Literary Travel
FROM CLASSICAL PURSUITS
Take a Literary Travel based vacation
"I soon realized that no journey carries one far unless, as
it extends into the world around us, it goes an equal distance into
the world within."
~Lillian Smith
Classical Pursuits trips differ from other literary travel opportunities
where information about an author's life and works is conveyed to travellers
via lectures by experts. Like others, we do use experts to talk to us
and to guide us through the settings of the works we are studying.
But what distinguishes our literary travel from others are our commitment
to great (as opposed to popular) literature and the central role of
in-depth discussion. We take literature seriously. We assume that that
great literature is always new, always contemporary, always relevant-that
it can transform our view of ourselves and the world. We are far less
interested in who had influence on our author or whom she or he, in
turn, influenced than we are in what authors have to say; even, perhaps,
teach us.
As former president of St. John's College, John Agresto states in his
wonderful essay, "Getting the Most out of Literature," "We
should all try to learn from books, not just about books."
We, too, have all the other features of quality literary trips: easy
guided walks to immerse ourselves in the cultural and natural history
of a place, informal talks about the context of our inquiry, generous
free time, exceedingly convivial company, and, of course, wonderful
meals. We metaphorically don special lenses to focus on that time period
when our work is set, be it the Roman Republic, Paris in the Twenties,
or Victorian London.
People report that they come to see and know a place they have visited
many times in a new and far deeper way. But, above all, it is the chance
to grapple with the soul of a great author in the company of others
that Classical Pursuits travelers value most.
Please browse the variety of our literary
travel opportunities.
