What is a Salon?
A Salon is a facilitated meeting (or multiple meetings) organised around the study of a great work of literature (including fiction, philosophy, poetry, and plays) or other forms of art, such as painting, sculpture and cinema. The name draws on the European salon tradition of a gathering to explore ideas, philosophy and art.
What are the goals of discussion/study?
The goals of a study vary from group to group, but essentially the facilitator is committed to supporting each participant in gaining an understanding of the text or other works and developing their individual reading and perceptual skills as part of the discussion.
Each study will also explore content around the particular artistic and historic moment of the writing and its relevance to our contemporary experience. The best studies are defined by a sense of play within the complexities of the reading or viewing.
How long is a session/how often does a Salon meet/how many sessions to a study?
The length and number of sessions varies widely.
Intensives are one-meeting studies where we consider the work in a single sitting. Some works of literature can be studied in four or six sessions; some require eight, ten or more. A Salon on Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway, for example, might run for four sessions while James Joyce’s Ulysses requires 22 meetings.
Most studies involving multiple sessions will meet once a week for the duration of the study. Each session typically runs for two hours.
Where do you meet?
Since the Covid pandemic, most of our salons have moved from in-person events to become virtual. We use Zoom as our online meeting platform, where we endeavour to reproduce the atmosphere and facilitation style of our original in-person studies. As a result, our virtual studies are now accessible to participants from all over the world rather than being the preserve of those within reach of London.
Over the years we have conducted very successful travel studies in locations including St Ives, Greece, Valencia, Switzerland and Italy, all of which are open to people based anywhere in the world. In 2025 we have offered Spring studies of the work of Virginia Woolf in Sussex and Autumn studies in Cornwall focusing on The Waves and The Voyage Out; we have immersed ourselves in Homer’s Odyssey and Euripides’ Trojan Women on the Greek island of Agistri; we have read Moby Dick on board a traditional sailing ship, and we will soon explore Proust and the art of the Belle Epoque in Paris. You can see pictures from some of these travel experiences on our Gallery page.
How big is each group?
Part of what makes the London Literary Salon unique is the intimacy of the groups – each participant has a voice and the opportunity to have their questions and ideas heard. Typically the maximum number of participants in a study is eleven, and the minimum is normally five.
What does the facilitator do?
The trained Salon facilitator organises the studies and shares background material, notes and other communications before the study commences.
During the study, the facilitator guides the discussion and uses a variety of techniques to support participant contributions. They will ask specific questions, propose thematic ideas, offer contextual information and identify passages for reading aloud and consideration. The facilitator also helps moderate discussions so that differing perspectives benefit the group as a whole and places of difficulty in the work can be addressed and illuminated.
What will I learn?
You will learn to read, and in the case of visually based studies see, with greater depth and understanding. You will develop tools for critical reading and responses; you will open up your own experience of literature and art by taking in the ideas of others.
Many Salon participants also report greater confidence in public speaking and formal writing.
What do you read?
Besides the core text, Salon facilitators often provide background or contextual readings to expand particpants’ knowledge base. These are optional, the main text is the primary focus.
The LitSalon strives to offer a broad menu of literature that is inclusive of many cultural and ethnic experiences as well as a variety of historical periods and genres.
If you have a book or subject that you would like to tackle in a Salon study, please suggest it! We always welcome participant requests and will try to accommodate these.
How much do you read for each literature session?
This depends on the density of the text. A group reading Finnegans Wake group may get through 3 pages a week; in Middlemarch we might read 60 pages per week.
We try to keep the reading expectations manageable (typically about 50 pages a week). For single session Salon Intensives, you will want to read the whole book in preparation.
What happens at a session?
In the first session, or at the start of an Intensive study, the facilitator may suggest a question or prompt that will enable individuals introduce themselves to the group.
The facilitator will offer some contextual reflections, and the discussion then starts, often using a section of text to be read aloud.
The facilitator will have ideas, themes, portions of text and quotes to scaffold the discussion; participant questions, insights and struggles also shape the progress.
In sessions of two hours or more, there is typically a short break for refreshment after an hour or so of work.
Who signs up for Salons?
Individuals! People who sign up for Salon studies range from curious readers who have studied literature or other art forms formally in the past, to those who are keen to read challenging texts or enhance their experience of art or cinema but who have no previous experience of literature or art-focused courses.
We welcome people from all backgrounds; if you are concerned about your reading level, you are welcome to contact the course facilitator (in confidence) to determine whether the course is right for you.
The LitSalon welcomes anyone who is curious about literature or other arts and willing to engage in respectful (and often intense) discussions. We are LGBTQ-friendly. Discussions are enriched by having a diversity of ethnic, national, regional and language-of-origin perspectives.
The discussions and readings are all in English.
The age of Salon participants ranges from 16-88; we have had several parent/youth pairs and couples, which can add to the group dynamics in wonderful ways! We are keen to adapt to particular needs if at all possible.
How do I sign up?
The details of each Salon on the Booking Now page will offer a link to register and make payment by PayPal or credit/debit card.
Are concessions available?
As a small business, we attempt to be accommodating to the economic circumstances of our study participants and to offer concessions where possible.
Concessions are offered at the discretion of the Salon directors and the study facilitator, and some studies offer a ‘first-time’ reduced rate. Please email us (in confidence) at litsalon@gmail.com to enquire about a concessionary rate.
