This is picking up on Norman's excellent, thought-provoking column (read it if you haven't!). I saw the movie on Friday, and I'd be interested to hear what the rest of you thought, if you've seen it. Or let's talk about the book. Or we could discuss some of the broader issues Norman raises. Are the Gospels radical or conservative? Does Jesus's teaching (as opposed to, perhaps Paul's, or that of the later church) empower women or suppress them? Or in terms of people more generally, is it liberating or constraining? For DaVinciites (and Gnostics), what do we do with non-canonical "scripture," like the gospels of Philip or Mary, or such weird works as "Thunder, Perfect Mind"? Is the Bible a closed book (as Revelation states categorically), or can it be supplemented, added to, reinterpreted? From a literary perspective, are medieval mystery plays, or Paradise Lost, or the dozens of novelistic retellings of the gospels (by Nikos Kazantzakis, Jose Saramago, Robert Graves, Sholem Asch, Nino Ricci, and others) something we ought to read alongside the Bible?
By the way, if you're interested in literary responses to the Bible, there is a wonderful 2-volume anthology of poetry called "Chapters into Verse." Our Bromfield library has a copy.
Pick a question, or invent one of your own. Let's hear from you!
HH
OK, April was poetry month. But why shouldn't May be too! I don't know if you caught this in your radar, but this year is the fiftieth anniversary of Allen Ginsberg's poem, "Howl." If you don't know it, "Howl" is a remarkable poem, intentionally offensive, extremely powerful, yet full of literary tradition in all sorts of ways (look for influences of Whitman and the book of Jeremiah). Here's a story on the poem from the Boston Globe http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2006/04/30/the_legend_of_howl/?page=full. I noticed, by the way, that the book of essays the author mentions is for sale in our local Barnes and Noble. For the poem itself (too long to paste here -- sorry Sarah!), see http://www.wussu.com/poems/agh.htm.
What do you think of the poem? Still powerful, or just outdated hype? Can poetry still makes its way anywhere near the center of our culture, or has the medium been rendered obsolete by movies, TV, and webstuff? Is there a "Howl" for the current generation? Is there even a current generation? (In the 50s it was the Beats; is there a movement for today?)
I feel the need to bring back from the dead the thread that Hamlin
had started way back in winter about what kinds of classes we
(students) would like to take. The suggestions last time included
Sarah suggesting more creative writing classes across varied
genres--let’s not forget that Bob Gibson IS doing a 200-level
creative writing of non-fiction class in the fall, a poetry writing
class that Monica suggested based off her prior experience with it
in Columbus--which I would certainly enjoy as it might allow me to
actually write something poetic that's worthwhile, and my own suggestion of
increased variety across the literature offerings.
What prompted the resuscitation of this thread is that I have very little
time to devote to recreational reading. I was recently exposed to a
small portion of Moby Dick and realized that due to length I could
never complete it while attending classes. Entire classes devoted to
novels that are too lengthy to only spend a couple of weeks on
would be perfect for that. My vote then is for a Moby Dick class.
I’m curious to see what the rest of you might suggest for not only
new classes but also grand novels to focus entire classes on.