Apologies for the delay this month. I aim to get this out the middle of each month. I don't always manage it.

TODAY IN LITERATURE

Haiti, healing through words
Like Joseph Conrad (see this month's quote), the written word is having its way in and about Haiti. I would like to pass along several items brought to my attention by Nadine Pinede, a scholar of French and English literature, a researcher, a poet, an artist, and a senior executive at Indiana University. Coming from a Haitian background, Nadine has been affected in a deeply personal way by last month's earthquake in her homeland. We include this month a National Public Radio broadcast of Nadine Pinede reading several poems she felt called to write. We also include a bibliography of Haitian literature provided by Nadine, and an article she encouraged me to include in this message to our Classical Pursuits family.

Haiti, healing through action
George Fontana, our incredible walking guide in Key West last month, took off immediately after our trip on a cruise that was scheduled to stop at Labadie, Haiti. George was understandably uneasy about arriving on a cruise ship as thousands were desperate for the necessities of life close by. However, his story of how how he and shipmates turned an awkward situation into an opportunity to help is a bit of good news in this enormous tragedy. George said he would honoured to have his piece included.

Click here to hear Nadine read her poetry, to view the bibliography of Haitian literature and to read about George's mission of mercy.

FEATURED TRIPS

Rough Love in a Rugged Land: Wuthering Heights in Cornwall
Over the last while, I have heard from some of you asking about the curious choice of reading for our spring trip Rough Love in a Rugged Land: Wuthering Heights in Cornwall. Both Gary Schoepfel, the discussion leader on our last trip to Cornwall, In Search of Arthur, and I agreed that the little fishing village of Looe, the lovely Trehaven Inn and our walking guide Mark Camp, merited a return visit. But what to read? It was Gary's idea to transplant Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights from rugged Yorkshire to similarly rugged Cornwall.

To let you know what a great time you are in for, I asked Craig and Connie Walley of Columbus, Ohio, to share some impressioins from their 2008 experience. I have also been in correspondence with our Blue Badge walking guide Mark Camp. To get a good idea of how this trip is coming together, read what both the Walleys and Mark have to say, click here.

Rocking the Cradle of Civilization: Egypt, then and now
Sometimes in planning a Classical Pursuits trip, there is a subject that is so large that it is hard to know where to begin or how to get a handle on the big picture. Egypt is a case in point. With respect to Ancient Egypt, we are fortunate to have a terrific King Tut show currently on exhibit at the Art Gallery of Ontario. It is accompanied by an excellent educational program. This provided a perfect opportunity to gather with local friends of Classical Pursuits for the inaugural talk, "Tutankhamun in context: the political and religious landscapes of Amarna and Thebes," and to chat afterward over a glass of wine.

The talk helped me situate the golden king in the vast sweep of Egyptian history. He ruled for only 9 years during the 18th dynasty and the Middle Kingdom, a long 1200 years after the Pyramids at Giza were built. I now know that King Tut's signficance stems from his reversal of the unpopular religious revolution waged by his father Akhenaten. Akhenaten had abandonned traditional Eygptian polytheism in favour of a single god. Tut restored the pantheon of gods and moved the capital from Amarna back to Thebes.

The artifacts on exhibit in Toronto are stunning, and it is fascinating to study the history of Ancient Egypt (the British Museum site on Ancient Egypt is particularly friendly and helpful), but there is no substitute for being there. I had plans to travel to Egypt nearly 30 years ago. It didn't happen, but my keeness has never waned. I am much looking forward to Cairo, to the Aswan Damn, our 4-day cruise on the Nile, and the new library in Alexandria.

But perhaps what excites me most is our visit to the complex of the Luxor (ancient Thebes) and Karnak, the world's greatest open air museum, nestled on both sides of the Nile River. Temples and tombs, the Avenue of the Sphinxes, the Valley of the Kings, the Valley of the Queens, the gigantic statues of the Colossi of Memnon -- it is impossible to imagine. With everthing going virtual these days and the inconveniences of flying, I need to ask myself why I want to "be there." Yes, we will learn much from our Egyptologist guide. But something else piques my eagerness, something to do with the senses. I want to see and feel, touch and smell both the immense scale and the delicate beauty of these ancient monuments. I want to get a better sense of how the structures were constructed and how they feel in relation to one another, something one cannot do with even the best photographs. And then there will be the as yet unknown ways these ancient stones and the human hands that created them or are venerated by them will speak to me across the millennia. I will be listening.

There is also modern Egypt and how we chose the books we will discuss, where we will go and whom we will meet. But I will leave that for another day. Learn more about Rocking the Cradle of Civilization: Egypt then and now.

THE INSTALLMENT PLAN

Back to "Bartleby the Scrivener." Bartleby is one of the first great stories of corporate discontent. The description of the office is incredibly bleak, and the landscape of Wall Street is completely unnatural. The work environment is sterile and cheerless. Yet most adapt to it, with varying degrees of success. The modern economy includes constant and unfeeling change, which comes at a cost. The story asks perennial questions: Should there be limits to our will to help a man, if his life is at stake? Is writing off a suffering man by saying he's responsible for himself only a way to excuse our own lack of compassion? This month we include the second of three installments. You can also go back to the first installment if you missed it. Bartleby will be discussed this July at Toronto Pursuits along with works of Kafka and Conrad, Strange Episodes and Awakenings.

CLASSICAL TRIVIA!

Gustav Mahler's music was not very popular in his lifetime. Mahler predicted, however, that "my time will come." His time has come indeed. CBC Radio broadcast veteran Rick Phillips will be indulging his passion for Mahler in a variety of settings over the next anniversary year, starting in mid-June with a trip to Ottawa for a performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 8 (Symphony of a Thousand) with the National Arts Orchestra, conducted by Yannick Nezet-Seguin, the hot young Montrealer now taking Europe by storm. Then in July, Rick will be at Toronto Pursuits with Gustav Mahler - Musical mastermind, mystical myth or misguided misfit?. In the fall of 2011, Rick will escort a group to Vienna and Salzburg for more Mahler on his home turf. We listened to quite a lot of Mahler in Venice this past March as part of our Death in Venice program. Luchino Visconti used the Adagietto from Symphony No. 5 to great effect in his film adaptation. What do you know about about Mr. Mahler? Take the San Francisco Symphony's Mahler Trivia Quiz and find out.

UPCOMING EVENTS

I will be on the road the last half of April and will be taking part in two venerable Great Books events. (See below for details.) If you plan to be at either event, please send me a quick email and let's see if we can organize a little get together of some kind! If you haven't travelled with us but are interested, let me know and we can set aside some time to chat.

Asilomar Great Books Weekend
The Great Books Council of San Francisco will be presenting its 50th! annual Asilomar Great Books Weekend, April 16 - 18. The readings include a selection of poetry, Beloved by Toni Morrison, Copenhagen by Michael Frayn and "Idols of the Mind" by Francis Bacon. Nestled along the shoreline of California's famed Monterey Peninsula, Asilomar is a tranquil ocean front retreat cradled by forests and white sand beaches. This will be my first time at Asilomar and I will be sharing a room with a San Franciscan, Dawne Bernhardt.

Great Books Chicago
The great Great Books Chicago is another annual spring event, organized by Gary Schoepfel, (veteran leader at Toronto Pursuits and leader for this year's trip to Cornwall) that takes place from April 30 - May 2. The theme this year is "Difficult Gifts." It is a wonderfully full program, combinging discussion of three texts with great exposure to Chicago's culture and cuisine. This year's readings are The Scarlett Letter by Nathanial Hawthorne, "Sorrow Acre" by Isak Dineson and Endgame by Samuel Beckett. Participants will enjoy a performance of Samuel Beckett's Endgame by Steppenwolf Theatre Company. I look forward to returning to Great Books Chicago after an absence of several years.

Santa Fe gathering
I will be in New Mexico to plan a bespoke student/faculty trip for a school in Albuquerque and to sort out some details for our return trip to Santa Fe this September, The American Southwest: The power of place. I hope to host a little gathering in Santa Fe on Sunday, April 25. It's a good chance to learn more about Classical Pursuits and our style of travel and to meet people who have travelled with us. If you are in the area and would like to join us, let me know at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT TORONTO PURSUITS!

As some of you may know, the harmonized provincial and federal sales tax (HST) comes into effect on July 1, 2010. Any fees for this year's Toronto Pursuits program fully paid by April 30 are exempt from the full HST. Effective May 1, all program fees must increase to cover the new tax. All fees are subject to the current goods and services tax (GST) of 5%, but by acting before the end of April, you will save 8% since the new HST will be a whopping 13%. Seminars are filling quickly, so to avoid being disappointed (and to save a few bucks) I encourage you to register now. You will find all the details at Toronto Pursuits.

To quote, with great admiration and full attribution, Garrison Keillor..."Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.^"

Ave atque vale,