Last week, in this pictorial puzzle from the Classical Pursuits trip in New Orleans, Ann asked, “What do these two addresses have in common?” We have the answer for you! 632 is the street address of the New Orleans homes of both Tennessee Williams and the fictional Stella and Stanley […]
Author: Melanie Blake
CLASSICAL TRIVIA! Do You Know What Happens After the Museums Close?
Find out with this whimsical PowerPoint
GUEST BLOG — Ulysses Can Change Your Life
[Mike Groden, leader of the Toronto Pursuits 2015 seminar on Ulysses, shows us how a life spent with Joyce’s best-known novel is a life well spent.] Reading Joyce’s Ulysses can be a great adventure. It certainly was for me the first time I read it. Because this long novel focuses […]
GUEST BLOG — On the Trail of the Renaissance
When my manager let me know that I would be spending a couple of weeks working on a project in Germany and the Netherlands, I admit that my first thoughts were not of reports and deadlines but of the Rijksmuseum. In the past several months I had been fortunate to […]
GUEST BLOG — The Final Cut
Mark and Ann just finished final decision-making for the reading for our Classical Pursuits trip to Colombia. Read about the process of book selection for the trip by leader Mark Cwik: Book selection for a Classical Pursuits trip begins at the same time as the idea for the trip itself. […]
ON THE ROAD WITH ANN — Arrival in the Big Easy
Our group is happily ensconced at Hotel Monteleone, whose literary pedigree makes for an atmospheric home base in New Orleans. My first impression of the city is that music and dancing really are everywhere. Sunday at the French Market was especially lively. I was surprised to find a […]
GUEST BLOG — Bobbi Speck on Incredible Iceland (Part 3)
Day 8 (September 6): The Saga Circle Another amazing day, and the last of our bus adventures outside Reykjavik. This time we travelled along the southwestern coast heading north. We drove through a 3-mile long tunnel in bedrock beneath the water to cross the Hvalfjord on our way to the Borgafjord […]
GUEST BLOG — Bobbi Speck on Incredible Iceland (Part 2)
Day 5 (September 3): Smaratun and Saga Museum The view from my farm window this morning was giant white turkeys. The male could have been my height, but his plumage would have made him too wide to go through that little church door at Thingvellir! We had a late and […]
GUEST BLOG — Bobbi Speck on Incredible Iceland (Part 1)
In this three-part post, the intrepid Bobbi (aka Borghilde) Speck gives us all the news that’s fit to print on Literary Iceland: Isle of Awe, 2014. Led by Mark Cwik and Ann Kirkland, a group of travellers read, ate, and hiked their way through this astonishing country. Did they encounter any […]
On the Road with Ann — Northern Exposure, Southern Charm
Our Iceland trip is winding down, and it has been incredible. We’ll have a full account of all the experiences we had and the first-class people we met. Here are a few more photos to tide you over until then. It is hard to leave the fierce beauty of this […]