What we’re about
This is a group where we read everything out loud during our meetings — poetry, short stories, plays, novels and non-fiction. Therefore, there’s no need to prepare by reading anything in advance. Either a link to the text will be provided, or we'll do screen-sharing.
You don't have to be a "good reader" to participate; we all get better through practice. It's more fun and more learning happens when people read together, sharing their perspectives.
Another advantage of this format is that we can all react "in the moment" to what we are reading, unlike in regular book clubs where you read the book first, and then forget some of it by the time you actually get to talk about it.
The group was founded by Phyllis in mid-2020, and has been going strong ever since!
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- Read-Aloud: "The Caucasian Chalk Circle", by Bertholdt BrechtLink visible for attendees
(In our readalouds, the text is screen-shared. No experience in reading aloud or prep necessary.)
The Caucasian Chalk Circle (German: Der kaukasische Kreidekreis) is a play by the German modernist playwright Bertolt Brecht. An example of Brecht's epic theatre, the play is a parable about a peasant girl who rescues a baby and becomes a better mother than the baby's wealthy biological parents.
The play was written in 1944 while Brecht was living in the United States. It was translated into English by Brecht's friend and admirer Eric Bentley and its world premiere was a student production at Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota, in 1948. Its first professional production was at the Hedgerow Theatre, Philadelphia, directed by Bentley. Its German premiere by the Berliner Ensemble was on October 7, 1954, at the Theater am Schiffbauerdamm in Berlin.[1]
The Caucasian Chalk Circle is one of Brecht's most celebrated works and one of the most regularly performed 'German' plays.[citation needed] It reworks Brecht's earlier short story "Der Augsburger Kreidekreis." Both derive from the 14th-century Chinese play The Chalk Circle by Li Xingdao.
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Latecomers (unless we know you) will generally NOT BE ADMITTED once the reading starts.
If this is your first time with us, consider joining five minutes early, so we can work out any technical issues you may be having.
