“I really appreciate the opportunity that your trips give to go beneath the surface, and really understand the culture and people of the country we are in, through literature, though conversation, through taking advantage of joyful serendipity.”
About 150 people from across Canada and at least 20 states gather each year on the shady garden campus of the University of Toronto’s St. Michael’s College to immerse themselves for a week in the great classics of literature, music, art, and film. Twelve small group seminars to choose from and a broad array of social and cultural activities both on and off the campus – topical talks, walking tours, film screenings, small dinners, and much more." Click here for the TIMETABLE to view the many and varied extracurricular activities.
Travel Pursuits offers distinctive opportunities to travel through both space and time with a small group of fellow inquirers. Explore the world with Leo Tolstoy, Georgia O’Keefe, Gustav Mahler and other masters of literature, art and music as your guides.
THE POESY OF KEY WEST
“The sweetest doing nothing contrived”
Key West, Florida
January 10-15, (5 nights)
Selected poetry of Elizabeth Bishop, Wallace Stevens and Mark Strand
ROUGH LOVE IN A RUGGED LAND
Wuthering Heights in Cornwall
May 15-23 (8 nights)
Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights
GET REAL; GET RURAL
Canadian Theatre Blyth Festival
August 11-16 (5 nights) (NOTE CHANGE OF DATES)
Scripts from current productions and classic plays
THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST
The power of place
September 24 – October 1 (7 nights)
Wallace Stegner, Angle of Repose, and the New Mexico landscapes of Georgia O’Keeffe
ROCKING THE CRADLE OF CIVILIZATION
Egypt, then and now
October 21 – November 2 (12 nights)
Naguib Mahfouz, Palace Walk
Ahdaf Soueif, The Map of Love
Classical Pursuits designs 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 books were written or set. We have more than 25 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.
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."
Classical Pursuits is a cultural and educational travel company based in Toronto, Canada, specializing in small group literary travel and learning vacations. We provide adventures for the mind and travel for the soul - to places like Hemingway's Paris, Joyce's Dublin, Dante Alighieri's Italy, and Flannery O’Connor’s Savannah and the Andalusia family farm in Georgia. We offer both scheduled small group tours and private educational group travel planning for existing groups. Classical Pursuits provides learning vacations with a difference.
