LEADERS
Longtime partners in life and learning Denise Ahlquist and JJ Patton have found keeping a sense of humor quite essential, especially when traveling or co-leading seminars. (This will be their fifth summer together in Toronto, plus they’ve led eight seminars online so far.) JJ enjoys delving deeply into classic texts and helping people make sense of them. And in her work with the Great Books Foundation, Denise has been privileged to lead Shared Inquiry discussions of great literature, some of it funny, with participants of all ages across North America. Spending time seriously thinking about what makes something both great and humorous sounds like just our kind of fun.
BOOK
Gargantua and Pantagruel by François Rabelais. Translated by M. A. Screech
(Penguin Classics, Paperback, 2006)
ISBN-13: 978-0140445503
SEMINAR OVERVIEW
“I am, by means of a little Pantagruelism (that is, as you know, a certain merriness of mind pickled in contempt for things fortuitous) well and sprightly and ready for a drink, if you are. Do you ask me why, good folk? … Physician, heal thyself!” (Francois Rabelais, Prologue to the Fourth Book)
Composed during a pivotal time when anti-clerical and Protestant ideas rocked the Roman Catholic world, these influential philosophical and kaleidoscopic artistic creations have captured the imagination of countless readers, including the French historian Michelet, who wrote,
“Rabelais collected wisdom from the popular elemental forces of the ancient Provencal idioms, sayings, proverbs, school farces, from the mouth of fools and clowns. But refracted by this foolery, the genius of the age and its prophetic power are revealed in all their majesty. If he does not discover, he foresees, he promises, he directs. Under each tiny leaf of this forest of dreams, the fruit which the future will harvest lies hidden. This entire book is a golden bough.”
His most famous works unlock an outrageously fantastical world with two giants, father and son kings Gargantua and Pantagruel. A series of 5 books including Pantagruel (1532); Gargantua (1534); two other brilliant satires (1546, 1552) and a fifth book (1564) whose authorship is contested, are available in a single-volume English language edition that is wonderful for a week of lively seminar discussions. Participants will be provided with resources to support their preparation of these classic texts.
While some contemporaries were threatened by the freedom of his thought and physicality of his language and imagery, today’s reader is more likely to enjoy many hearty chuckles and revel in the breadth of genius that is undeniably Rabelais.
Toronto Pursuits pricing options
All seminars are $150 off through February 28. Sale prices are automatically applied.
Bring a friend and save even more! Take $100 off your registration for every new friend you bring to Toronto Pursuits. Your friend also saves $100 on their registration. Choose your discount from the dropdown menu based on the number of friends who also plan to register, and let us know your friend’s name in the order notes.
The fine print: To get the bring-a-friend discount, your friend must not have registered for any previous Toronto Pursuits seminar in any year. Your friend must register by July 1, 2025, or Classical Pursuits will apply the nondiscounted price to your final payment. Limit one $100 discount per participant for being referred as a new friend. For example, if person A brings new friend B, person C cannot also claim friend B for the bring-a-friend discount. If friend B brings new friend D, friend B qualifies for $100 discount for being a new referral, and an additional $100 for referring new friend D. Classical Pursuits reserves the right to make all decisions about discount eligibility.
Toronto Pursuits 2025
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