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). 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 and developing their individual reading 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.
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 sessions.
Most studies involving multiple sessions will meet once a week for the duration of the study. Each session typically runs for two hours at a time.
Where do you meet?
Since the arrival of Covid-19 our salons have gone virtual. We use the Zoom online meeting platform, where we have worked hard to reproduce the atmosphere and facilitation style of the in-person studies. A rare welcome result of the global pandemic is that our virtual salons have been accessible to people from all over the world rather than being based on the community in and around London.
Over the years we have also offered very successful Travel Studies in locations including St Ives, Greece, Valencia, Switzerland, and Italy, which are open to people based anywhere in the world. We are cautiously planning to resume these Salons, starting with a 5-day study of Virginia Woolf’s The Years in St Ives, Cornwall.
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. The Salon maximum number is eleven, the minimum is normally five.
What does the facilitator do?
The trained Salon facilitator organises the studies and provides 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 are addressed and illuminated.
What will I learn?
You will learn to read with greater depth and understanding. You will develop tools for critical reading and responses; you will open up your own reading experience by taking in the ideas of others.
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 LLS 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 that you would like to tackle in a Salon, please suggest it! We always welcome participant requests and will try to accommodate these.
How much do you read for each session?
This depends on the density of the text. The current 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: for the 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 will typically suggest a question or prompt to address as individuals introduce themselves to the group.
The facilitator will offer some contextual reflections, and then the discussion 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 formally in the past, to those who are keen to read challenging texts but have no previous experience of literature courses.
We welcome 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 LLS welcomes all curious readers who can 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 ‘Bookings’ page will offer a link to register and make payment by PayPal or Stripe.
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 at the discretion of the study facilitator.
Many studies offer a ‘first-time’ reduced rate – please ask the facilitator directly or simply contact us and we will make sure the message is passed along.
