Limited: Final Eliot Night

As in the past, I’m LIMITING this last night of our current project to folks who have been with us for several of the previous ten nights. So much ground has been covered, it wouldn't be possible to bring new folks up to speed enough to have a good time, and still provide an enjoyable finale for veterans of the journey.

We will return on Tuesday, August 25, to begin our Fall Virginia Woolf novel. Please sign up on that event page now. Title and full details to come on Wednesday, August 5. No need to pre-read. Text and all materials will be provided by screen share and free pdf.

Links to FREE online copies of all texts will be provided in the comments section of this event page, shortly before our start time. Even if you already have a copy of the poem, you will need the pdf as well, for the background material. Please open the pdf as you are logging in, so that you will be ready to go. Pre-reading not necessary.

We are spending several Tuesday evenings looking at the life of T. S. Eliot and the creation of his poem, The Waste Land. Leonard and Virginia Woolf's Hogarth Press was the first British publisher to produce The Waste Land in book form; Virginia Woolf hand set the type herself. Eliot and the Woolfs became good friends. Their relationship, and everything about these people, was fascinating. We will read The Waste Land together, aloud, primarily for enjoyment. While we will certainly study the work's composition, and discuss some of its many literary allusions, tonight is meant to be an enjoyable process for the curious, rather than an intellectual, scholarly exercise. No prior experience with poetry necessary, and you can enjoy any given session without having attended prior sessions.

WELCOME: to our in-session reading and discussion of literature by and near Virginia Woolf, every Tuesday evening. The information will be presented via an online pdf and screen share. Always free, never a fee.

In addition to reading and discussing a text itself, we will deepen our understanding by reading excerpts from Woolf's relevant letters and diaries, and by tracing her friends' and family's lives which are woven through her books, as well as other biographic information.

Prior familiarity with the material is not necessary to enjoy these evenings. Taking turns, we read aloud during the session, discovering and discussing as we go.

Aim: To have fun! A deep dive, to gain some degree of understanding and appreciation of the text.

Who: We are mostly non-professional readers, learners and enthusiasts. Non-native speakers of English especially welcome. All ages, gender orientations, ethnicities. Friendly people, mindful of each others’ experience in the session.

Where: Zoom. The link becomes visible when you rsvp.

How to prepare: No prep necessary. We do our reading IN the sessions, out loud, taking turns.

What to bring: An open mind and a sense of humor. The text will be provided free of charge during the zoom via pdf or screen share.

Format: We take turns, with each person reading a few paragraphs at time out loud, pausing for discussion as we go. Reading aloud and discussing not required. It is fine to simply listen; most people do discover that they love reading aloud.

PLEASE NOTE:
We begin on time. If you need to arrive later, log in to the zoom waiting room and you will be integrated into the group as soon as we reach a natural stopping point. Special note to first timers: you are most welcome. However, due to a veritable plague of zoom bombers, if a first timer needs to log in after our scheduled start time, please first direct message Sherry or Mark an hour or more ahead of the start time. Otherwise, if you come late, you will not be admitted.
Links to free online copies of all texts will be provided in the comments on the event page. will be announced every Tuesday, in the comments section.
Please open the material and find the starting point as you are logging in, so you will be ready to go.