Classics and the Western Canon discussion
Introductions
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Please introduce yourself~
Thanks for the welcome, Everyman! The Faerie Queene is fabulous but is a pretty hefty enterprise: perhaps one book might be good as a starter? Book 3, the book of Britomart, (female) knight of chastity is always interesting and has quite a strong narrative thread as well as epitomising Spenser's style. It would stand alone just fine.I see you have both Jerusalemme Liberata and Orlando Furioso on the shelf, again both brilliant. In order to make sense of both these and the Spenser, it would be good to have read The Aeneid first - I see you've done Homer already but don't think I saw the Aeneid on your list?
There's not a huge amount of prose fiction in the Renaissance but Philip Sidney's The Old Arcadia was a bestseller for centuries - again, I love it.
Marlowe doesn't seem to appear: perhaps Tamburlaine, or his short narrative poem Hero and Leander as an interim read?
Hope to dust off my Wordsworth later today!
Roman Clodia wrote: "In order to make sense of both these and the Spenser, it would be good to have read The Aeneid first - I see you've done Homer already but don't think I saw the Aeneid on your list? "Yes, we read the Aeneid five years ago. Thomas led that discussion.
We weren't quite as active a group then, but still had some good discussions of it.
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...
Roman Clodia wrote: "Marlowe doesn't seem to appear: perhaps Tamburlaine, or his short narrative poem Hero and Leander as an interim read? "Hero and Leander is a bit long for an Interim Read, but it might be something to consider for our holiday read -- we usually do a series of shorter works or an intermediate work in the Thanksgiving-Christmas holiday season if the schedule works out that way so people can drift in and out as their holiday plans allow.
I grew in Nova Scotia, Canada and now live and work in Suzhou, a city near Shanghai, in China.I became interested in the classics as a kid mostly in the form of retold myths and heroic adventure stories. This prompted me to take a four-credit "Great books" course in my freshman year. We started with the Epic of Gilgamesh and ended with Germaine Greer.
It was always my intention to revisit many of the works on the list, and over the years, I have. In the new year, I discovered this group as it was beginning to read Plato's Republic. This was one of the works on the list that I have not revisited to date and saw a chance to do so. I was unable to keep up with the pace of the discussion due to other commitments but I did follow along on my own space and am still working in it. The suggestions and links found in the forum here have been helpful.
I've been looking for a chance to formally jump on board and now this it. I am already reading Hume and intend to stick around for Crime and Punishment but after that it's uncertain.
Tony wrote: "I grew in Nova Scotia, Canada and now live and work in Suzhou, a city near Shanghai, in China.I've been looking for a chance to formally jump on board and now this it. I am already reading Hume and intend to stick around for Crime and Punishment but after that it's uncertain. "
Welcome. Certainly two works well worth reading, and then, well, we'll see! [g]
Hello from California!I recently graduated college, and have finally found the time to read recreationally again. I double majored and minored in a foreign language, so it's nice to read something other than a textbook for a change! I love to collect and read antique books, a hobby that initially sparked my interest in reading classical literature. I love finding books that were published over 100 years ago, that someone has (preferably lightly) annotated. It reminds me that these stories we are reading today have been in circulation for centuries, and makes me feel more connected to the previous generations and the literary work as a whole. It reminds me of how many people centuries ago sat, reading the same words that I presently am, possibly in a vastly different setting (imagine reading by candle light!). Reading antique prints makes me feel more connected to the timelessness of it all, and the implications it has had on humanity. I also love to travel, and have spent many summers RVing around the Western half of the US and Canada (reading along the way, naturally). I also studied abroad in Olmué, Chile, where I had the opportuity to visit one of Pablo Neruda's houses (now a museum) and learn more about his poety. I love the breadth of literature included in this reading group (I find history and philosophy intriguing). I look forward to the many interesting literary discussions to come.
A. wrote: "Hello from California!I recently graduated college, and have finally found the time to read recreationally again. I double majored and minored in a foreign language, so it's nice to read somethin..."
Welcome! Glad to have you join us.
I'm delighted to find another person who loves pre-loved books. They were the core of my early collection; affordable, well made, not cheap glued paperbacks, and the good stuff was widely available. I still love to wander through used book stores, though I also do a lot of my wandering on the Internet.
I hope you can join us for the discussion of Hume's Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, which just started today.
I just wanted to introduce myself; hopefully I'm on the right page. I'm a librarian with an English lit background and love love love the classics. I discovered this group a few weeks ago and am loving the "out of the ordinary" reading list. I don't have the time to read everything, but I appreciate everyone's comments. Thank you for organizing this group. I'll try to keep up.Gayle Warren
Gayle wrote: "I just wanted to introduce myself; hopefully I'm on the right page. I'm a librarian with an English lit background and love love love the classics. I discovered this group a few weeks ago and am lo..."You are definitely on the right page, and very much in the right group. We're delighted that you discovered us, and look forward to as much participation as your time and interest can give us. Please don't just be a lurker, but be a participant, too!
Whats up. I'm a 21 year from Southern Ontario. I don't work but I do start law school next September eh. I think Homer and Rabelais are the greatest humans. Looking forward to joining in on your discussions.
Welcome to the group, Petruccio. What part of Southern Ontario are you from? I grew up there.
K-W. I'm assuming your from the Golden Horseshoe?
I went to the University of Waterloo aeons ago. I grew up in a little place called Rodney. I live in Toronto(East York). Where are you going to law school?
Wow we seem to have quite a common grounding since I plan on studying at York (Osgoode Hall), and of course i'm familar with UW myself even though most of the last few years I was just down the street studying at Laurier.
I went to York for my B.A. in the 70's, back before it was such a big university. Gool luck in your studies. Osgoode is a great law school.
Petruccio wrote: "Whats up. I'm a 21 year from Southern Ontario. I don't work but I do start law school next September eh. I think Homer and Rabelais are the greatest humans. Looking forward to joining in on your di..."Welcome to the group. Greatest humans, eh? But did Homer ever actually exist?
Anyhow, your willingness to commit to a classical viewpoint should stand you in good stead in this group.
And welcome to the profession from a now retired lawyer.
Good afternoon,My name is Gregory and I am very much interested in philosophy and classics. Having read the whole corpus Platonicum in the last five years, it is not difficult for me to hide my main focus. It would be interesting if at one point there were debates involving works by Plato.
I studied philosophy at University but my experience was rather frustrating, because the setting was too confusing and bureaucratic, things were taught too quickly and there was no space (in my perception) for a more tranquil and erudite debate. Yet my study did enough to deepen my interest.
Years later, I came back to philosophical pursuits and because I had to set a focus, I chose, perhaps naively, to give priority to the oldest in philosophy and gradually to start reading more and more modern things - in chronological order. I started with Plato and underestimated his power, of course, which has taken me so far five years. Slowly, I would like to start approaching Aristotle (it will take some time until I get to David Hume).
I am very interested in Plato and, though I would not say he provided answers for the questions he raises, I can hardly conceive of any subject in contemporary philosophy which was not addressed in some way in Plato's writing. Yet I may be wrong.
Looking forward to interesting discussions and contributions,
Gregory
Gr Vatis Advena wrote: "Good afternoon,My name is Gregory and I am very much interested in philosophy and classics. Having read the whole corpus Platonicum in the last five years, it is not difficult for me to hide my ma..."
Welcome, Gregory. You will find many Plato buffs here. But we do live in the 21st century and as you are well aware, he is not the only philosopher to have observed hard upon the world of humans, the earth, and the universe, and to have commented profoundly thereupon.
Look forward to your contributions to the discussions here.
Gr Vatis Advena wrote: "Years later, I came back to philosophical pursuits and because I had to set a focus, I chose, perhaps naively, to give priority to the oldest in philosophy and gradually to start reading more and more modern things - in chronological order."Welcome, Gregory. I don't think it was naive at all to give priority to the "oldest in philosophy." The most basic questions in philosophy have been framed by Plato and Aristotle, and the history of philosophy in the western world springs from the questions they posed. And some of the best discussions (sometimes debates) we've had in this group have been on Plato, at least in my estimation. You can browse through some of our past discussions for a taste of this.
The Republic: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...
The Republic again:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...
Phaedo/Meno/Theatetus
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...
Apology:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
So far we haven't had any luck in getting the group to tackle Aristotle. Maybe with your help we can sway them!
Gr Vatis Advena wrote: "Good afternoon,My name is Gregory and I am very much interested in philosophy and classics. Having read the whole corpus Platonicum in the last five years, it is not difficult for me to hide my ma..."
Welcome, Gregory.
As Thomas noted, we have read a fair amount of Plato in this group, and are likely to read more in future. In the meantime, we are right now reading Hume's Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, and will be starting in a few weeks on Crime and Punishment.
We look forward to your participation in the group.
Tintinnabula wrote: "Hi there! My name is T. and I live in Italy, on lake Como.
As a high school student I had my share of Latin classics to study, especially Virgil's Aeneid. I've been reading a fair amount of Greek..."
Welcome! We're pleased that you found us.
We have quite a few members whose native language is not English, so you'll fit right in. So please contribute your thoughts, and don't worry about your English, which seems excellent from your initial post.
Hi, I'm Elliott.I'm a college student majoring in computer science, soon to graduate.
I haven't read a great deal of the classics, but my experience in abstract philosophy includes reading The Republic and some Nietzsche and Sartre in high school, as well as a class on Buddhist philosophy in college (which I quite enjoyed). I was a lurker while reading An Enquiry on Human Understanding, but I must say it was an excellent read, and will have an impact on my day-to-day patterns of thought and action.
I believe discussing literature is an important step in understanding it, so I'm excited to be a part of this group!
Elliott wrote: "Hi, I'm Elliott.I'm a college student majoring in computer science, soon to graduate."
Welcome, Elliott. Computer science and Hume -- interesting combination!
Hope you can join our discussion of Crime and Punishment, but if you're graduating soon you may be busy starting a new job. If so, good luck and we hope you can find time to stop in here for an intellectual break.
Hey everyone,I'm Marina, a high school senior living in Egypt.
I haven't read dozens of classic books yet, but I'm willing to. With the ones I've read I'm pretty sure I want to continue reading and discussing more classic books. That's the reason I joined this group, to discuss books I've read, get enlightened with more ideas and themes and to get recommendations for other good books to read.
I've read The Odyssey, One Hundred Years of Solitude, A Tale of Two Cities and some other Arabic classics I'm not sure you'll be familiar with. Right now I'm reading Wuthering Heights and to be honest I'm reading analysis on the internet for every chapter as well for more enrichment.
Looking forward to great discussions with all the good readers here.
Marina wrote: "Hey everyone,I'm Marina, a high school senior living in Egypt.
I haven't read dozens of classic books yet, but I'm willing to. With the ones I've read I'm pretty sure I want to continue reading an..."
Welcome, Marina! You may be right that many of us would be unfamiliar with the Arabic classics you have read, but hope you will share the names and authors of some of them that you feel especially reach across national and cultural boundaries.
It feels like an exciting and challenging century ahead for someone of your age -- that from someone looking at the other end of her century....
Lily wrote: Welcome, Marina! You may be right that many of us would be unfamiliar with the Arabic classics you have read,..."Thanks a lot for the encouraging words. And believe you should be proud of the days you've lived for they have rendered you the wisdom I'm trying to take a glace at from reading..
I've just found out that a great book "Miramar by Naguib Mahfouz" has been translated to English, if you found it anywhere I'd highly recommend you to have it; Naguib Mahfouz is considered one of the legends in the Arabic literature and his novels are a must-read ones.
Marina wrote: "Hey everyone,I'm Marina, a high school senior living in Egypt.
I haven't read dozens of classic books yet, but I'm willing to. With the ones I've read I'm pretty sure I want to continue reading an..."
Welcome, Marina.
It's been years since I read any Naguib Mahfouz. But your post inspired me to consider re-reading The Beginning and the End.
I just finished a great novel by Rabih Alameddine from Lebanon. I've read two of his so far, Hakawati and An Unnecessary Woman, both of which I loved--especially An Unnecessary Woman.
Tamara wrote: "Welcome, Marina.It's been years since I read any Naguib Mahfouz. But your post inspired me to consider re-reading The Beginning and the End...."
Oh I'm so delighted to see someone here interested in Arabic books, maybe we can chat privately and share ideas and recommendations if you like :)
I have recently bought a book written by a brazilian translator, Mansour Challita. He translated the Arabian Nights (I guess not completely) into portuguese. The book is As mais Belas Páginas da Literatura Árabe (which translates as The Most Beautiful Pages of the Arabian Literature) but I have not read it. He is the organizer and the translator of this book. It seems be a good book. I bought it from a used book store.
Marina wrote: "Oh I'm so delighted to see someone here interested in Arabic books, maybe we can chat privately and share ideas and recommendations if you like :) ..."You bet! Send me a personal message any time.
Marina wrote: "I've just found out that a great book "Miramar by Naguib Mahfouz" has been translated to English, if you found it anywhere I'd highly recommend you to have it; Naguib Mahfouz is considered one of the legends in the Arabic literature"I read The Thief and the Dogs a few months ago and enjoyed it a lot. I'm also interested in Arabic/Islamic philosophy -- I'm only getting acquainted with it now, but if you have any recommendations for a newbie, I'd love to hear them!
Welcome to the group, by the way!
Marina wrote: "...Mahfouz is considered one of the legends in the Arabic literature and his novels are a must-read ones. ..."Yes -- Nobel Prize in 1988. My f2f (face to face) book club read Palace Walk and in the months thereafter I read the remainder of the The Cairo Trilogy (Palace Walk / Palace of Desire / Sugar Street) . Really like his writing, although I have not read others of Naguib Mahfouz's many novels and short stories.
Marina -- you may like to also know about this group on Goodreads: Middle East/North African Lit. I am a member, but have not managed to be active in participating in their reads. (Perhaps you are already a member. If not, you can check here: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/413) But we do hope you will stay active here!
Lily wrote: "Marina wrote: "...Mahfouz is considered one of the legends in the Arabic literature and his novels are a must-read ones. ..."Yes -- Nobel Prize in 1988. My f2f (face to face) book club read [book..."
Thomas wrote: "Marina wrote: "I've just found out that a great book "Miramar by Naguib Mahfouz" has been translated to English, if you found it anywhere I'd highly recommend you to have it; Naguib Mahfouz is cons..."
Rafael wrote: "I have recently bought a book written by a brazilian translator, [author:Mansour Challita|3378073]. He translated the Arabian Nights (I guess not completely) into portuguese. The book is As m..."</i>
Well I believe all the Arabic literature of the past ages is really a treasure for one to read, not all the recent authors (here in Egypt at least) deserve that praise. There are exceptions for sure, like [author:Alaa Al Aswany if anyone has heard of him.
However, this year I'm studying The Stream Of Days in school, it was said that it's interesting, and I'm sure some of you might have read it, it's by Taha Hussein .
I hope I'm not intruding too much, but the talk of Arabic authors made me want to mention an Egyptian author I stumbled across a few months ago and enjoyed very much: Zayni Barakat by جمال الغيطاني, or, as on my edition, Gamal al-Ghitani. The edition I've linked to is in English, despite the Arabic form of his name. I have several of Naguib Mahfouz's books waiting for me on my shelves, but I haven't made my way to them yet--I also have a book of essays by the Moroccan author Tahar ben Jelloun in my immediate TBR pile, but that is in French, not Arabic.
Bryan wrote: "I hope I'm not intruding too much, but the talk of Arabic authors made me want to mention an Egyptian author I stumbled across a few months ago and enjoyed very much: Zayni Barakat by..."Thanks for the recommendation, Bryan. I've put Zayni Barakat on my to read pile. It looks really interesting.
Tamara wrote: "I've put Zayni Barakat on my to read pile. It looks really interesting. "I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Hi, I'm Jeremy. I've been on Goodreads for a while now but have not participated in any groups because I guess I didn't know how. I love and am constantly reading. I particularly love reading classic literature, and enjoy talking about it, but haven't had anyone to talk to really. Maybe I will here! I started my classics journey a couple years ago at about the beginning with The Epic of Gilgamesh, loved Homer's and Virgil's epics, and have tried to roughly follow chronologically some of the most important works. At this point I feel like I have my "classics base" down and can feel free to read anything from any time period (I say this because you can't read and understand a lot of classic (or modern) literature without having read Homer, Virgil, Dante, Shakespeare, Cervantes, Milton, Chaucer, etc).
Jeremy, welcome to the group. It takes a while to get used to goodreads, but once I started joining groups, I never had trouble figuring out what to read next--the reverse, in fact.
Hello, all. I've been wanted to delve into some serious reading of the Classical and Western canon for the new year as a way to bring some more intellectual relief into my day-to-day life. I am primarily a homemaker/SAHM who does a little academic editing on the side. I've been in book clubs almost my entire adult life and look forward to getting to know you all better through the discussions.
Susan wrote: "Hello, all. I've been wanted to delve into some serious reading of the Classical and Western canon for the new year as a way to bring some more intellectual relief into my day-to-day life. I am pri..."Welcome, Susan. A great time to join Western Canon discussions! I presume you have noted the short pieces Tamara will be leading us in discussion the next few weeks. David has announced the suggestions for early 2018. If you haven't, check them out and we would enjoy hearing your interests.
Welcome, Susan! It's nice to have you on board. I was a a stay-at-home mom for a short time when my first child was born. I know how rewarding it can be. But it is also a bit of challenge because there is only so much intellectual stimulation you can get from a baby. So you've come to the right place for interesting and vigorous discussions about the Classics.
We are in the midst of Interim Reads, reading a selection of short works by women authors. We will be finishing up with The Yellow Wallpaper shortly and starting up with The Story of an Hour. Feel free to jump in the discussion any time.
We will be voting soon on our first major read for 2018. Here's the link if you want to see the options. Don't hesitate to make your voice heard.
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Again, welcome. We look forward to reading your comments and getting to know you better.
Susan wrote: "Hello, all. I've been wanted to delve into some serious reading of the Classical and Western canon for the new year as a way to bring some more intellectual relief into my day-to-day life. I am pri..."Welcome to the group You've come to the right place for serious reading and serious, friendly discussion of them.
Susan wrote: "Hello, all. I've been wanted to delve into some serious reading of the Classical and Western canon for the new year as a way to bring some more intellectual relief into my day-to-day life. I am pri..."Welcome to the group, Susan. You will enjoy the good company of many like-minded readers who enjoy the challenges of stretching their intellectual muscles and sharing their literary experiences.
Hi, I'm Jason. I work in IT. I'm enamoured with Classic lit and try to read more when I have the time. I'm currently an American expat living in central Europe.
J. S. wrote: "Hi, I'm Jason. I work in IT. I'm enamoured with Classic lit and try to read more when I have the time. I'm currently an American expat living in central Europe."Welcome to the group, Jason. I hope you'll be able to find the time t join in our read of Aristotle's Nichomachean Ethics starting in early January.
J. S. wrote: "Hi, I'm Jason. I work in IT. I'm enamoured with Classic lit and try to read more when I have the time. I'm currently an American expat living in central Europe."Whoo hoo! Another like minded IT person. We seem rare. Welcome. Please enjoy our Holiday interim reads and I hope you are looking forward to Aristotle'sNicomachean Ethics coming up January 3rd.
Aha, was going to greet Jason and saw David's reply. Greetings to both. I retired from IT in 2014. Started reading classics seriously around 2001 when all the Y2K problems were solved. I think the classics (and all good literature) help round out our very technology focused lives. Bet you are both introverts too. 85% of general population are extroverts, but just about reversed in IT. Introverts love books!
Classics and the Western Canon
Books mentioned in this topic
Metamorphoses (other topics)Gilgamesh: A New Translation of the Ancient Epic (other topics)
The Portrait of a Lady (other topics)
Ficciones (other topics)
Dracula (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Søren Kierkegaard (other topics)Dorothy L. Sayers (other topics)
John Ciardi (other topics)
Alexis de Tocqueville (other topics)
Dani Shapiro (other topics)
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Glad to welcome you to the group. We haven't done a lot of Renaissance literature here, but with your guidance we might be able to correct that -- maybe even tackle the Fairie Queene, which you gave five stars to on your review. It's been on our polls a couple of times, but hasn't won yet.
If you get a chance, maybe you would run through our bookshelf and see whether there are any major Renaissance works which are missing from it and should be added? (Must be available in a reasonably priced easily available edition, which sadly does knock out a few works.)
Meanwhile, join in our Interim Read of Wordsworth, and dust off your copy of Hume's Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding!