You are in for a multi-sensory treat with our new online seminar Self on the Line: The Multimedia Psyche of the Jazz Age. Classical Pursuits executive director Melanie Blake recently talked with creator and leader Denise Ahlquist about what you can expect in this seminar, a Classical Pursuits exclusive. Melanie […]
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Life Writ Large: Guillaume Apollinaire
There will be no shortage of forceful personalities on the Classical Pursuits trip They Came to Paris: Literature 1910–1940. The French capital nurtured and attracted strivers, artists, dreamers, writers and flâneurs of all kinds. We will meet many of them, from Hemingway and Stein to Picasso to Kiki of Montparnasse. […]
Medieval Stories, Modern Pilgrimages
[Editor’s note: We warmly welcome Denise Ahlquist back to Toronto Pursuits. A senior consultant at the Great Books Foundation, Denise has been a longtime leader of discussion groups for children and adults. Join her on an unforgettable journey in her seminar on Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales.] “When April comes and with […]
Art à la Mode
[Editor’s note: Every year Betty Ann Jordan brings colour and style to Toronto Pursuits, and 2019 will be no exception. Join her for Seeing Through Clothes, a seminar that weaves art and history into a larger exploration of what clothes say about us.] Lingering in front of a historical portrait, […]
“I Paint Because I Am”
I first met van Gogh when I was a 14-year-old bookworm devoted to exploring the richness of the local public library’s holdings. I had been making my way through the English literary canon and was already deeply committed to the written word when I found myself casually browsing through the […]
The Splendour of Russia Through an Artist’s Eyes
One heavy step, then another. Straps across their chests, they pull. It’s Russia, 1869. In Repin’s Barge Haulers on the Volga, you can feel the heat and the workers’ exhaustion. If you look closely, you’ll notice a steamship on the horizon; this back-breaking labour is no longer necessary. Like Dickens […]
On Food and Friendship: Anthony Bourdain Tribute, Part 2
[Editor’s note: This is the second in a series on the role food has played on Classical Pursuits trips as we remember the formidable, exuberant Anthony Bourdain. Enjoy!] By Ann Kirkland Unlike so many, I came late to the charms of Anthony Bourdain. It was when I heard he would […]
Seeing Things As They Really Are in Renaissance Florence
We at Classical Pursuits are excited to welcome back Stuart Patterson to Toronto in July 2018. In 2016, Stuart led a seminar on Ovid’s Metamorphoses in painting, music and poetry. He recently spoke with us about his upcoming seminar, The Birth of New Powers in Florence. Participants in Stuart’s seminar […]
What Price Power? Why Trollope Matters Today
[Editor’s note: We give a warm welcome back to longtime Toronto Pursuits leader Nancy Carr. Nancy’s seminar Through the lens of the under-appreciated Victorian novelist Anthony Trollope, participants in Nancy’s seminar will ask a timeless question: How far are we willing to go to obtain power?] As I ride the […]
Old Truths Made New: Interview with Toronto Pursuits Leader Mandy Burton
We are thrilled to welcome new leader Mandy Burton to Toronto Pursuits. Mandy comes to us through Toronto Pursuits’ education manager Mark Cwik. Participants in her seminar Power, Rights and Personhood will benefit from her true spirit of inquiry that crosses disciplines, and will read classics old and new. Classical […]