Saturday, October 29, 2016

December 2, 2016—Poems by Sappho

Next meeting is December 2, 2016. We will discuss poems by Sappho. The recommended translation is If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho by Anne Carson. However, if you are unable to obtain a copy we make the following link to translations of select poems. 

The link below is to select poems by Sappho:
http://greatpoemskc.blogspot.com/2016/11/poems-by-sappho.html

We will also select the books for our reading schedule for 2017. Bring your nominations and be prepared to explain why you selected them. Send you nominations to the following email address and I'll add them to a printed list to be distributed at the meeting.
The following are some links regarding our book selections:

Meeting Information:
Location: Kansas City Public Library, Plaza Branch, Small Meeting Room
Address: 4801 Main Street, Kansas City, MO
Date: December 2, 2016
Time: 7:00 pm

Sappho was a Greek lyric poet from the island of Lesbos. She was born sometime between 630 and 612 BCE, and it is said that she died around 570 BCE, but little is known for certain about her life. Sappho's poetry was well-known and greatly admired through much of antiquity, and she was considered one of the canon of nine lyric poets. However, most of her poetry is now lost, and survives only in fragmentary form.


Monday, October 3, 2016

October 28, 2016—Dream of the Red Chamber


Next meeting is October 28, 2016. We will discuss Dream of the Red Chamber (also titled Hónglóu Mèng (紅樓夢)) by Cao Xueqin. It is considered to be one of China's four great classical novels. The following is a link to the Wikipedia article about Dream of the Red Chamber.

Meeting Information:
Location: Kansas City Public Library, Plaza Branch, Small Meeting Room
Address: 4801 Main Street, Kansas City, MO
Date: October 28, 2016
Time: 7:00 pm

The recommended translation is published as part of the Penguin Classics:
The Story of the Stone, or The Dream of the Red Chamber, Volume 1: The Golden Days
Paperback: 540 pages, Chapter 1 to 26 — David Hawkes, translator 
Please note that the above book is Volume 1 of a five volume series. You're welcome to read the whole series if you want to be that ambitious (total of 2,572 pages). But our discussion will focus on Volume 1: The Golden Days.