Vol. 5 No. 2
Winter 2000-2001

Reading Matters

publication of the SAN FRANCISCO GREAT BOOKS COUNCIL

Historic First:

CO-PRESIDENTS CHOSEN IN TIGHT ELECTION

Park’s Policy Change Requires Early Registration

A decision by Asilomar management to require advance cash deposits and an early promise of enrollment numbers means the Executive Committee will need to commit the Council to a final enrollment number by December 31, 2000.   Failure to achieve that number may lead to a financial penalty.

As we go to press, about 150 applications have been received.  Our usual enrollment has been 200.  This indicates that many who intend to participate have not yet enrolled.  We hope that we will not have to exclude individuals who wish to attend by turning back potential enrollment spaces on December 31.  Please sign up as soon as possible!

WHERE AND WHEN  --  Asilomar Conference Center, March 30-April 1, 2001

READINGS: 

Selected Poetry –Robert Pinsky, Amy Lowell, Seamus Heaney, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Sophocles, Randell Jarrell

Matt Riley – Origins of Virtue

Albert Camus – The Stranger

Henrik Ibsen – Hedda Gabler 

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At picnic where wine consumed, decision reached to set up co-presidency

SFGB’s executive committee believes that such an arrangement is the best way to meet the challenges of the coming period.  Barbara McConnell and Erma Browning will share the top job, Barbara to take responsibility for general administration and special events and Erma for local groups.

No one has alleged incomplete vote counting or fraud.

 The Canterbury Tales Highlights Poetry Weekend

Author of “The Bronze Star” Secretly Attends Discussion

By Theda and Oscar Fierschein

The poetry weekend at Westminster Retreat in Alamo began on Saturday morning with Geoffery Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales.  These bawdy, pious, erudite, absurd, tragic, and comic tales, told by a motley group of pilgrims as they journeyed to Canterbury in the late 1300s, provided a rich source of discussion.  These travelers came from variegated segments of society – a knight, a man of law, a shipman, a prioress, a monk, a physician, a miller, etc.  Their stories often were a close reflection of personality and station. 

We used the well-regarded rendition by Nevill Coghill (Penguin edition) that translates Chaucer’s language into modern English but retains the poetic form:

When in April the sweet showers fall

And pierce the drought of March to the root, and all

The veins are bathed in liquor of such power

As brings about the engendering of the flower

From the original:

Whan that Aprill with his shoures sote

The droghte of Marche hath perced to the rote,

And bathed every veyne in swich licuor

Of which vertu engendred is the flour

One story was “The Knight’s Tale,” where two cousins, prisoners of war jailed in a tower, fall in love with the same woman they see walking in the garden below.  This long, courtly tale of close friends who become adversaries in love contrasts sharply with the bawdiness of “The Miller’s Tale” and “The Reeve’s Tale.”

Guest poet, teacher, and actor James Keller on Saturday evening gave a delightful and informative talk on this book, its author, and his times.  He described Chaucer as a remarkable man and government servant who came to the king’s court at 14 years of age and by his mid-20s was a senior international diplomat whose skill enabled him to survive through the reigns of three kings.  A sign of his diplomacy was the addition of a page at the end of this ribald and irreverent book which retracted the whole thing.  “If there be anything that displeases the readers, I beg them to impute it to the fault of my want of ability, and not to my will, who would very gladly have said better if I had had the power.

Saturday afternoon found us in groups exploring a set of nature poems by Emily Dickenson, e. e. cummings, Victor Hernandez Cruz, Seamus Heaney, Gary Snyder, and Raymond Carver.  We wrestled with e. e. cummings’

            what if a much of a which of a wind

            gives the truth to summer’s lie

and we similarly teased out meaning from Gary Snyder’s “Old Woodrat’s Stinky House,” beginning with “Coyote and Earthmaker whirling about in the world of winds.”

We finished on Sunday morning with a potpourri including poets Yehuda Amichai, Louise Gluck, Seamus Heaney, Robert Pinsky, Kirk Ridgeway, and Dean Young.  “The Next Millennium,” by Amichai was particularly difficult for many. Pinsky’s “The Shirt” presented some problems for those unfamiliar with the history of the garment union.  This work, read two years ago at a Stanford University commencement by the poet, makes the reader aware of sacrifice in the early history of the labor movement.  In particular, the fire that engulfed young workers at the Triangle Shirt Factory is described.

“Myth Mix,” by Dean Young, can serve as a metaphor for our own difficulty in unraveling the meaning of the poems we discuss:

            In the beginning, everything is mingled

            And joined, all the halves hooked up

One group, unaware until the end, was privileged with the presence of the poet, Kirk Ridgeway, who confirmed their interpretation of his poem, “The Bronze Star.”

While the participants of the weekend at first brought their own interpretations to the meeting, new ideas developed as discussions unfolded.  The verses, selected partly because of their complexity, richly opened up like blossoms to group efforts at uncovering meaning.

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Stabenau Challenges Common  View of Homer

Dissenter in Snopes Case Raises Gender Issue

Readers of this newsletter will recall that Jim Stabenau disagreed with the general view at last year’s Long Novel Weekend on whose bullet killed Flem Snopes.  In the letter published below, Jim endeavors to correct another conventional view.

On my two-hour drive back to Sacramento after a delightful archeologically enriched Great Books Weekend discussion of The Odyssey held in the scholarly halls of UC Berkeley, I reflected on my failed attempt as a leader.  What went wrong?  I patiently reconstructed the efforts and responses from each of the three sessions that I led and the two post-session discussions with the other leaders.  My question was “who was the heroic figure in this epic poem?”

After careful reanalysis of the issue of heroism, defined by one of the groups as courageous, gallant, noble behavior involving risks and excluding the gods and Telemachus as having only supporting roles, only the principals Odysseus and Penelope were left. 

When those two were compared for independent, rational behavior, one ultimately realized that Odysseus relied on the goddess Athena in a co-dependent fashion for her cunning manipulation of Odysseus’s behavior and on Zeus for his bold signs from on high jolting Odysseus into action.  Odysseus, it seemed, was a man of “bodily” efforts displayed in his wild and irrational actions throughout the story. 

Conversely, Penelope courageously held 108 suitors at bay for ten years without divine assistance. It was her idea to stall them by repeatedly weaving then unraveling Laertes’s shawl, which she would need for her wedding ceremony.  It was she who devised a contest for suitors that only Odysseus could win -- shooting an arrow through a row of ax handles.  And, finally, she used knowledge and intelligence to test Odysseus in the bedroom before accepting him back into her life.

Odysseus, a bold and cunning man, displayed, nay flaunted, irrational actions and questionable judgment. Penelope judiciously, independently, and rationally, brought reunion with Odysseus to fruition.

Thus one must conclude that only Penelope was a heroic figure.  As I entered the long viaduct approaching Sacramento, a realization came to me like a bolt from Zeus.  I fought for control as the big Chrysler lurched toward the railing.

Homer was a woman!

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BOOK REVIEW: Don DeLillo’s White Noise

By Wallis Leslie

One of the benefits of attending Great Books groups and special events is the increased likelihood of waking up thinking about Billy Budd or Socrates instead of about the Electoral College or the number of calories in a piece of cheesecake. Great Bookies who attended the Annual meeting are likely to wake up thinking about De Lillo’s intriguingly puzzling novel White Noise, especially if the morning paper has headlines featuring yet another chemical spill or yet another killer seeking to remedy a sense of powerless anonymity.

In a way, the airborne toxic event in White Noise relates to the waves and radiation of our incessant, tumultuous media that, to the extent that they interfere with our perception of what is really there, are poisonous, dangerous to us. We can't implement useful fight or flight responses if the National Enquirer is telling us that a two-headed alien is threatening us when in reality we are living on top of a uranium dump.

What fascinates me about this book is that it renders funnily (if one has a dark sense of humor) the paradoxical predicament we find ourselves in: intelligence is one of our strongest survival tools, yet knowledge hurts. Look at how the book shows its characters shutting down their intelligence. In the opening scene, parents deliver their children to college, a place where intelligence is supposed to be sharpened.  But what they really want is assurance that the world is like themselves, that there will be no surprises. In this sense "White Noise" is the sound that white people make talking only to each other.

Then there is Jack's Hitler Studies department at his college. If our society really did study Hitler, did use its intelligence to determine what could prompt educated, cultured, relatively well-fed people to decide to kill millions of fellow citizens in an organized, efficient way, then Hitler Studies would be a valuable enterprise. But Jack isn't studying Hitler; he is advancing his career. He can't even speak German.

Instead of using their intelligence to confront and deal with their fear of death, both Jack and his wife Babette evade the first necessity that intelligence requires: telling the truth. When we lie to others, we take away their ability to apply intelligence to what we say. Jack and Babette frequently tell each other of a hope to be the first to die.  A lie.

Both Jack and Babette are willing to sacrifice their intelligence (their memory, their ability to distinguish abstraction from actuality) by taking a drug, “Dylar,” in a vain attempt to lose their fear of death. What chance is there to deal with a problem if it is avoided rather than confronted?  In this sense, "White Noise" is anything we do to keep us from perceiving something that disturbs us. (Remember the white noise machines that emit the sounds of ocean waves or of birds singing so that we can't hear the neighbors' awful music?) 

DeLillo’s characters shop, eat, take drugs, wear robes and dark glasses and visor caps, make toast, read tabloids, tell lies, form cozy social groups, all as avoidance.  Fortunately for Great Bookies, discussion helps us to clarify our perceptions, not to dull or ignore them.

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Twenty-Four New Leaders Trained

By Kate Gilpin

On a bright and windy Sunday morning in October, twenty-four Great Books members gathered in the historic Pacific Bell building in San Francisco for  day of Leader Training presented by the San Francisco Great Books Council.

Attending were a rainbow of Great Books buffs who brought a rich tapestry of varied experience to this outstanding workshop.  Some participants were old friends and pioneers in Great Books, others were newcomers, eager to meet the veterans and learn to lead.

Trainees came armed with readings:  Guy de Maupassant's "The Necklace," Anne Jackson's "The Lottery," and Anton Chekhov's "The Fiddle."  Stuffed with juice, Danish, and coffee supplied by Louise DiMattio, SFGB's new Long Novel chair, who also secured the meeting place,  the group settled in for a wonderful day of presentations, examples, and practice.

Each participant received a packet of information, including the wise -- and hilarious -- "Ten Commandments of Great Books Discussion Groups," by Bill Baker, the first of which reads:  "Thou shalt come to a discussion group to exchange ideas, not to find a convenient forum for expounding thine own preconceived opinion."

Barbara McConnell, co-president of the SFGB Council, talked about Shared Inquiry and its philosophy.  Tom Cox, in his last official act as the Council's leader training chair, spoke on reading for questions and the importance of developing varying levels of questions.  The group participated in  demonstration discussions led by Barbara and Tom, which included examples of questions that stimulate discussion -- and a few that squish it!

After a delicious lunch arranged by Vince Scardina, SF area coordinator, and punctuated with conversation on ways to make a discussion exciting, trainees broke into five smaller groups.  They were  led by Barbara McConnell, Tom Cox, East Bay coordinator Lou Alanko,  SFGB vice president Brian Mahoney, and Wallis Leslie, incoming leader training chair.  In the afternoon, participants took turns leading discussions on the three short stories.  The focus was on provocative questions, techniques for engaging all members in the discussion, and feedback from other group members.

The day's activities concluded with remarks by Barbara McConnell and enthusiastic evaluations by the participants.

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Colby this, Colby that!  What’s this “Colby” thing?

By Larry and Roberta Colin

Bookies everywhere should know of the existence of perhaps the best Great Books adventure anywhere in the United States east of Asilomar (including Palm Beach, Florida). Some 50 years ago, a handful of insightful readers from New England, New York and Pennsylvania conceived and organized an annual, week-long Great Books orgy to be held at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. The event has continued unabated with the same format established by the founding fathers. We have been attending the event for seven of the last eight years, as has several other Bay Area residents including Rick and Kay White.

The Colby College event is held the first full week of August every year. Next year it is scheduled for August 5-11, 2001. There is one reading per day, Monday through Saturday. Registration is on Sunday afternoon and the College ends Saturday after lunch. The attendees, ranging in number from 160 to 200, are divided into groups of 10 typically. Each group meets separately for the entire week for each discussion.  Only the leader changes. The groups meet for two hours each morning. The rest of the day is free.

A standing committee selects the readings each year.  First a theme is chosen (not always clear to the participants). For example, for 2000 the theme was Utopia. Then the readings were Utopia by Thomas More; Looking Backward ,by Edward Bellamy; Leviathan (Parts I and II) by Thomas Hobbes; “Supplement to Bougainville’s Voyage” by Denis Diderot, R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots) by Karol Capek, selections from the Bible’s “Book of Revelations” and selected poetry. The theme worked well to give the week coherence.

For 2001, the theme is “The Truth of Myth.” Readings are Images of Good and Evil by Martin Buber, Moby Dick by Herman Melville, Coriolanus  by Wm. Shakespeare,  Discussions at Tusculum  by Cicero, Fate by R.W. Emerson and  Flowers of Evil (“The Albatross,” “Man and the Sea,” and “The Voyage”) by Baudelaire.

Discussions adhere to the Great Books Rules of Shared Inquiry.  Outside sources are prohibited, although it is fair game to bring up the previous readings.

Announcements are sent out in January, and the readings are mailed when your registration is received. For 2001, the cost is $460 per person and includes room, food, books, great people, discussions and fun.  Participants stay in the Colby College dorms.

Free time is enjoyed in different ways. Every evening a no-host social event, the “Wachs Works,” takes place, including drinks, snacks and card games (Have you tried “Wizard”?  It’s great!). On Tuesday night, most attend a concert by the Portland Spring Quartet in the chapel (not to be missed). On Friday evening a Lobster Bake is held at the on-campus pond (weather permitting). During the week, videos and films related to the week’s theme are shown.

Our favorite free-time activity is a visit to an off-campus lakefront owned by Colby for an afternoon of swimming, reading and socializing. Some of us go for an evening to a Waterville restaurant for a wonderful double-lobster dinner.

West coasters are best flying to Boston, renting a car or hitching a ride with a participant, and driving to Waterville. It is two hours from Boston to Portland, then 1.5 more to Colby. This part of the drive should include a stop at the Freeport, Maine headquarters of L.L. Bean (open 24 hours), either coming or going. Shuttle flights from Boston to Portland are expensive. An alternative is to fly to Bangor, Maine then drive to Waterville. Although this is a shorter drive we have not tried it.

We usually spend a week after Colby exploring the Maine coast and its offshore islands or other New England sites.  If you have not done that, you must. 

All-in-all, we recommend the Colby experience highly to everyone. We have made fast friends who return year after year and whom we see only at Colby. First-timers easily make friends. Everyone is welcomed with open arms.

Join us this coming August!

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From Tom Cox

To the members of the Great Books Council:

I am deeply grateful for the experiences we have shared over the years, working and reading and discussing together.  A sense of comradeship and love has permeated our times; we have been comrades in our quest for insight and understanding, and our love of books has continued to inspire and bind us together.  Those bonds will not be broken, even though, out of necessity, I will no longer be active in Great Books.

However, I am confident Great Books will continue to grow and prosper.  There’s a new wave of youth and energy sweeping through the organization.  The recent training event turned out many who will develop into excellent leaders as well as workers in many of the jobs the organization needs to fill.

Live long and prosper!               -- Tom Cox

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News of Groups: Rossmoor – Morning, Noon, and Night

Rossmoor’s three groups held their first annual “Shady Glen Picnic” on August 5^th.  Readers enjoyed catering by Sunrise Bistro of Walnut Creek.   Brian Mahoney led a lively discussion of Lord Tennyson’s poem, “Ulysses.”  Ted and Joanna Kraus, leaders of the new evening Rossmoor group organized the event.

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Gary Schoepfel Promoted to GBF Vice President

RM has learned that Gary Schoepfel has been promoted by president Peter Temes to the number two position at the Great Books Foundation.  As adult program director, Gary assisted this Council in developing strategy and training discussion leaders. Now he is vice president, with responsibility for policy and external relations. Gary will travel extensively to advocate for Great Books programs with public and private officials and the public.

Taking Gary’s place is Don Whitfield. Mark Cwik will continue as Don’s right hand man.