Great Books and the Meaning of Life XII
led by James Sloan Allen
Wednesdays: October 15 & 29; December 10 & 17
6:00pm-7:30pm
$55 for members; $60 for nonmembers
This series of Great Books discussions led by critic
and cultural historian James Sloan Allen will take up four classic Western works set largely in the context of travel and cultural differences. The discussions will consider, among other things, how these works illuminate varieties of culture, traits of human nature, the shaping and transformation of selves, the making of moral value judgments, and the criticism of cultural life.
The books are:
Virgil’s The Aeneid (Fagels translation)
Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift,
Lord Byron’s Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage
The Razor’s Edge by Somerset Maugham.
James Sloan Allen has published widely on cultural
history, the arts, ideas, and travel. His forthcoming book, Worldly Wisdom: Great Books and the Meanings of Life, deals in part with books discussed in this class since 2002. He now divides his time between the East Coast and Hawaii.
Henry James and Edith Wharton part I
led by James Kraft
Thursdays: September 4, October 2, November 6 and December 4
6pm
$75 members; $100 nonmembers
They are always being compared – Henry James and Edith Wharton
– even though they are quite different in style and approach to their
subject. What especially unites them is their friendship as writers, a
friendship that began in earnest with Henry James’ visit in 1904 to her home in the Berkshires. They were both international Americans who examined in their fiction the new role of the American on the international scene. Their fiction unquestionably includes some of the best American writing: entertaining, intellectually exciting, and deeply rewarding in its insights into the challenges of leading a fulfilled life.
Each month a work by James and Wharton will be read and discussed. The seminar reading includes their best known works, among others: The Europeans, The Portrait of a Lady, The House of Mirth, The Bostonians, Ethan Frome, The Custom of the Country, Washington Square, The Wings of the Dove, and The Age of Innocence.
September 4
“Daisy Miller” and “An International Episode,” by Henry James, and Edith Wharton’s “Autres Temps…,” “Xingu,” and “Roman Fever”
October 2
The Europeans and "Madame de Mauves" by James and Wharton's "Madame de Tremes"
November 6
The Portrait of a Lady by James and The House of Mirth by Wharton
December 4
The Spoils of Poynton by James and The Reef by Wharton
James Kraft has taught at the University of Virginia, Universite Laval, and Wesleyan University. He has written a critical study of the early tales of Henry James, edited a five-volume edition of the work of the poet Witter Bynner, written his biography, and published many articles on American and Canadian literature.
Rilke
Rilke: The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge
and Associated Poetry
led by Burton Pike
Tuesdays:
Nov. 18, Dec. 16, Jan. 20, Feb. 17,
March 17, April 21, and May 19, June 16
6:00pm-7:30pm
$80 members; $100 nonmembers
Rilke's only novel, The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge (1910), is a compelling work that is the major hinge of Rilke's development as a poet, from facile beginnings to his mastery as one of the giants of 20th century literature. His novel can be considered the first Modernist novel, and influenced later writers and movements. Poems Rilke wrote before and after his novel, and while he was working on it, will also be discussed as they relate to the themes and problems raised in the novel.
There are many translations of Rilke available, of widely varying quality. For our course, please purchase Burton Pike’s translation of The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge (Dalkey Archive Press, 2008).
The Mercantile Library Center for Fiction will be working with Dalkey to obtain copies of the book; if you are interested in purchasing a copy through the Library please contact us. Prof. Pike will provide Xerox copies of his own straightforward translations of the poems that we will be discussing.
Burton Pike is professor emeritus of comparative literature and German at the CUNY Graduate Center. A writer, critic, and editor, he has translated novels by Robert Musil, Goethe, and Rilke, and shorter prose from German and French.
The Literarians
The Literarians is a free discussion group open to members of the library. The Literarians read a wide variety of novels and vote every few months on a new theme to explore. Recently they’ve read books focused on Women Authors of New York and Classics of Russian Literature. In September, the group will discuss E.M. Forster’s A Passage to India followed by Vladimir Nabokov’s King, Queen, Knave in October.
The group meets at 12:15pm on the second Thursday of every month and is led by the Merc’s executive director, Noreen Tomassi. Please contact the Library if you would like to join the group
For more information or to join a reading group, please call 212-755-6710 or email info@mercantilelibrary.org
Moby Dick
The Proust Society
Mystery and Suspense