We met to talk about ‘Nature’ as a theme in the glittering world of literature in a quiet corner of a sprawling urban garden. Against a leafy backdrop, our discussion flowed from science fiction with generations of environmental evolution to pastoral admirations of rural life and on to the natural (and inevitable) state of death. We inevitable brought up pandemic-related words and touched on the otherworldliness of the natural world.
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Perhaps in anticipation of the theme for our December meeting, The Literati has gone a bit quiet. Or maybe the silence is in deference to lots of time spent with wonderful words.
Whatever the reason the root cause of the radio silence, we’re back with dates, themes, and registration for the next set of meetings.
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This Zoom call didn’t get off to a particularly light-hearted start. The impact of COVID (both on the fight for equality and my own mental state), breaking news about a murderous man in Atlanta ‘having a really bad day,’ ongoing reports of abuse, hashtag NotAllMen still being a thing, and all the other horrors of the world had me in a pessimistic state of mind. Then, Margaret Atwood (a perennial favourite) came up… and my mood started to pick up.
By the end of our chat about ‘Feminism’ in the glittering world of literature, my optimism had returned. Laughing together and sharing some wonderful resources (listed below) definitely helped—and the ‘Beautiful Queens’ of the Grammys didn’t hurt either.
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The topic for this month’s meeting (coming up on Thursday, March 18th) honours today’s celebration of International Women’s Day. We’ll be gathering from 7-8:30pm CET (or thereabouts) via Zoom to share our recommendations of all things wordy around feminism and, as always, build a varied list of recommended reads (and things to listen to and watch).
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Our January discussion about optimism throughout the glittering world of words was speckled with memoirs of hope in the shadows, expectations being exceeded, the poetry of promise, and some practical advice on making things better.
There’s a full list of the pieces of work we shared with each other below… along with a quote to kick us off and a bonus list of authors we love!
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The start of a new year inevitably leads to planning, resolutions, thoughts of new habits and changing old patterns. Whatever your future plans hold, I hope there’s space for all things wordy!
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During our last meeting of 2020, we found quick consensus that balance is not one-size fits all—and the materials we discussed show this range. The lists below spans scientific research and a guide for homemakers, to excellent storytelling and some much-needed feel-good watching.
If you’re interested in getting together to talk about all things wordy in 2021, please answer our short survey to help plan the next meetings of The Literati.
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The backdrop of COVID-19 brought a different perspective to our discussion about all things wordy on the theme of vulnerability. We delved into this broad topic from many angles—from sex and relationships to the survival of an entire species and the unprotectedness of immigrants, even touching on the far-too-relevant topic of ‘sheltering the vulnerable’—and came up with a great list of things to read and watch.
There are strong characters who have very human vulnerabilities, behind-the-curtain observations about domestic life and inner thoughts, larger questions of flight or fight, and a few topical recommendations.
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A definite pandemic perk has been all kinds of normally not-so-accessible events going virtual. From yoga classes and drag shows to author readings and pub quizzes, I’ve really enjoyed being able to participate in things that would otherwise be too far away, too pricey, or simply too inconvenient.
And sharing the experience with geographically-distant friends and family is flat out fantastic!
Here are a few recommendations for wordy events on the internet, including the next Literati meeting in a couple weeks time.
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All good things come to an end, right? Maybe not… maybe they transition to something new.
The Impromptue community started in 2017 to provide a forum in Zurich that supported women’s ideas and project, to build a community of people with shared values, and a group that women could benefit from and contribute to. And now Impromptue is morphing into something a little different.
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