Parisian Literary Salon

What better time to visit the Mediterranean- world of wine-dark sea, olives, gods & goddesses and the wily Odysseus?

Meet for four Wednesdays: 9 & 16 December, plus 6 & 13 January in Kentish Town.
Afternoon study: 1.30–?3.30pm. Evening study: 8–?10pm
COST £60 Special offer: try the first meeting for free (space dependent)
RECOMMENDED EDITION: The Odyssey (Robert Fagles translation; Penguin Classic- available at Owl Bookshop in Kentish Town)
Though it may be a bit of madness to start a Salon series in the holiday season, the study might offer a respite from the buzz of these busy days- and a means to dance into the New Year in lyric language. For those looking ahead to Ulysses starting in mid-January, a study of The Odyssey builds a strong ship for that journey. Here there be monsters, nymphs, love stories, betrayals, drinking, giants- climb aboard!
Here is a taste:
Sing to me of the man, O Muse, the man of twists and turns
Driven time and again off course, once he had plundered
the hallowed heights of Troy
Many cities of men he saw and learned their minds,
Many pains he suffered, heartsick on the open sea,
fighting to save his life and bring his comrades home.
But he could not save them from disaster, hard as he strove—
The recklessness of their own ways destroyed them all,
The blind fools, they devoured the Cattle of the Sun
And the Sungod wiped from sight the day of their return.
Launch out on his story, Muse, daughter of Zeus,
Start from where you will—sing for our time too.
*See you in the wine dark seas-