Iliad Unhurried (Cycle VI)

Of the many books we read in a lifetime, some small percentage – maybe just one or two, certainly just a handful – strike us in such a way that we long to go back and really read them. By the time we reach the end, we know there was so much more there than we realised when we first began.

The Iliad is one of those books. What starts out as a story of seemingly petty men and even pettier divinities builds slowly over its twenty-four books into a profound meditation on some of the most basic and enduring questions of human existence – how do we find meaning in a world we don’t control? What is worth living for? And what is worth dying for? The Iliad is one of the few, almost miraculous, works of art that grow richer and deeper with every visit.

The Iliad Unhurried study will make a slow, close reading of the Iliad, beginning-to-end. We take a serial approach: once-a-week instalments of a manageable 75 minutes, with no advance reading – something to add to your week without displacing other activities. We’ll sip and savour our way through, in small weekly tastings.

The pattern for each meeting of Iliad Unhurried is simple: read-discuss, read-discuss. We read aloud a small section of text – somewhere between a paragraph and a page – stop to sift through what’s happened, and then read on. We ask ourselves what we see in the narrative and imagery, what we hear in the language of the characters and the voice of the poem, where the poem leads our feelings and how it shapes our sensibilities. Slow reading allows us to savour the nuances of character, social and political dynamics, and the deep psychological and philosophical undercurrents running through this finest of epics.

N.B. This ongoing slow-read study is now entering its sixth twelve-week subscription cycle. We’ll be beginning the pivotal Book 9 of the Iliad, a perfect time to join this study and enjoy some of the most thought-provoking scenes in the poem. New members can attend a special catch-up session to recap what we’ve read so far. Contact the facilitator, Mark Cwik to find out more.

STUDY DETAILS

• Virtual study facilitated by Mark Cwik
• Cycle VI: twelve meetings, 23 November 2022 – 8 February 2023
• Our primary version of the text is Robert Fagle’s translation, supplemented by Caroline Alexander’s. Recommended editions: The Iliad by Homer, translated by Robert Fagles, introduction by Bernard Knox (Penguin Classics, 1998, ISBN-13: 978-0140275360), and The Iliad, by Homer, translated by Caroline Alexander (Vintage, 2017, ISBN-13: 978-1784870577).
• Wednesday afternoons, 2.00-3.15 pm (UK time)
• £165 for twelve-week subscription