Greetings Close Readers,
Happy New Year! I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to get another email sent out. As you know if you’ve been listening to the show, my whole family came down with a doozy of a flu bug so we were in and out of consciousness for about ten days. And that means, of course, that I got behind on just about everything. But here we are, once again: healthy, catching up, and ready for a great 2020 of happy reading.
Which brings me to some Big News. In June, we’ll be hosting our first ever Close Reads Retreat! It will be something of a cross between what you hear on the podcast and the Summer Institute retreat that CiRCE has been hosting for the last few years. We hear from people all the time about how they want more CR events, and we’re going to give it a shot.
So in June, we’re going to gather at the Chetola Resort in Blowing Rock, NC for a week with Port William Township, Wendell Berry’s wonderful creation. By chatting about three of his short novels, two of his classic essays, and five of his poems (a sort of live edition of The Daily Poem), we’ll look to get at the heart of Berry’s vision for contemporary life. Here’s our graphic for the event:
Together we will revel in his vision for place, delight in a few of the characters he presents (especially in the Catlett, Coulter, and Beechum clans), and wrestle with the ideas he proposes. And along the way, we’ll enjoy good food, friendships new and old, and a beautiful spot in the North Carolina mountains.
Join us! This event is limited to around 15 people, but we can be flexible for people who are willing to share rooms. The registration fee covers lodging, food for almost all of the meals (including a banquet dinner), and the event itself. See you there!
Oh, and check this out. Our very own Kirstie Ruffatto created this thanks to her expertise in print-making. If that doesn’t get you excited . . .
Crime and Punishment for Patreon Supporters
Are you gearing up for our Patreon-exclusive series on Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment? The first episode is dropping through Patreon the week of 1/27 and we can’t wait to discuss this classic, wonderful, difficult, dark, beloved, magisterial book with you. It’s not too late to sign up for access. If you love the show, it’s worth it for you AND for us. Your support through Patreon is how the contributors and editors get paid for their time, and how we pay for all the various hosting fees that go into the network.
In case you missed it, here’s the reading schedule for the series:
Reminders
ICYMI or need a reminder:
Here’s the whole 2020 schedule with Amazon affiliate links and so forth.
You can sign up for (or give the gift of) Audible and support the show at the same time.
We just launched a new podcast hosted by Noah Teztner (The History of Vikings), called Victoria’s World that is all about the history of the Victorian Era in England and it’s fascinating and you should listen to it post-haste. 3 of the 15 episodes are up. Check it out here or wherever you get pods.
The Play’s the Thing will be back in February with all five episodes of a series on As You Like It (one of my very favorite plays).
Up next: J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye. Reading schedule coming soon!
Well that about covers it. Thanks for being great.
Happy reading,
David and the CR crew