Where Words Unfreeze: The Terra Incognita of Rabelais
by Denise Ahlquist, leading Seriously Funny: The Fantastical Worlds of François Rabelais “When they were upon the open sea, feasting, singing and holding discreet intercourse in fair discourse…” Imagine you are there, enmeshed in one of the worlds of words created by Rabelais—a world we will bring to life in […]
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 […]
GUEST POST — Getting Into the Spirit of the Story with the Mahabharata
Dear friends, The Mahabharata comes in many sizes and languages. The author of the version we will use at Toronto Pursuits, William Buck, worked from a 5,800-page Sanskrit version. His goal was not to translate it, but rather to retell it: “I thought how nice to tell the story so […]