from:
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This supernatural soliciting Cannot be ill, cannot be good: if ill, Why hath it given me earnest
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Newes From Scotland
This supernatural soliciting
Cannot be ill, cannot be good: if ill,
Why hath it given me earnest of success,
Commencing in a truth? I am thane of Cawdor:
If good, why do I yield to that suggestion
Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair
And make my seated heart knock at my ribs,
Against the use of nature? Present fears
Are less than horrible imaginings:
My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical,
Shakes so my single state of man that function
Is smother’d in surmise, and nothing is
But what is not.
Macbeth is believed to have been written in 1605, two years after King James VI of Scotland – the son of Mary Queen of Scots – became James 1 of England, succeeding the childless Elizabeth I and creating a personal union of the two kingdoms.
The presence of the saintly King Duncan and the character of Banquo – thought to have been a forebear of James – all indicate that this was a play designed to impress the new monarch, and it launched Shakespeare’s newly-renamed company of players, The King’s Men.
James himself was an author: amongst his published works, Daemonologie (1597) examined contemporary necromancy and the historical relationships between the various methods of divination used from ancient black magic. It also touched on the methods demons used to bother troubled men. James’s purpose was to educate a misinformed populace on the history, practices and implications of sorcery and the reasons for persecuting a witch in a Christian society. Daemonologie is believed to be one of the main sources used by Shakespeare, who attributed many quotes and rituals found within the book directly to the Wyrd* Sisters. For the play’s Scottish themes and settings, he also drew heavily on descriptions in the book of the North Berwick Witch Trials in 1590, which James had attended.
And so, as the Shakespearean scholar Emma Smith puts it, “Our first introduction to the imaginative world of the play is one in which supernatural agents hold some kind of sway.”
SALON DETAILS
- Facilitated by Jane Wymark, co-facilitated by Julie Sutherland (see below)
- Wednesdays,18:00 – 20:00 BST
- Cost for this study is £175– this includes notes and resources
- Eight meetings over eight weeks from 10 March to 28 April
- Meetings conducted virtually via ZOOM
- There are many editions; to simplify for this study please use the Arden Shakespeare, 3rd edition (ed Clarke & Mason), ISBN 978-1-9042-7141–3, which has detailed commentary notes and sets the play in its historical, theatrical and critical context.
THIS STUDY IS NOW FULL please contact us to register your interest for a future similar study
To register, please use the Paypal button below (one for previous Salon participants, one for first timers) Upon receipt of payment, I will send you the opening notes, resources and preparation suggestions.
Julie Sutherland is co-facilitating with Jane for this study. She is deeply interested in the capacity of literature—both read and in performance—to effect change in the human spirit. She has taught Shakespeare to university students in Canada and the UK and regularly facilitates ‘reading for well-being’ workshops in Shakespeare and other literature for the ReLit Foundation. She also works in-community with others who share her desire to bring the Bard to life.
Like Hamlet (“Who’s there?”) Macbeth begins with a question:
“When shall we three meet again?”
These are the Wyrd Sisters on the blasted heath. When that meeting happens – “In thunder, lightning or in rain?” – they will meet with Macbeth. How do they know he will be there? Is he their puppet – or have they been summoned by Macbeth’s unacknowledged desires?
Again, as in Hamlet, the murder of a king is key. But in this case the killer has moved centre stage and we meet him before the dreadful deed is done. But having first seen the Wyrd Sisters we must decide whether Macbeth, like Claudius, commits the crime because of his own ambition or whether he is being directed by supernatural forces. Let us note here another comment by Emma Smith, who tells us that Macbeth shares with its contemporary work, Robert Burton’s Anatomy of Melancholy (1621) an aim to “investigate the human mind, and a curiosity about the causes and explanations for feelings and behaviours.”
This question of who holds agency in Macbeth is one we will explore in our 8-session reading and discussion of the play, as well as its themes of loyalty, guilt, innocence and fate – and, of course, ambition and its consequences.
*Modern English spelling was only starting to become fixed by Shakespeare’s time and the word ‘weird’ (from Old English wyrd, fate) had connotations beyond the common modern meaning. The Wiktionary etymology for “weird” includes this observation: ‘[The word] was extinct by the 16th century in English. It survived in Scots, whence Shakespeare borrowed it in naming the Weird Sisters, reintroducing it to English. The senses “abnormal”, “strange” etc. arose via reinterpretation of “Weird Sisters” and date from after this reintroduction.’
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Within a Budding Grove - Vol. II Proust's A la recherche du Temps Perdu “When we are in love, our love is too
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Within a Budding Grove – Vol. II Proust’s A la recherche du Temps Perdu
“When we are in love, our love is too big a thing for us to be able altogether to contain it within ourselves. It radiates towards the loved one, finds there a surface which arrests it, forcing it to return to its starting-point, and it is this repercussion of our own feeling which we call the other’s feelings and which charms us more then than on its outward journey because we do not recognise it as having originated in ourselves.”
― Marcel Proust, Within a Budding Grove
After completing incredibly satisfying studies of Ulysses and Magic Mountain, we have turned to the next big mountain of Modernism, Marcel Proust’s In Search of Lost Time. We spent eight weeks reading the first volume of the work– now we turn to Vol. II: Within a Budding Grove (recommended edition: Vintage Classics, trans. C. K. Scott Moncrieff). Even if you have not read the first volume, it is possible to pick up from Vol. II and move forward–you can always go back into the first book. Here is how one Salonista describes the pleasure and work of reading Proust: ” This is a velvet jewel of a book that demands the attention of a lover full of enchantment and obsession ,we need not get impatient as all good lovers perfect their art in taking their time.”
Reading Proust teaches the reader to observe how the world is experienced, to be aware that although humans are tempted to give greater weight to the perceptual universe, it is the entwining of memory, idealized experience (dreams) and relationships with what our senses perceive that molds our consciousness.
Proust also uses his curious and attentive narrator to uncover the ombre—the part of the self that hides in the shade or shadow. As we come to know the characters in the narrator’s world, each turns out to have aspects that reveal a savagery or laziness or discrepancy that was not what appeared on the surface. Of course, as soon as Proust reflects this to the reader, we recognize this truth of human nature: all carry a shadow, an untoward or simply unmanageable part of the self that we struggle to contain. In Proust’s world, these aspects are equally a part of the coherent self…this has me thinking a great deal about how carefully we construct the social self—and how we temper what simmers beneath the surface.
In Volume II, Proust will continue to explore class structures and awakening sexuality. As we considered in V1, the form of love as Proust conceives it is an entity not necessarily shared between the lovers—but may often be a projection from one onto the love object—and therefore limited in how much that love depends on the actuality of the other in its conception.
Salon Details
- Facilitated by Toby Brothers, Salon Director
- Monday afternoons 12:30-2:30 PM (FINAL 3 sessions are at the same time on Tuesdays)
- Eleven Meeting study from March 29th- June29th (No meetings April 12th, May 17th, May 31st)
- Recommended edition: Vintage Classics Moncrief/Kilmartin/Enright ISBN-13: 978-0099362319
- £250 for eleven meetings includes background materials, literary criticism, opening notes & discussion notes
Use the Paypal button below to register (or contact us to pay by direct bank transfer). The cost is £250 for the eleven-week study–this will cover the entire volume. I will send along opening notes and critical resources once I have received your registration. Studies start March 29th. If you were not in the study of Vol I, please contact us to discuss your registration first.
april 2021
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Dubliners: Between Paralysis and Epiphany “My intention was to write a chapter of the moral history of my country and I chose Dublin
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Dubliners: Between Paralysis and Epiphany
“My intention was to write a chapter of the moral history of my country and I chose Dublin for the scene because that city seemed to me the centre of paralysis. I have tried to present it to the indifferent public under four of its aspects: childhood, adolescence, maturity and public life. The stories are arranged in this order.”—James Joyce as quoted in Herbert Gorman’s James Joyce (NY, 1939)
Dubliners is characterised by a sense of paralysis. The moral centre of these stories is not paralysis alone but a recognition of that static state. Joyce loved Ireland but could not remain there—part of his critique of his culture and its people is imaged in these stories—in people caught in patterns and prejudices that they cannot escape. In many of the stories collected in this early publication, a clang of awareness or self-realization marks the climax. Often these moments reveal Joyce’s fascination with epiphanies- that moment of sudden and intense illumination when a profound truth is/may be revealed. In Stephen Hero, a character suggests the recording of epiphanies is one of the most important functions of writing: ‘they are the most delicate and evanescent of moments’ and offer ‘a sudden spiritual manifestation, whether in the vulgarity of speech or of gesture or in memorable phase of the mind itself’. For Joyce, these moments did not occur at the height of the heroic or dramatic gesture, but in the ordinary acts of life. Are there moments in the readings that fit this description? More importantly, what is revealed?
“I did not know whether I would ever speak to her or not or, if I spoke to her, how I could tell her of my confused adoration. But my body was like a harp and her words and gestures were like fingers running upon the wires.”
― James Joyce, Dubliners
SALON DETAILS
- Co-facilitated by Toby Brothers and Paul Caviston
- Tuesdays 2-4 PM starting April 6th
- Eight-week study: Two stories a week (except for The Dead)
- Meetings on line
- Recommended edition: Penguin Classics (Feb. 2000) ISBN-10: 0141182458
- £215 for the eight-week course
TO REGISTER for the study, please use the secure Paypal payment button below to pay £215. Contact us if you prefer to pay by direct bank transfer. Opening notes will be sent shortly after registration. The study is limited to 10 participants. Please contact us if you have any questions.
We will discuss all the stories of Dubliners in order– taking into account the progression and interconnectedness with the structural and thematic resonances. This comparison will also allow us to consider the development of Joyce’s craft as he prepares the ground for his later experimentation.
In all the stories, Joyce is driven to find that moment of illumination, the epiphany, when clarity is suddenly attained. He was convinced this was not a moment of great victory or apparent importance, but often a mundane moment when pieces fell into place.
The style of this study will reflect the traditional Salon format: we will offer a structure for our discussion and particular passages and ideas for us to grapple with, but I encourage and support your contributions to the discussion. We have no expectations in terms of preparation nor previous Joyce study:The Salons typically have a broad spectrum of participants from the simply curious to literature teachers or lecturers—and some who have spent years reading Joyce. Each person brings their lived experience to the study whether it is a knowledge of the Catholic tradition. Irish history, love of music or intrigue with language: all contribute to our understanding as a group.
Joyce can be…intimidating. Please approach the reading with a sense of play. Much may remain unclear on your first reading; after our work together and if you are able to complete a second reading, you may find the pattern and weave of Joyce’s art singing for you. In his writing, he experiments with language and relies less on narrative logic than on the connections and synchronicity of words and events.
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Faulkner’s Sanctuary has attracted wide controversy from the moment of its publication. The novel has contributed significantly to the author’s reputation as
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Faulkner’s Sanctuary has attracted wide controversy from the moment of its publication. The novel has contributed significantly to the author’s reputation as a writer of Gothic, melodramatic tales of violence and sexual misconduct. This new study will look at the extent to which that view is justified by this work, and will give participants the opportunity to discuss the novel in the wider context of Faulkner’s other writing. Earlier Faulkner studies have included: The Sound and the Fury; Absalom, Absalom; Light in August; As I Lay Dying; ‘The Bear’; and ‘A Rose for Emily.’ This salon will build on that earlier work, as well as giving space for reconsideration of a novel whose reputation has dominated attempts at objective criticism.
“Good God, I can’t publish this. We’d both be in jail.” [Faulkner’s publisher]
“I often found myself completely taken by the poetry of Faulkner’s sentences and paragraphs.” [reviewer]
“Brutal backwoods savagery” [reviewer]
“Writing style still seems modern…cinematic quality.” [reviewer]
“A powerful novel examining the nature of evil, informed by the works of T. S. Eliot, Freud and mythology” [reviewer]
SALON DETAILS
- Co-facilitated by Salon Director Toby Brothers and Geoff Brown
- Five meetings: Thursday afternoons starting April 15th 1-3 PM
- Virtual Meeting on Zoom
- Cost £135.00 includes opening notes and resources
- Recommended editions: Vintage International (1993) ISBN 0679748148 or Penguin Classics(1975) ISBN 13: 9780140008999
To register, please use the Paypal button below to pay £135 for this five- meeting study. Upon receipt of payment, I will send you the opening notes, resources and preparation suggestions.
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“But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly
Event Details
“But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.”
― George Eliot, Middlemarch
In Middlemarch, Eliot probes the complexity of human nature and studies the idea of vocation: the call to find meaning through work in a provincial world.
I love the dilemma–how is an intelligent woman going to be intellectually stimulated in a time when there are so few options for women? This reflects Eliot’s own story: why does she write under a male pseudonym? Dorothea settles on marriage to an older man, a scholar and (she hopes) a mentor–ironically making an intellectual choice about the desire of the heart. What ensues is her struggle to be the person she aspires to being a world which values none of the ideals that interest her.
I love how psychological Eliot is, how interested she is in the inner workings of people’s minds. Why do Dorothea and Lydgate make the choices they do? Why do they choose people so unsuited to them? As in Daniel Deronda, Eliot is very interested in intellectual/spiritual passion–how religious scholarship can inform or transform a life–but while she is attracted to the dispassionate discipline of religious wisdom, she also knows that earthly love is what sustains us. This tension, between moral ideal and human behaviour, is the drive of the novel and probably makes the most sense in its historical context: a time of great intellectual inquiry, the Victorian obsession with self-improvement. Yet it isn’t that different from the self-improvement obsessions of our own time…
This study was added in response to the interest in the previous study of Middlemarch – as well as the requests for something to focus the mind during lockdown and its aftermath.
SALON DETAILS
- Facilitated by Sarah Snoxall
- Tuesday early evening 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
- Seven-meeting study, 20 April 2021 through 7 May 2021
- Online discussions using Zoom meeting interface. Zoom is free for participants, instructions will be sent upon registration.
- Recommended edition: Middlemarch by George Eliot (Norton Critical Editions) Paperback – 26 Jan. 2000 ISBN-10 : 9780393974522
- £170 for seven-week study, includes notes and questions for preparation.
TO REGISTER for the study, please use the secure Paypal payment button below to pay £170 (Please contact us if you prefer to pay by direct bank transfer).
may 2021
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Drawing on the success of the LLS, we are excited to expand the studies by offering retreats that place participants in locales
Event Details
Drawing on the success of the LLS, we are excited to expand the studies by offering retreats that place participants in locales that reflect and expand the literature. By taking participants to beautiful places, the LLS retreat offers a more intensive immersion in the book while opening the mind to a part of the world illuminated through the beauty of the language.
The Greek Odyssey study for May 2020 will use Homer’s epic poem to consider closely the guest-host relationship, the defining struggle of humans against overwhelming nature, the struggle to know ourselves in foreign spaces, our understanding of the heroic and the role of myth and epic in lived experience. Actor Jane Wymark and Poet Caroline Donnelly will be assisting Salon Director Toby Brothers in this week-long study, sharing their insights into the spoken word, metre and translation. In an era where the epic poem is in eclipse, the novel and film having taken over as the preferred vehicles for complex narratives, we will explore aspects of the Odyssey as a work in the oral tradition.
We have found the perfect site to host this study providing the ideal combination of a local space run by someone who understands our mission & can provide us room & board that has some cultural and adventure offerings — and is easy to access. We will be staying at Rosy’s Village on the stunning Island of Agistri. The study is scheduled for the 3rd (arrival) to the 10th (departure) of May 2020.
** UPDATE: This Salon is postponed due to COVID travel restrictions. If you are interested, please contact us to be added to the list for the May 2022 Odyssey
SALON DETAILS
- Facilitated by Toby Brothers, Jane Wymark and Caroline Donnelly
- May 2nd-9th 2021; program will run approx. five to six hours per day (one day open) leaving time for other activities (optional kayaking adventure and trip to The Pidavros theatre or Temple of Aphasia
- Preparatory meeting Monday April 26th 7:00-9:30 in London (via ZOOM)
- Recommended editions: The Odyssey by Homer, translated by Robert Fagles AND the Emily Wilson translation (more details below)
- £475 for the Salon study includes preparatory meetings, background materials and opening notes
Room and half board (two meals per day) will be paid directly to Rosy’s; after you register, you will receive details on payment.
Room Prices for seven night stay: (including Breakfast & Dinner)
- 574 euro Single (approx. £510)
- 413 euro Double (approx. £365)
- 392 eruo triple/family room
Other costs: Flights (Right now can be found for £120-200 r/t British Air), ferry to Agistri (usually 14 euro each way but may be 30 euro for arrival if the group chooses private water taxi), one meal a day and extra trips. For flight purchase, please make sure you can be in Piraeus by 3 PM for May 3rd to make the ferry. We will not be meeting on the 10th so you have choices about your return; ferry are frequent (one hour travel from Agistri to Piraeus).
To register and pay for the study or if you would like further information, please contact us . Opening notes will be sent after registration; please read at least one of the translations before arriving on Agistri.
Primary texts edition recommended:
- The Odyssey translated by Robert Fagles (Penguin Classics, various editions) Nov. 1997 ISBN-13:978-0140268867
- The Odyssey translated by Emily Wilson (W.W. Norton & Co., Nov. 2018) ISBN-13: 978-0393356250
Participant reflections May 2019:
“And it was such stirring stuff! It transformed The Odyssey from ever so slightly a form of homework, the better to get to grips with Ulysses, into an unexpectedly powerful, truly immersive and poetic experience – a fascinating study in its own right.”
“The facilitators were great, particularly Jane, who is wonderful, for the readings. That was memorable, for me.
About the epic…
The Salon has certainly been a place to re-discover- or discover for the first time- the works that form the cornerstones of Western literary tradition. The Odyssey is a root for our understanding of ourselves as well as the words and ways of the ancients. How does it continue to shape our idea of the heroic? What do the dilemmas that Odysseus faces offer to us today? Can we still appreciate the lyric and narrative quality alongside a violent story filled with the suffering and death of nameless servants, slave girls and soldiers?
Many artists have used The Odyssey as an inspiration for their work as Joyce does with Ulysses and the Coen brothers did for their film(winning an Oscar for the best screenplay adaptation from Homer’s original)…the epic struggle to return home and exploration of the guest/relationship remain relevant across time.
David Denby, in his work Great Books, describes his engagement with The Odyssey as an essential exploration of the formation of the self for the reader as well as for Telemachus and Odysseus: “Even at the beginning of the literary tradition of the West, the self has masks, and remakes itself as a fiction and not as a guiltless fiction either. . .
The Odyssey is an after-the-war poem, a plea for relief and gratification, and it turns, at times, into a sensual, even carnal celebration.”
Further reading : http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/10833515/Alice-Oswald-how-to-read-Homer.html
And here, from Jane, a brief summary of some of the contemporary novels inspired by the Homeric epics….
“All of these books contain major spoilers of the plots of both The Iliadand The Odysseyand so are to be avoided if you’d rather approach the Homeric Epics completely innocent. On the other hand, without some background knowledge of the Greek Pantheon you will soon be at sea so you might consider sacrificing surprise for context…”
Silence of the Girls
Pat Barker
‘An important, powerful, memorable book that invites us to look differently not only at The Iliadbut at our own ways of telling stories about the past and the present, an invitation to listen for voices silenced by history and power.’
Emily Wilson
Pat Barker is the author of the much respected award-winning Regenerationtrilogy set during the First World War and is thus very well qualified to retell the story of TheIliadin a style that displays its mythic universality. The first time that Achilles says ‘OK’ it lands as a shocking anachronism, but as you read on you realise that Barker is deliberately showing that the Trojan War has similarities to all wars in all times. Her central character, Briseis, is mentioned no more than a dozen times in Homer: she is an enslaved woman regarded simply as plunder.
The Song of Achilles
Circe
Madeline Miller
The Song of Achilleswas Miller’s first book and was a major bestseller, published in 23 languages. It retells the story of the siege of Troy from the point of view of Patroclus, whose death Achilles avenged by the killing of the Trojan hero Hector and defiling the corpse by dragging it around the city walls behind his chariot. The book was less popular in some quarters: the NYT described it as having ‘the head of a young adult novel, the body of The Iliadand the hindquarters of Barbara Cartland’ and there’s some truth in that criticism, despite its irritating snobbish tone. It’s certainly a very engaging read and Miller’s second book, Circe, is even more so. Circe is a nymph and witch whose island home Odysseus and his men land up on. The book manages to weave in an enormous amount of Greek myth and legend in palatable form.
A Thousand Ships
Natalie Haynes
‘This subversive reseeing of the classics is a many-layered delight’.
Elizabeth Lowry
This is the most recent of the current crop of Homeric retellings. It is written in short chapters and covers the stories of many of the female characters, most of whom get fairly short shrift in Homer. Some are given more than one chapter – especially Penelope and the group Haynes calls The Trojan Women. Penelope’s chapters are written as letters to the absent Odysseus, a device taken from Ovid’s Heroides, but the dry witty tone echoes The Penelopiad written by the great Margaret Attwood fifteen years ago which is definitely worth a read.
If you have any questions about this study, please contact us.
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Reading the Body Umbria Retreat: Mind & Body interplay NEW DATE-_TWO SPACES AVAILABLE MAY 29-June 5 2021 Providing space and material for thought and
Event Details
Reading the Body Umbria Retreat: Mind & Body interplay
NEW DATE-_TWO SPACES AVAILABLE MAY 29-June 5 2021
Providing space and material for thought and play towards greater connection to the world we inhabit-through expansion of the mind and body.
Jackie and Toby have both developed approaches to understanding the self in the world. Jackie’s work uses the body as a space of exploration & understanding, while Toby employs literature as a platform for discovery.
Each day will include two sessions of yoga and one to two sessions of literature study. This will leave hours across the day for down time: explore the local area, rest and resource, reading, swimming, hiking, stretching.
SALON RETREAT DETAILS
- Facilitated by Toby Brothers and Jackie Seigler
- May 29th- June 5th 2021; program will run approx. four to five hours per day (one day open) leaving time for other activities
- Recommended editions: The Portrait of A Lady by Henry James (Norton Critical Edition, ISBN-10: 0393938530); The Silent Duchess by Dacia Maraini (Arcadia Books Jun. 2010 ISBN-10: 190641372X)
Fees: Includes all yoga and salon study, accommodation , 3 meals a day & tea/biscuits and fruit.
- £1,200 Single
- £875 Shared Double
- £785 Triple shared
- £750 for non-participating partners
Not included: Travel to the retreat (flights to Rome)
Further queries and reservation instructions, please contact: Jackie – Jackie@seigler.co.uk
Opening notes will be sent after registration.
The Place– La locanda della Quercia Calante
In the heart of verdant Umbria, in Castel Giorgio, only hills and nature surround the Locanda della Quercia Calante, charming holiday farm in an old farm house, renovated according to natural architectural principles. 18 kilometers from Orvieto, in the province of Terni, it is the ideal spot for those who want a fully natural vacation, in an environmentally friendly atmosphere at a natural pace of life. Energizing water pool, holistic spa center with yoga room, restaurant with local and vegetarian cuisine, fourteen rooms without electromagnetic fields…
http://www.querciacalante.com/home-en/
- full board in single or double/twin rooms /triple rooms/ quadruple (family)rooms with services and private veranda on the park.
- two coffee-tea-herbal teas, fruit etc. Breaks each day.
- use of one of the large yoga studios
- free use of the large complex of two swimming pools (300 m2) and one large spa in the park (during the summer). Salt filtering systems without chlorine.
- excellent and fresh food, mostly organic, very well cooked. Possibility of traditional Italian, mixed, vegetarian or vegan food (one choice for the entire group).
- all the rooms are perfectly heated in winter and cooled during the summer.
In your free time you can visit the beautiful surroundings: art cities of Orvieto, Siena, Todi or Etruscan and medieval sites, Bolsena Lake and thermal springs.
The Yoga:
Jackie Seigler – Yoga teacher
Jackie’s teaching style is very much drawn from Ashtanga yoga. Her practice is continually evolving; she describes her style of yoga modern postural yoga with an emphasis on core stability as well as flexibility. Her goal in teaching is for students across all ages and body types to establish a more regular and fulfilling practice.
Jackie continually reviews, investigates and modifies her self-practice to make her teaching practice more accessible to everyone.
When one becomes a yoga practitioner you become an eternal student.
The idea of our retreat together is ‘Reading The Body’: our yoga and meditation practice in the morning will be a great place to begin that work.
The afternoon class will be a combination of Restorative yoga, yoga Nidra and technical alignment-based sessions so we can work and build on a specific pose.
Restorative yoga is all about slowing down and opening your body through passive stretching, the centring of your breath and body, and aligning the physical and mental by practicing stillness or gentle movement for extended periods of time. The props assist in helping you to hold poses longer. During the long holds of restorative yoga your muscles can relax deeply. It’s a unique feeling because props, rather than your muscles, are used to support your body. Restorative classes are very mellow, making them a good complement to more active practices and an excellent antidote to stress.
Yoga Nidra, a state of conscious deep sleep, is a simple yet profound technique that unwinds the nervous system and induces complete physical and mental relaxation with inner awareness.
The Literary Salon:
Toby Brothers – London Literary Salon Director
The London Literary Salon creates community around the study of great literature. The Salon offers unique and inclusive discussion-based studies of literature—weaving the ideas of participants with questions the books raise about what it is to be human. Carefully facilitated, each study is dynamic and expansive in scope.
Drawing on the success of the LLS, we are expanding the studies by offering retreats that place participants in locales that reflect and open up the literature. The LLS retreat offers a more intensive immersion in the book while opening the mind to a part of the world illuminated through the beauty of the language.
I am considering two works for this study: A Portrait of a Lady by Henry James and The Silent Duchess by Dacia Maraini. Both of these works consider Italy as both setting and cultural idea, and both explore the struggle for an independent mind to be authentic in stifling cultural roles and relationships.
A Portrait of a Lady by Henry James
The book is a painted portrait or even a kaleidoscope. We watch and guess what Isabel will do. But like a portrait, she is (perhaps) caught in a frame and frozen by the artistry –or the terms of her world.
Previous studies have included considerations of gender roles, the negotiated space between self and other, the corruption or freedom offered by privilege, the challenge of looking at nationalities in generalizations (and the tempting ease to do so), the ways in which humans reveal themselves…these Salon discussions are full of wonder: the meeting of the gathered minds and the provoking text is a powerful thing.
Ralph Waldo Emerson seems to echo in the lines and characters of Henry James, Isabel in particular.
“You think of me the child of my circumstances: I make my circumstance…I—this thought which is called I, –is the mould into which the world is poured like melted wax. The mould is invisible, but the world betrays the shape of the mould. You call it the power of circumstance, but it is the power of me.” –from Emerson’s essay The Transcendentalist
Our study of PoAL may include a consideration of this quote in light of Isabel’s life and choices: how much do we make ourselves? How does the world impose itself on the individual in the act of self-creation?
The Silent Duchess by Dacia Maraini
Finalist for the International Man Booker Prize, winner of the Premio Campiello, short-listed for the Independent Foreign Fiction Award upon its first English-language publication in the UK, and published to critical acclaim in fourteen languages, this historical novel by one of Italy’s premier women writers has mesmerized readers globally.
In luminous language that conveys both the keen visual sight and the deep human insight possessed by her remarkable main character, Dacia Maraini captures the splendor and the corruption of Marianna’s world and the strength of her unbreakable spirit.
Maraini paints a vivid and unflinching representation of 18th century Sicilian Italy. It is often shocking in its honest portrayal of the inequalities at the heart of that society. From the excesses indulged in by the nobility while the majority lived in abject poverty or were subject to the most barbaric punishments should they err, to the utter powerlessness and abuse of women of any class.
The silent duchess of the title, Marianna, is deaf and mute. Her muteness is symbolic of all women of her time who had no say in anything at all. In the patriarchal system which prevailed, all decisions and choices were made for them. Not that many choices were afforded them; they either ended up in a convent or were married off at an appallingly young age for paternal gain. It seemed the convent was preferable, as Marianna’s sister thrived in her role as a healing nun. (from Jenny Lloyd, Goodreads Review)
If you have any questions about this study, please contact us.
september 2021
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"Millions of things came back to her. Atoms danced apart and massed themselves. But how did they compose what people called a
Event Details
“Millions of things came back to her. Atoms danced apart and massed themselves. But how did they compose what people called a life? She clenched her hands and felt the hard little coins she was holding. Perhaps there’s ‘I’ at the middle of it, she thought; a knot; a centre; and again she saw herself sitting at her table drawing on the blotting paper, digging little holes from which spokes radiated. Out and out they went; thing followed thing, scene obliterated scene.”
–Virginia Woolf, The Years
Each study in St Ives is magical. The light, the smell and sound of the sea gilds the intensive study with a unique sense of stepping into another world. This study of The Years, the last novel published by Virginia Woolf while she was still alive, expands our time in Cornwall to five days as requested by past participants. We will meet Wednesday evening for our first exploration with six more meetings spread over the coming days to allow time for enjoyment of the natural and cultural gems offered in this beautiful place. This will be the Salon’s first study of The Years; this study will have the exploratory energy that a first Salon study offers.
IN LIGHT OF THE CURRENT PANDEMIC, the dates for this study are shifted: Sept.29 toOctober 3rd 2021 …there are three spaces available.
The Years is described as a family saga–and is often considered more accessible than other works by Woolf. With the experience of many studies of To The Lighthouse, Between the Acts, The Waves and Mrs Dalloway, I have come to relish the subtle profundity beneath the language experimentation and interior explorations that Woolf offers. The Years engages history– the personal history of a family, the mantel of history of a people, the sense of a denigrated future in the shadow of historical myths and mistakes–and considers how various characters negotiate this troubled inheritance. Woolf moves deftly between the individual and the larger cultural landscapes–illuminating how one person can exist in their vulnerable selfhood amidst the waves of the world around them.
To understand this book, you will want to read with a wide awake mind and then re-read once you have played on the surface of plot and character. Notice how the descriptions along the edges—the fragments, the other stories invoked, the changing weather passages—all comment on and expand the central narrative. We will also consider essays from her work, The Pargiters — the theoretical framework that Woolf wrote alongside The Years but then excluded from the text. This has become available in Mitchell Leaska’s edition: “The Pargiters is interesting in its own right for the insight it offers into Woolf’s politics, which she expresses more bluntly in the novel-essay than she ever had before.” (R. Higney, Modernism Lab)
SALON DETAILS:
- Five-day Meeting in St Ives — approximately 14 hours of study
- Meeting St Ives Cornwall; facilitated by Salon Director Toby Brothers
- Cost £325 includes notes and critical resources (transport and housing not included)
- RECOMMENDED EDITION: The Years by Virginia Woolf (Vintage Classics Woolf Series) Paperback – 6 Oct 2016 ISBN-10: 1784872237
- If possible, please also purchase The Pargiters– this book is difficult to find and tends to be pricey– if you can not find an affordable edition, please contact us— I have a few editions for purchase or loan.
To register for the Salon study, please use the Paypal button below to pay £325: (Please pay for the room directly to No4St Ives once your registration has been confirmed):
‘A brilliant fantasia of all Time’s problems, age and youth, change and permanence, truth and illusion’ The Times Literary Supplement
The Years is the story of the Pargiter family – their intimacies and estrangements, anxieties and triumphs – mapped out against the bustling rhythms of London’s streets during the first decades of the twentieth century, as their Victorian upbringing gives way to a new world, where the rules of etiquette have shifted from the drawing room to the air-raid shelter. Virginia Woolf’s penultimate novel is a celebration of the resilience of the individual amid time, change, life, death and renewal.
Virginia Woolf: “If life has a base that it stands upon, if it is a bowl that one fills and fills and fills – then my bowl without doubt stands upon this memory. It is of lying in bed, half-asleep, haf awake, in bed in the nursery at St Ives. It is of hearing the waves breaking, one, two, one, two, and sending a splash of water over the beach; and then breaking, one, two, one two, behind a yellow blind […}. If I were a painter I should paint these impressions in pale yellow, silver, and green. There was the pale yellow blind; the green sea; and the silver of the passion flowers.”
“Here is the past and all its inhabitants miraculously sealed as in a magic tank.”
“The past only comes back when the present runs so smoothly that it is like the sliding surace of a deep river. Then one sees through the surface to the depths. The past sometimes presses so close that you can feel nothing else.”
—“Sketch of the Past,” begun in June 1939.
St IVES: Virginia Woolf spent much of her childhood in St. Ives. The London Literary Salon invites you to join us in St Ives to explore this lovely coastal town and have it serve as a prism through which we will explore Woolf’s perspectives on landscape, domesticity, historical inheritance and identity in her novel The Years. We have already completed four magical weekends with Woolf’s writings in the environment that inspired it– this is an incredible experience!
You will have the opportunity to visit the iconic Tate St Ives gallery overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, built between 1988 and 1993 on the site of an old gasworks, and there will be an optional boat trip to Godrevy Lighthouse.
We may also look at Talland House, now privately owned, her childhood summer home. For several months of the year the elegant house overlooking St Ives Bay would be the Stephens’ family home until 1895 when Virginia’s mother Julia Stephen died. Although the complete family never returned to St Ives following their mother’s death, her children travellled back in 1905 following the death of their father in 1904.
Accommodation: We are working with No4 St Ives which is just steps from Talland House and has an elevated position overloooking St Ives Bay. It is a 5 minute walk from the beach and St Ives Town Centre.
Approximate cost:
Rooms at No4 St Ives range from £110-£140 per night– if the room is shared, the cost is halved; breakfast included. Some of us plan to stay Sunday night as well to be able to enjoy an extra day in this beautiful site. The entire cost is to be paid upfront. If for some reason you are unable to attend, we will work to find someone to replace you & reimburse you for the room but can not guarantee that is possible. The Salon cost may be applied to a later study.
Train cost is approx. £70 each way(cheaper if bought earlier)
Salon cost is £325: We will meet around 14 hours over the five days. The first meeting starts at 5:45 Wednesday evening; the last meeting is scheduled for 9:30-11:30 Sunday morning. On previous trips, many have stayed in St Ives through Sunday evening to have time for further exploration and reflection. Please discuss this option with Sue and Mike from No4 St Ives if you are interested.
We will enjoy dinner out on Wednesday and Friday…other costs will include the optional boat trip & visit to the St Ives gallery.
Getting there: The train from London takes just over five hours, with one change at St Erth for the branch line to St Ives.
This event and other in-depth explorations of Virginia Woolf and her works can be found on the website of the Virginia Woolf Society of Great Britain
Part of the challenge when reading Woolf is to understand it is not the action that matters but the impression of thoughts; it is by attending to the pattern and signification of thoughts and impressions that we will uncover meaning, innovation. As one of the primary modernist writers, Woolf plays with language; testing its ability to truly reflect human experience by recording the life of the mind not just action. Her narrative form reflects one of the characteristics of Modernist writing in its shifting centre of narrative perspective reflecting a questioning of ultimate and moral authority that characterized the time with the dissolution of Imperialism and absolute values.
Writing from the edge of the violent shift from Victorian to Modernist era, the loss of an old world in the violent destruction of war and massive social change, Woolf’s ambivalence is demonstrated in her work. She struggles against the boundaries and structures of the Victorian era while holding a great longing and nostalgia for the noble traditions of the time.
If you have any questions about this study, please contact us.
october 2021
Organizer
Event Details
"Millions of things came back to her. Atoms danced apart and massed themselves. But how did they compose what people called a
Event Details
“Millions of things came back to her. Atoms danced apart and massed themselves. But how did they compose what people called a life? She clenched her hands and felt the hard little coins she was holding. Perhaps there’s ‘I’ at the middle of it, she thought; a knot; a centre; and again she saw herself sitting at her table drawing on the blotting paper, digging little holes from which spokes radiated. Out and out they went; thing followed thing, scene obliterated scene.”
–Virginia Woolf, The Years
Each study in St Ives is magical. The light, the smell and sound of the sea gilds the intensive study with a unique sense of stepping into another world. This study of The Years, the last novel published by Virginia Woolf while she was still alive, expands our time in Cornwall to five days as requested by past participants. We will meet Wednesday evening for our first exploration with six more meetings spread over the coming days to allow time for enjoyment of the natural and cultural gems offered in this beautiful place. This will be the Salon’s first study of The Years; this study will have the exploratory energy that a first Salon study offers.
IN LIGHT OF THE CURRENT PANDEMIC, the dates for this study are shifted: Sept.29 toOctober 3rd 2021 …there are three spaces available.
The Years is described as a family saga–and is often considered more accessible than other works by Woolf. With the experience of many studies of To The Lighthouse, Between the Acts, The Waves and Mrs Dalloway, I have come to relish the subtle profundity beneath the language experimentation and interior explorations that Woolf offers. The Years engages history– the personal history of a family, the mantel of history of a people, the sense of a denigrated future in the shadow of historical myths and mistakes–and considers how various characters negotiate this troubled inheritance. Woolf moves deftly between the individual and the larger cultural landscapes–illuminating how one person can exist in their vulnerable selfhood amidst the waves of the world around them.
To understand this book, you will want to read with a wide awake mind and then re-read once you have played on the surface of plot and character. Notice how the descriptions along the edges—the fragments, the other stories invoked, the changing weather passages—all comment on and expand the central narrative. We will also consider essays from her work, The Pargiters — the theoretical framework that Woolf wrote alongside The Years but then excluded from the text. This has become available in Mitchell Leaska’s edition: “The Pargiters is interesting in its own right for the insight it offers into Woolf’s politics, which she expresses more bluntly in the novel-essay than she ever had before.” (R. Higney, Modernism Lab)
SALON DETAILS:
- Five-day Meeting in St Ives — approximately 14 hours of study
- Meeting St Ives Cornwall; facilitated by Salon Director Toby Brothers
- Cost £325 includes notes and critical resources (transport and housing not included)
- RECOMMENDED EDITION: The Years by Virginia Woolf (Vintage Classics Woolf Series) Paperback – 6 Oct 2016 ISBN-10: 1784872237
- If possible, please also purchase The Pargiters– this book is difficult to find and tends to be pricey– if you can not find an affordable edition, please contact us— I have a few editions for purchase or loan.
To register for the Salon study, please use the Paypal button below to pay £325: (Please pay for the room directly to No4St Ives once your registration has been confirmed):
‘A brilliant fantasia of all Time’s problems, age and youth, change and permanence, truth and illusion’ The Times Literary Supplement
The Years is the story of the Pargiter family – their intimacies and estrangements, anxieties and triumphs – mapped out against the bustling rhythms of London’s streets during the first decades of the twentieth century, as their Victorian upbringing gives way to a new world, where the rules of etiquette have shifted from the drawing room to the air-raid shelter. Virginia Woolf’s penultimate novel is a celebration of the resilience of the individual amid time, change, life, death and renewal.
Virginia Woolf: “If life has a base that it stands upon, if it is a bowl that one fills and fills and fills – then my bowl without doubt stands upon this memory. It is of lying in bed, half-asleep, haf awake, in bed in the nursery at St Ives. It is of hearing the waves breaking, one, two, one, two, and sending a splash of water over the beach; and then breaking, one, two, one two, behind a yellow blind […}. If I were a painter I should paint these impressions in pale yellow, silver, and green. There was the pale yellow blind; the green sea; and the silver of the passion flowers.”
“Here is the past and all its inhabitants miraculously sealed as in a magic tank.”
“The past only comes back when the present runs so smoothly that it is like the sliding surace of a deep river. Then one sees through the surface to the depths. The past sometimes presses so close that you can feel nothing else.”
—“Sketch of the Past,” begun in June 1939.
St IVES: Virginia Woolf spent much of her childhood in St. Ives. The London Literary Salon invites you to join us in St Ives to explore this lovely coastal town and have it serve as a prism through which we will explore Woolf’s perspectives on landscape, domesticity, historical inheritance and identity in her novel The Years. We have already completed four magical weekends with Woolf’s writings in the environment that inspired it– this is an incredible experience!
You will have the opportunity to visit the iconic Tate St Ives gallery overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, built between 1988 and 1993 on the site of an old gasworks, and there will be an optional boat trip to Godrevy Lighthouse.
We may also look at Talland House, now privately owned, her childhood summer home. For several months of the year the elegant house overlooking St Ives Bay would be the Stephens’ family home until 1895 when Virginia’s mother Julia Stephen died. Although the complete family never returned to St Ives following their mother’s death, her children travellled back in 1905 following the death of their father in 1904.
Accommodation: We are working with No4 St Ives which is just steps from Talland House and has an elevated position overloooking St Ives Bay. It is a 5 minute walk from the beach and St Ives Town Centre.
Approximate cost:
Rooms at No4 St Ives range from £110-£140 per night– if the room is shared, the cost is halved; breakfast included. Some of us plan to stay Sunday night as well to be able to enjoy an extra day in this beautiful site. The entire cost is to be paid upfront. If for some reason you are unable to attend, we will work to find someone to replace you & reimburse you for the room but can not guarantee that is possible. The Salon cost may be applied to a later study.
Train cost is approx. £70 each way(cheaper if bought earlier)
Salon cost is £325: We will meet around 14 hours over the five days. The first meeting starts at 5:45 Wednesday evening; the last meeting is scheduled for 9:30-11:30 Sunday morning. On previous trips, many have stayed in St Ives through Sunday evening to have time for further exploration and reflection. Please discuss this option with Sue and Mike from No4 St Ives if you are interested.
We will enjoy dinner out on Wednesday and Friday…other costs will include the optional boat trip & visit to the St Ives gallery.
Getting there: The train from London takes just over five hours, with one change at St Erth for the branch line to St Ives.
This event and other in-depth explorations of Virginia Woolf and her works can be found on the website of the Virginia Woolf Society of Great Britain
Part of the challenge when reading Woolf is to understand it is not the action that matters but the impression of thoughts; it is by attending to the pattern and signification of thoughts and impressions that we will uncover meaning, innovation. As one of the primary modernist writers, Woolf plays with language; testing its ability to truly reflect human experience by recording the life of the mind not just action. Her narrative form reflects one of the characteristics of Modernist writing in its shifting centre of narrative perspective reflecting a questioning of ultimate and moral authority that characterized the time with the dissolution of Imperialism and absolute values.
Writing from the edge of the violent shift from Victorian to Modernist era, the loss of an old world in the violent destruction of war and massive social change, Woolf’s ambivalence is demonstrated in her work. She struggles against the boundaries and structures of the Victorian era while holding a great longing and nostalgia for the noble traditions of the time.
If you have any questions about this study, please contact us.
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Thank you to Jose Barba for the wonderful illustrations he has created for the London Literary Salon. Click on the images below to enlarge and scroll.
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