Convivium – October, 2008

A monthly guide to adventures for the mind,
travel for the soul.

 

 

All the world, it seems, is a stage for the endless epic drama of the 2008 U.S. presidential election. My fellow Americans may not realize that this very day, October 14, Canada is holding a federal election. As a dual citizen, I have found numerous differences between the presidential and parliamentary systems of government, notably the matter of time. Here in Canada, where elections are “called,” and not dictated by law, the whole process has taken little more than one month. That must seem inconceivable to voters in the U.S., who have been consumed by the campaign for more than two years. But both countries are democracies, and candidates try to persuade citizens to vote for them. The methods of persuasion are centuries old. I thought you would enjoy this CLASSICAL TRIVIA! piece, “Three ways to persuade – using Great Books.” Click here.

Our 2009 brochure is finally at the printer and should be in your hands shortly. If you have moved or would like a brochure sent to a friend, please let us know. Click here. Meantime, the details of all our 2009 programs are posted on our website. The links are now live, so click away and see what strikes your fancy. And take a peek at the electronic version of the 2009 brochure. We are very pleased with its new look, especially the stunning cover. Click here.

Last week, Classical Pursuits was in Bayfield, Ontario to discuss a selection of marvellous short stories by the incomparable Alice Munro. Munro’s precise social observation and penetrating psychological insight are complemented by her unerring instinct for exactly the right form of expression. The winner of the photo contest will be announced next month. View Slideshow.

Bayfield, Ontario

Any time I can get out of the city and deep into the woods or plains -- any unspoiled landscape, really -- something indefinable but powerful wells up in me. That ambiguous response to The Wild, both longing and fear, seems to be universal and inspired our February trip, Wild Things: The call and the terror. Ecuador’s Amazon Region is the world's largest remaining tropical rainforest, hosting huge biological diversity and many unique species. American writer Wallace Stegner said, “There are millions of people on every continent who feel the need of what Sherwood Anderson called ‘a sense of bigness outside ourselves’; we all need something to take the shrillness out of us.” This month, THE INSTALLMENT PLAN features Stegner’s exceptionally moving treatise on “the geography of hope.” Click here.

I took this photo on a late September walk a couple hours north of Toronto

Somewhere in the U.S.

From the Amazon region of Ecuador

The American Library Association has just concluded Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read. BBW celebrates the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one’s opinion, even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular and stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints to all who wish to read them. After all, intellectual freedom can exist only where these two essential conditions are met. TODAY IN LITERATURE may surprise you with a list of ten now classic books that that were once banned in the United States. Click here.

Our first on-line discussion of Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” is underway, and the exchange is amazingly vibrant and easy to use. I suspect we will be offering other on-line discussions throughout the year.

Please stay in touch and forward this issue of Convivium to anyone you think might enjoy it.

Ave atque vale,

INSTALLMENT PLAN

 

Wallace Stegner’s’ Wilderness Letter

TODAY IN LITERATURE

 

Top 10 Banned Classics

CLASSICAL TRIVIA!

 

3 Ways to Persuade (using Great Books)

 

 

Previous issues: Select , September, 2008 August, 2008 July, 2008 June, 2008 May, 2008 April, 2008 March, 2008 February, 2008 January, 2008 December, 2007 November, 2007 October, 2007 September, 2007 August, 2007 July, 2007 June, 2007 May, 2007 April, 2007 March, 2007 February, 2007 January, 2007 December, 2006 November, 2006 September, 2006 August, 2006 July, 2006 June, 2006 May, 2006 April, 2006 March, 2006 February, 2006 January, 2006 December, 2005 November, 2005 October, 2005 September, 2005 August, 2005 July, 2005 June, 2005 May, 2005 April, 2005 March, 2005 February, 2005 January, 2005

Search for a particular subject in our previous issues:

“Without any remaining wilderness we are committed wholly, without chance for even momentary reflection and rest, to a headlong drive into our technological termite-life, the Brave New World of a completely mancontrolled environment.”

 

– Wallace Stegner, from his “Wilderness Letter”

The Remains of 2008

Travel Pursuits 2009

Toronto Pursuits in the Summer:
July 12-17, 2009