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As children we constantly wondered “Why?”
and “So what?” Return to the big questions
now, in convivial conversation about great
books, music, and art.

Travel Pursuits are learning vacations rooted in place and transcending time. See with your own eyes and through discussion of the works of some of a country’s most celebrated authors and artists. Explore the mutual influence of artist on place, and place on artist.
Preview our 2009 offerings, full details to come in the following months. Click Here
Bayfield, Ontario
Alice's Wonderland
Alice Munro, Carried Away
October 5–9 (4 nights)
Galicia, Spain
A journey through the animated forest
Monsignor Quixote by Graham Greene and Pilgrim of Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard
June 23–30 (7 nights)
Lyon, France
The French Resistance
St. Exupery, Camus and Jules Vercors
May 11–18 (7 nights)
Cornwall, England
In Search of Arthur
Selected readings
May 3–10 (7 nights)
Savannah & Milledgeville, Georgia
Mystery & Manners in Savannah
Selected Works of Flannery O'Connor
April 6–10 (4 nights)
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About 150 people from across Canada and at least 20 states gather each year on the shady garden campus of the University of St. Michael's College to immerse themselves for a week in the great classics of music, philosophy and literature.
Toronto Pursuits in the Summer takes place July 12 – 17, 2009. Out-of-towners and first-timers get started on Sunday afternoon, July 12, with an optional demonstration in the Shared Inquiry method of discussion and a guided tour of the University of Toronto’s art and architecture. The program gets into full swing on Monday morning with the convening of the seminars, which take place concurrently each morning. At noon we gather for an excellent lunch. Each afternoon and evening, you may choose from a wide variety of cultural and social activities both on and off the campus – topical talks, walking tours, film screenings, small dinners, and much more. On Thursday evening, there will be an optional excursion to the historic Distillery District for a production of the Soulpepper Theatre Company. We have two gala receptions, one on Monday evening and the other at the conclusion of the week on Friday. The week includes twelve small group seminars; a featured series on Opera and the Trojan War, afternoon talks, art walks, small group dinners, and much more. Full details will be available October 2009.
Click here to read about the 2008 program.
Click here for the slide show
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We design literary trips for affinity organizations and groups, such as university classes, alumni groups, and book clubs, with a focus on small group discussion of great works of literature in the destination where the book(s) were written or set. We have 20 trips that have already been carefully designed, reflecting extensive research and experience. We can either modify an existing trip or design a brand new one to suit your travellers' preferences.
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Don Quixote: Ideals Lost and Found
Six Sundays in October and November
Who can resist Don Quixote, the enthusiastic bungler, the book crazed, self styled knight of La Mancha? With masterful comical strokes Cervantes’ narrator captures our attention. But Don Quixote is much more than a tall tale. Some great writers, whose skeptical visions disturb both the authorities and the common people, have left us manuscripts of great power. Cervantes is one of these. Like Chaucer two hundred years before him and Kerouac three hundred years later Cervantes has chosen the road trip as the vehicle for his ironic vision... click here

Stay in touch through our monthly literary e-letter. Find out about upcoming events and our regular features, including "Today in Literature" and "Classical Trivia" as well as great literature in "The Installment Plan."

View slideshows of some of our recent trips:
Mexico | Ireland | Krakow | Sicily | Paris | Greece | Savannah | Florence | Galicia 2007 | Santa Fe | Newfoundland | Andalucia | Cornwall | Lyon | Galicia 2008 |
A list of some of the topics we've covered in the past.

Some of the other places we've gone.

Read Ann Kirkland's blog for Classical Pursuits.

View a video interview with Ann Kirkland and some of our discussion leaders.
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