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We will discuss La Vita Nuova (The New Life) published by Dante in 1294 as the first in our commemorative readings to celebrate 700 years of Dante. We will briefly discuss its literary, cultural and historical context and then summarize the major themes of the work. All participants will be invited to share their thoughts on the subject.

Giuseppe Mazzotta lecture on La Vita Nuova: http://y2u.be/w3CX2klC4Kg

We strongly recommend that you read the book with us—you will get the most value from these Meetups if you do so. But, you are welcome even if you have not read the book.

Here are some free translations:
Princeton Dante Project (Italian and English side-by-side): https://dante.princeton.edu/pdp/vnuova.html
Andrew Frisardi (2012): https://digitaldante.columbia.edu/text/library/la-vita-nuova-frisardi/
Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1899): https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/41085
LibriVox (audio): https://librivox.org/the-new-life-la-vita-nuova-by-dante-alighieri/
Charles Elliot Norton (1867):
https://archive.org/details/cu31924026380521/page/n9/mode/2up

For additional context on the poetry of the period and contributing literary traditions that likely influenced young Dante while composing La Vita Nuova see this excellent Wikipedia page on the Troubadours - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troubadour .

Like Dante after them, the troubadours composed their poetry in the vernacular. William IX, Duke of Aquitaine is the first such author whose poetry in the vernacular has survived. You can get a taste of his poetry and of the vernacular of the time here - http://www.trobar.org/troubadours/coms_de_peiteu/ .

The idea of courtly love is well represented in Andreas Cappellanus work De Amore (available on Amazon under the title "The Art of Courtly Love").
You can see its preview here - https://www.amazon.com/Art-Courtly-Love-Andreas-Capellanus/dp/B006QBGSGW/

Another work that certainly influenced Dante was Ars Poetica by Horace. You can read it online here - https://archive.org/details/epistlesincludin00horauoft/page/48/mode/2up .

Here are some questions that you might want to think about as you read La Vita Nuova:

  1. Great writers often reveal key themes of their work in the first verse/chapter. What key themes are revealed in the first two chapters of La vita nuova? Are they traced and developed throughout the rest of the work? Are there important themes that are introduced in the latter part of the work that perhaps should have been mentioned in the introduction?

  2. What is the significance of 9 (3x3) in La vita nuova? Why does Dante keep coming back to it?

  3. What biblical and classical motifs can you trace in the title of the work? In the persona of Amor? In Beatrice?

  4. In your opinion, which (if any) aspects of chivalry and courtly love are transcendent and which are local cultural phenomena? Which (if any) of its features would you like to see today in the area of love/relationships?

Event Format:

  1. Introduction to the material by Phil & Doug
  2. Those who are reading the book get to share their thoughts about the assigned reading for that Meetup (see schedule below)
  3. Breakout rooms with 6-8 people each
  4. Takeaways and go around: Everybody can comment
  5. General discussion

Schedule:
6 Jan: Celebrate 700 Years of Dante
7 Feb: the Vita Nuova
7 Mar: Inferno 1-11
4 Apr: Inferno 12-22
2 May: Inferno 23-34
6 Jun: Purgatorio 1-11
11 Jul: Purgatorio 12-22
8 Aug: Purgatorio 23-33
12 Sep: Paradiso 1-11
10 Oct: Paradiso 12-22
7 Nov: Paradiso 22-33
5 Dec: Grand Finale: Reflecting on Dante's 7th Centennial

Watch videos of our past Dante events at https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqpF1l8gdXlFtfXIcifetOBF2eof_-Qtb

This 19 minute video introduction to Dante by Giuseppe Mazzotta is very good: http://y2u.be/679FGDpZBew

CJ Fearnley's "Reading Dante in 2021" page
https://www.cjfearnley.com/Dante2021.html

52 Living Ideas will record this event and post it to YouTube. Feel free to keep your video on or off as you prefer.

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