Parisian Literary Salon

Fall 2007 Salons:

The Sound & the Fury by William Faulkner (possibly)
Paradise by Dante Alighieri (Mark Musa, translator- Penguin Edit.)

Poetry Evening Sept 5 - see details in previous post….

There is a story of a celebrated Russian dancer who was asked by someone what she meant by a certain dance. She answered with some exasperation, ‘If I could say it in so many words, do you think I should take the very great trouble of dancing it?’

It is an important story, because it is a valid explanation of obscurity in art. A method involving apparent obscurity is surely justified when it is the clearest, the simplest, the only method possible of saying in full what the writer has to say.

This is the case with The Sound & the Fury. I shall not attempt to give either a summary or an explanation of it: for if I could say in three pages what takes Faulkner three hundred there would obviously be no need for the book. All I propose to do is offer a few introductory, and desultory, comments, my chief purpose being to encourage the reader. For the general reader is quite rightly shy of apparently difficult writing. Too often it is used, not because of its intrinsic necessity, but to drape the poverty of the writer: too often the reader, after drilling an arduous passage through the strata of the mountain, finds only the mouse, and has little profit but his exercise.

As a result of several such fiascos I myself share this initial prejudice. Yet I have read The Sound & the Fury three times now and that not in the least for exercise, but for pure pleasure.

– Richard Hughes, Introduction to The Sound & the Fury, Picador Classics Edition

I use this quote because I have found it difficult to explain why it is useful to attempt to read a text that seems aloof or unreachable at first. Those who have studied Beloved or To the Lighthouse in previous courses or Salons may know what I mean when I say that the work comes easier when we consider it as a dynamic and motivated group — each person’s question or insight adds to our understanding. I also think that the Salon allows us to make the very private act of reading a part of the public world, and in so doing helps each of us understand our own thoughts about the work more precisely.

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The Salons start the week of September 10th- NOW is the time to register. The cost of the Salon is 75 euro to be paid in full at the first meeting (this includes copying costs). If this is your first Salon, you must reserve your place by sending a check for 25 euro to me: Toby Brothers at 3 ter rue d’Alesia, Paris 75014. If you have previously done a Salon, your emailed commitment is sufficient. Below you will find further descriptions of the texts.

• The Sound & the Fury- Tuesday afternoons 2-4 PM or Monday evenings 8-10 PM
• Hamlet
• Middlemarch (see descriptions on the site)
  

*please indicate your preference when signing up for this Salon- if both times work for you, tell me that!*

• Paradise– Tuesday Evenings 8-10 PM, Chez moi

*Please note that I will be off-line much of the summer. I will respond to registrations & questions as soon as possible but do not be concerned if I do not respond immediately.

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The Sound & the Fury
see description under ‘What we might read’ ….

Paradise

Having come this far through Inferno and Purgatory, of course we cannot stop now. But I need more than that to justify the commitment this Salon requires- and I realize I balk a bit at this last section of the Commedia. Certainly I have grown (in my understanding of literature, literary & theological history and human nature) in my study of the first two sections; I am afraid of being let down by the last. There is something more intrinsically interesting I think about souls in torment and anguish- this seems to be where we discover our greatest truths. The common cord in the literature I find great and worthy of our study is the struggle. As Mark Twain wrote, (and I badly paraphrase) ‘why would I want to hang out in Paradise? All these souls at peace and in bliss do not sound so exciting….’

What drives me forward into Paradise is the need to find resolution to our discussions about the nature of love and faith. I am also curious- more than curious- to understand Dante’s full vision of his Creator- and how his faith and meeting of his God brings him to unity. Also I want to know how the figures of the women are resolved- is Beatrice ultimately a believable human portrait? Or does her symbolic and allegorical role hold her to some cold ideal?

Having read Purgatario for the first time and grasping how much the poem adds to the universe set up in Inferno helps me to trust that Paradise will also illuminate the earlier works. Here is a bit from Musa’s introduction of Paradise:

“The main action of the Paradise is concerned with how man’s soul, as it contemplates the making of God’s universe, rises by stages in order to arrive at an understanding of the One creator of that universe. To see the universe as One is the final goal of the journey, and the movement of the journey is from fragmentation to unity. What the pilgrim sees in the cantos of the lower heavens is all in preparation for his vision in the highest heaven, the Empyrean, where he will see the redeemed, united with their bodies, as they will be after the Last Judgment. The cantos of the lower heavens are the steps of knowledge leading to Perfect Vision and union with God. “

– M. Musa, The Divine Comedy Vol. III Paradise pg. ix intro

Finally, our study thus far, though hard, has been truly joyful with the particular readers who have chosen this tough read. Our discussions around the nature of Love and its ennobling aspects have given me much to muse on - I look forward to continuing the conversation.

See you in the pages & happy summer - Toby

Contents

1. Opening thoughts

2. Salon updates - Salon happenings - Salons future

3. Salon trips: Italy, India

1. Opening thoughts

As those who pay attention to these kinds of things may have noticed, the Salon newsletters have trickled down to less than once a month- perhaps due to more happening around the Salons rather than less, and the delicious distraction of trying to write a book on the Salon- and oh yes, the pressing details of daily life, bike accidents and madness of impending summer…I imagine you are also juggling the many calls to your attention and work at this time of the year. This is the moment to look back in astonishment at what the year has brought, and look towards the coming rentrée with the sense of possibility that a new term offers. Below you will find one participant’s reflection on the past few Salons. I look forward to meeting new participants and the wonderful & curious current members in the Salon events ahead.

“What a marvelously diverse and rich array of books! It really has been - once again - a wonderful intellectual and emotional journey through these pages and how they relate sometimes in the same ways, sometimes differently to the various members of our salon. We learn so much more through this communal reading, this team effort at understanding and enjoying these books than we would on our own. All were complex, beautiful masterpieces. And reading them all, will have in some way, changed our lives, and the way we view the world. Thank you for giving us this unique learning opportunity - and for all the FUN we have doing this together in your lovely apartment, full of light, its windows stretching away to the skyline on either side, it is such an OPEN space.”

2. Salon updates- Salon happenings, Salons future

This week marks the end of the Salons on Dante’s Purgatory, the second in a three part series. This study has brought us all deep into the world of 13^th & 14^th century Italy: particularly studying medieval theology, the tradition of Courtly Love, the nature of allegory and symbol, good and evil, divine judgment, free will- all this through one man’s attempt to make meaning of his faith by exploring the soul’s journey in the afterlife. Of course we must finish the Commedia in September with Paradiso- although I am not sure we will ever truly be finished with our study of this work. There is a solid group of 8-11 current participants interested in continuing- if someone would like to join at this point in the journey (a challenge, certainly but not an overwhelming one) please let me know now so I can be sure the numbers work.

In May and June I worked with a dynamic group of readers out in the western suburbs of Paris on a study of Beloved. One member of the group moderated the discussion using the notes and reflections I have been compiling for the Salon book. The feedback has been very positive- and I enjoyed getting new insights and ideas from a group reading this momentous work for the first time.

I am missing the voice of the modern even as my study of Dante’s Divine Comedy is teaching me about the roots and paradoxes of contemporary culture & literature. For those who have always wanted to do a Salon, I would like to offer one of the Salon classics as well for the fall. Below you will find several choices and possible times. Please let me know by the end of June if you are interested in one or more of the following, and your time preference. Each of these Salons will meet for 6 consecutive weeks starting the week of September 10^th and costs 75 euro, including copying costs.

* September-October Salon offerings *

· Tuesday Nights (8-10 PM)- Paradiso by Dante

· Other choices:

The Sound & the Fury Invisible Man

To the Lighthouse Midnights’ Children

Hamlet King Lear

The God of Small Things Middlemarch

These Salons would either meet Tuesday afternoons (2-4 PM) or Monday evenings (8-10 PM). Please indicate your preference with your request for inscription.

Looking ahead to the November Salon series, I am hoping to offer some new (to the Salon) works. Under consideration are:

Dead Souls - Gogol, Mrs. Dalloway - V. Woolf, Paradise Lost - Milton, The Odyssey - Homer, Daniel Deronda - G. Eliot, Absalom, Absalom! - Faulkner

Thoughts ? Interests ? Other suggestions ?

Salon Poetry Night

I have had many requests for a poetry salon or a poetry night. We would read a poem or two together and respond to the poem with a structure similar to that we use in the regular Salon but condensed into one evening, as a poem condenses experience into its gathered images and language.

I know there are those who fervently love poetry as well as many who don’t know how to read a poem. I will offer some structures for the study of the poem, but the focus will be on our responses to the language & sounds & structure of the work. As with the Salon, we will use our individual responses and questions to build to a full-bodied read and through this enlarge our own perspectives on the work. I encourage especially those who want to get a taste of the Salon experience or who may not have the time to commit to a 6 week Salon.

Sound enticing? Let me know if you are interested by email.

Details:

Date: (choice) June 27^th and September 5^th *

Time: 8-10 PM

Works studied: possibilities are poems by Elizabeth Bishop, Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, T.S. Eliot, Ted Hughes, Denise Levertov…

Place: Chez moi, 3 ter rue d’Alesia in the 14^th (details to follow for those registered)

Cost: 5-10 euro sliding scale and optional food or beverage contribution

* DATE: This is a crazy time of the year for everyone- so if an evening of poetry wouldn’t be a nice break at the moment- or it is just not possible- please let me know of your interest. Considering the timing, I think the September offering is more likely.

3. Salon trips: Italy, India

Based on the success and pure pleasure of our trip to Dublin for Bloomsday after studying Ulysses, I am researching two Salon trips for the coming years. Those who went to Dublin saw their study come alive and aspects of Joyce’s world that needed the lived experience of the home he left broadened our understanding of the book. And we had a really good time.

Italy: October/November 2007

This trip will come at the end of our study of The Divine Commedia and will be focused on the art and architecture of Medieval Florence and Tuscany. I am working with Claude Rocca (Art Historian) who I hope will be able to lead us through the heart of Dante’s world.

India: La Toussaint 2008

I am working with a Salon participant who splits her time between India and Paris to organize this proposed week-long visit to India (Bombay & Poona). The focus of this trip will be to glimpse aspects of contemporary India as this huge collection of histories, languages and cultures gallops into the global market. We will have discussions and presentations from local poets, editors, writers and others as we immerse ourselves in the land and traditions. In preparation for this trip, I will offer a work based on India in three Salons before the occasion of the trip.

Both of these trips are still in the planning stages. Please email me if you have questions or thoughts.