Monday, March 8, 2010
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Short Story Month!
March is (almost) here, and that means one month of short stories and general happiness in Book Group.
note. the month of march reminds me of umbrellas. I don't actually believe in using umbrellas, but I think they're cute.....and that adds to the reasons I like that March is almost here.
For this week? Read "The Dead" by James Joyce, then come 'round at 8:15 on Wednesday.
Like the email said, we'll be meeting on the 17th and 31st to chat about short stories as well. All three of these gatherings would be great ones to bring a friend to (since the reading will be fairly approachable). They'll also be great ones for other reasons too: excellent short stories, good chit-chat about those stories, usual book club joy and happiness.
See you Wednesday----
Monday, February 8, 2010
that's right, a POETRY reading
On Wednesday at 8:15, let's read some poetry. Love poetry.
Bring a favorite (or least favorite) love poem to read in an informal (could we seriously make it anything but informal?) reading.
(and.....we'll finish up To the Lighthouse the following week, Feb. 17)
Bring a favorite (or least favorite) love poem to read in an informal (could we seriously make it anything but informal?) reading.
(and.....we'll finish up To the Lighthouse the following week, Feb. 17)
Monday, January 25, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Seriously...
I motion that we officially change the title of the blog from "The Wednesday Book Club" to "The Bloomsbury Group Reborn." We can even take on the personas of the original Bloomsbury group. I call not E.M. Forster.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
yes or no: Should We Change our Name to the "Bloomsbury Group"?
Virginia Woolf. 1882-1941
Growing up with a father (who's a critic, biographer, scholar, and philosopher) in a large and talented family like Virginia Woolf's lends itself to learning Greek, meeting famous Victorians of the day, and naturally leaning toward intellectualism and writing. But a quick glimpse at any biography of Virginia Woolf (erm.....that's what this blog post is all about: me quick glimpsing) shows that her life wasn't ideal: her mother died in 1895, her half-sister died in childbirth in 1897, her father died of cancer, and her brother died of typhoid in 1906.
(This is not the time or place, but sometime we'll talk about how I prefer a happy, calm life to a writer's life. They might be incompatible....)
After this 11-year span of deaths in the
family, Virginia Woolf settled in Bloomsbury--a district in London that would later be the namesake for an intellectual group frequented by some of the great thinkers of the early 20th century. That group--including artists, writers, and critics with names like EM Forster and John Maynard Keynes--quickly made its name for its sharp wit, its frankness, and its intellectual sparkle.
Virginia Woolf's own engaging writing exemplifies those qualities that Bloomsbury held highest. In her essays, Woolf proved a powerful proponent for women, arguing for androgynous appeal in writing. In her reviews, Woolf' showed her masterful sense of criticism. (Woolf published around 500 essays and reviews for contemporary periodicals). In her fiction, Woolf probed consciousness for the truth of human experience. Her style privileges playfulness, experimentation, and spontaneity. Yet her flair for wit and intellectualism in her writing are perhaps off-set by own life's exacting perfectionism and periods of severe depression.
And, if you think like me, the name Virginia Woolf welds itself to stream of consciousness. In her novels, Woolf abandoned the traditional linear narratives for her own style of interior monologues and stream of consciousness narration. One biographer describes Woolf's unique writing as"intensely psychological and interior" and also as "a carefully modulated flow that brought into prose fiction into something of the rhythms of and imagery of lyric poetry." Lovely.
Great reading experience coming our way.
end notes.
(1) we can't call ourselves anything associated with Bloomsbury--far too elitist.
(2) I drew my facts, some phrasing, and that quote from the Norton Anthology of English Literature.
Growing up with a father (who's a critic, biographer, scholar, and philosopher) in a large and talented family like Virginia Woolf's lends itself to learning Greek, meeting famous Victorians of the day, and naturally leaning toward intellectualism and writing. But a quick glimpse at any biography of Virginia Woolf (erm.....that's what this blog post is all about: me quick glimpsing) shows that her life wasn't ideal: her mother died in 1895, her half-sister died in childbirth in 1897, her father died of cancer, and her brother died of typhoid in 1906.
(This is not the time or place, but sometime we'll talk about how I prefer a happy, calm life to a writer's life. They might be incompatible....)
After this 11-year span of deaths in the
family, Virginia Woolf settled in Bloomsbury--a district in London that would later be the namesake for an intellectual group frequented by some of the great thinkers of the early 20th century. That group--including artists, writers, and critics with names like EM Forster and John Maynard Keynes--quickly made its name for its sharp wit, its frankness, and its intellectual sparkle.Virginia Woolf's own engaging writing exemplifies those qualities that Bloomsbury held highest. In her essays, Woolf proved a powerful proponent for women, arguing for androgynous appeal in writing. In her reviews, Woolf' showed her masterful sense of criticism. (Woolf published around 500 essays and reviews for contemporary periodicals). In her fiction, Woolf probed consciousness for the truth of human experience. Her style privileges playfulness, experimentation, and spontaneity. Yet her flair for wit and intellectualism in her writing are perhaps off-set by own life's exacting perfectionism and periods of severe depression.
And, if you think like me, the name Virginia Woolf welds itself to stream of consciousness. In her novels, Woolf abandoned the traditional linear narratives for her own style of interior monologues and stream of consciousness narration. One biographer describes Woolf's unique writing as"intensely psychological and interior" and also as "a carefully modulated flow that brought into prose fiction into something of the rhythms of and imagery of lyric poetry." Lovely.
Great reading experience coming our way.
end notes.
(1) we can't call ourselves anything associated with Bloomsbury--far too elitist.
(2) I drew my facts, some phrasing, and that quote from the Norton Anthology of English Literature.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
new year, new book, new time
Wednesday (tomorrow). At Wellington II #33. At 8:15.
I can promise (a) a good time, (b) a book decision, (c) something palatable. Come if you can.
We'll also talk about when to meet on a regular basis. We have a few group conflicts with our normal time (thus the 8:15 randomness).
I can promise (a) a good time, (b) a book decision, (c) something palatable. Come if you can.
We'll also talk about when to meet on a regular basis. We have a few group conflicts with our normal time (thus the 8:15 randomness).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)