The May LitSalon Challenge is now live. This month’s prose read is Zora Neale Hurston’s wonderful novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, while our poetry choice for May is Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18.
The LitSalon Challenge for May
The Salon in Umbria: April 2022
It is truly one of life’s great experiences to be in a beautiful place, with a group of adventurous and stretchy readers, immersed for a week in a complex book (Henry James’ The Portrait of a Lady) that drives us to consider closely our own identity, relationship to history, cultural context, social relationships, familial inheritance . . .
Our insights into the challenges facing Isabel Archer, her enclosure in tradition and the interior maps she must negotiate to claim agency in a claustrophobic space, reflected back upon us all and inspired each of us. Some responded with creative writing, some with nuggets shared in discussion. For others the illuminations are held within, to carry back home and keep turning over.
Jackie Seigler and I worked to find the right balance of yoga and study sessions while leaving time for reflection, walking and adventuring in the golden landscapes of Umbria. There were food adventures to be had, wine-tastings, underground caves to crawl through and lakes to discover and dip into. Back in London, I feel my body strengthened with the careful attention of the yoga and my mind calmed with the wonderful focus of the discussions around the complex art of Henry James. I learned from every member of the group – Salonistas from Paris, London, Bristol, New York City, Upstate New York, some who have been with the Salon since its early days, a few experiencing the Salon for the first time. Thank you all for making this adventure so inspiring!
Some feedback from participants:
Location: ‘Really beautiful and welcoming. Just the right balance of comfort and simplicity.’
Food: ‘Very good! Appreciated the many varieties of greens. A bit more pasta perhaps . . .’
Schedule: ‘Nicely paced. I could not routinely find my way to yoga twice a day but was really happy that the possibility was there when I did. Really enjoyed the afternoons at leisure too.’
Cost: ‘Good value for money.’
Yoga: ‘Really enjoyed the restorative and gentle yoga classes. Jackie, your warmth, joy and expertise is in my cells after this retreat.’
‘I found everything about the yoga just right. I felt really held and taken care of in the sessions. I particularly liked the restorative yoga and yoga nidra.’
Salon: ‘Toby, difficult to put into words the depth of the experience. I appreciated so much the slow read of a well-chosen classic and how it gave meaning to my own life in new ways. So good to read closely and in the process become closer to such thoughtful people.’
Overall: ‘Thank you both for all you did and are. I am renewed, recharged and changed after these seven very special days. See you in September.’
‘You both held the group beautifully . . . just the right balance. You were both really kind, sensitive, attentive and inclusive. It made for a great group experience . . . Only suggestion is to get people to read the book completely!’
‘This was a rich and revivifying experience – physically because of the wonderful yoga, and spiritually and intellectually through our collective reading of one of the great 19th century novels. The opportunity to drop into a book, deep below the surface, with a group of open-minded, intelligent, sensitive readers – and to stay there for a week, under expert and self-effacing leadership – is a great privilege. That privilege was enhanced by first-class yoga teaching which kept us grounded, and physically well-tuned.’
And finally, a poetic reflection from our creative writing facilitator Alison Cable:
On reading Portrait of a Lady with LitSalon in Umbria Where am I positioned as reader Of words, characters, people? I am invited to slow down-- I experience others. Words, characters, people, When our systems crack, what are we left with? I experience others-- Half-closed eyelids, a full moon. When our systems crack, what are we left with? It was an act of devotion to conceal her misery. Half-closed eyelids, full moon-- Epiphany, expansion. It was an act of devotion to conceal her misery. Where am I positioned? Epiphany, expansion— I experience others. Alison Cable, April 2022
The LitSalon Challenge – April 2022
The free LitSalon Challenge is now in its fourth month, with Marilynne Robinson’s Housekeeping and Birches by Robert Frost as the chosen works for April. Full details here.
Thoughts on language and power . . .
In a recent newsflash I shared some resources in response to the Ukrainian crisis. Thanks to all who followed up, and for the thoughts and actions you have taken. As you know, the news of unrelenting attacks on the Ukrainian people is horrific, as are Putin’s twists of logic in attempting to justify invasion.
Since writing that, I have had feedback from some people in the Salon community that has helped me to expand my understanding and grasp the complexity of the situation, as well as the potential for blind spots and accidental omissions in describing such terrible events.
First, one Salonista who is from Russia and has relatives in Ukraine called me to account:
“Please, please do not say Russian invasion and Russian aggression, it is not! It is the Putin’s regime aggression and his and his clique’s invasion. Russia and the Russian people have never agreed to that. It is not done in my name and not in the name of other millions of Russians.”
She is right, and I apologise. Although the circumstances were somewhat different, as an American I was aghast at the destruction that was wreaked when the USA invaded Iraq; I demonstrated against this invasion and sought to disassociate myself from the military action of the US government. The bravery of the Russian people who are now speaking out against Putin is astonishing and thanks to MG for helping me shift my language.
I also had this feedback from another Salonista:
“. . . I feel terribly upset seeing the suffering of the ordinary people of Ukraine and up to yesterday I supported Ukraine against Russia.
Sadly, reports are coming out about shocking racist practices being used by Ukrainian authorities against Black people, mainly students, and Indians trying to flee Ukraine. It is not widely reported but there are testimonials in the Independent, ITV, Twitter (#AfricansinUkraine) and the Black press . . .I have written to the BBC to ask why reporters are not questioning Ukrainian spokespeople about these allegations.
I have donated to crowdfunding for African students trying to flee . . .”
Since SA pointed this out to me, I have found various articles that have exposed these racist practices and there has been increased reporting. I want to express outrage and compassion for the Ukrainian people under attack, as well as the African nationals and Black refugees who are being discriminated against in their struggle to escape the war. This opinion piece by Daniel Howden also considers the varying responses to refugees and offers hope that the current crisis will result in an expanded empathic response to refugees from all conflict zones.
In a recent discussion in a Proust study, we were examining the crash of the Union Générale in 1882 and how this shifted financial power in France before being used to support antisemitic myths about the power of Jewish bankers. As these myths repeat themselves even today (to the extent that one current French politician has proposed reconsidering the exoneration of Dreyfus, more than a century after his unjust and tortured incarceration), I found the research undertaken by study members to help understand how the Jewish bankers were scapegoated in the rising fury of antisemitism enlightening. In the process, I also learned that the form ‘anti-Semitism’ is no longer favoured and have updated my usage accordingly.
I appreciate how both in the studies and beyond, we have worked together to become more thoughtful about how language – a powerful and subtle tool – is used.
And finally, we have been asked to raise awareness of Packed with Hope, an initiative providing age-appropriate storybooks and a variety of comforting items (from hot water bottles to colouring pencils and notepads) to the many children caught up in the terror of being uprooted from their homes, family and friends in Ukraine. Please take a look and donate if you can.
The enduring appeal of the long read . . .
Some years ago, we were told about the great work Kate Slotover and Laura Potter were doing in opening up literature to readers everywhere. Laura and Kate founded The Book Club Review Podcast – an energetic discussion about what to read and how different readers may respond. In their words:
“We founded The Book Club Review Podcast to turn the solitary act of reading into a shared experience.
Loved the book? Loathed it? So much the better. We’re all about big opinions. We live for the great debate, the heated discussion, the ‘I see what you’re saying, but here’s why you’re wrong’ rant. With good humour. With respect. But with commitment too. Because the world has forgotten that disagreement is good for us. That it’s the friction of debate that sparks off new ideas, new perspectives – just like a good book. Bring the two together and there’s really nothing better.”
We are great admirers of their work which, as you can see, dovetails beautifully with the energy of exploration we generate in the Salon, so I was happy to spend a delicious February evening discussing doorstoppers – and WHY read them – with Laura, Kate and Phil Chaffee in the latest episode of the podcast.
The result is recommended listening for anyone who is either enjoying or feeling daunted by the ‘big’ books featured in Salon studies. If you like what you hear, take a look at previous episodes (including their 2019 interview with me about what the London Literary Salon does) and subscribe to the podcast newsletter to be alerted to new ones.
On Reading and Writing Together
I never saw a moor,
I never saw the sea,
Yet I know how the heather looks
And what a wave must be.Emily Dickinson
Photo by Tim Marshall on Unsplash
We’re all writers. Take a moment and think about the writing you do each day — a caption for your Instagram photo, a text to a friend, a work e-mail. See, you’re already writing to tell stories, build relationships, and plan your future.
Expressive writing helps you channel what you already know how to do. You have permission to discard the rules, play with words, and discover new and powerful insights through its imaginative process. And it’s good for you, like yoga for your mind. In fact, a robust body of peer-reviewed research proves it (benefits like enhancing mood and improving physical health, setting life goals, reducing PTSD symptoms, easing stress, and sparking creativity).
And what better way to spark our writing than reading poetry out loud together? First we hear it – its tempo, rhythm and cadences; then we see it – its images in the mind’s eye; finally we sense its possible meanings – metaphors full of delicious ambiguity. We don’t need to come to any conclusions as long as something stirs within us.
Whatever we discover through our reading and writing, sharing it with others is to engage, to connect, to be heard, and to hear. We loiter in the gaps as well. There’s no perfect communication, but as we linger in each other’s metaphors, in the meaning we make between the words, we share connection. This sharing makes us feel better. We know we are not alone.
Alison Cable is a facilitator at the London Literary Salon, she is currently leading a series of Writing for Wellbeing studies, including Trees and Us beginning on 26 April.
What do Greek philosophers from 400 BCE have to say to us in the 21st Century?
“Can you tell me, Socrates—is being good something you can be taught? Or does it come with practice rather than being teachable? Or is it something that doesn’t come with practice or learning; does it just come to people naturally? “
– from Plato’s Meno
The good news is that Plato’s dialogues are both accessible and enjoyable to a modern audience, particularly when read as part of a group! They are intricately crafted, dramatic philosophical works and the Meno is an excellent place to begin.
In its opening line, the dialogue gets right to the heart of a matter that could hardly be more relevant today. The title speaker, Meno, asks Socrates whether being ‘good’ (a term sometimes translated as ‘virtue’ or ‘excellence’) is a thing that can be taught. Far from being able to answer, Socrates tells Meno that he has no idea of what virtue even is, and nor does anyone else he’s ever met. As they try to find a solid definition of virtue, Socrates and Meno find themselves confronted by some of philosophy’s most basic and profound questions: what can we know, how can we know it, how can we teach, how can we learn? All of which remain as relevant to contemporary life as to the ancient world.
The Meno offers a multifaceted view of Socrates, Plato’s teacher and philosophical protagonist—at times thoughtful, playful, humble, flirtatious, ironic, and slightly abrasive. To this is added an intriguing demonstration of the Pythagorean Theorem by an untutored slave boy, and a brief encounter with an Athenian politician who will later bring Socrates to trial on charges that will lead to his death.
The Meno offers a classic demonstration of Plato’s chosen philosophical format, the dramatic dialogue, in which the drama is sometimes just as important as the participant’ words and ideas. Our Beginner’s Guide to Plato study starts on 28 February.
Dramatic writing workshop: what and why?
Many Salon participants enjoy writing as well as reading. In response, we have been developing a programme of creative writing studies, most recently with Alison Cable’s Writing for Wellbeing series. The primary aim is not necessarily to prepare for publication, but to develop and enjoy a writing practice as part of self-development.
Now we are offering an opportunity to experiment with dramatic writing which, with its emphasis on structure, character and dialogue, is a way of telling stories that can feed into all kinds of literary creativity and appreciation.
Award-winning writer Jeremy Kamps, Professor of Dramatic Writing at New York University and a Guest Professor for the Pratt Institute writing department, explains the design of his eight-week study:
Our workshop will focus on the craft, process and art of dramatic story. You will write either a film short or a ten minute play (your choice), and our time together will include craft study, story de-construction, rumination on process and voice. Or, in other words, how your story meets and moves the world.
We will engage in peer review using the writer-centred Liz Lerman feedback protocol and there will be an emphasis on the idea that “writing is rewriting” (with its attendant joy and pain). The workshop is not about good or bad, but about how you tell the story you want to tell and why it needs to be told, while also providing some tools and ideas to consider along the way. Professional actors will join us for the culminating reading of our work.
Click here for more information and booking details.
ULYSSES centenary!
100 years to the day since the first publication of Ulysses
Founder and Director of the London Literary Salon, Toby Brothers, is in Paris today to celebrate the centenary of publication of Ulysses. Scandalous in 1922, the book – widely acclaimed as a work of genius – remains controversial a century later!
Expect more news of Joyceans en fête in Paris on Toby’s return.
The Salon on air . . .
Toby appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Start the Week yesterday (Monday 10 January), discussing ‘finding consolation and community in literature’ with Michael Ignatieff, Christopher Prendergast (editor of the Penguin Modern Classics In Search of Lost Time) and Tom Sutcliffe. This is available from our Press & Media page, together with recordings of Toby talking about the LitSalon Challenge on both BBC Radio London and Times Radio.
On the subject of our online presence, Start the Week generated so much internet traffic that our website crashed. We were thrilled to encounter so much enthusiasm, but we apologise to anyone who had difficulty accessing the website yesterday and thank you for your patience. We’re pleased to say that normal service has now resumed.
