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Doubles, doppelgängers and split personalities
It’s my turn to set the Culture Club agenda (we rotate this around the group). I’ve chosen as my theme: Doubles, Doppelgangers and Split Personalities, and we’re going to be looking at the following works: The Confessions and Private Memoirs of a Justified Sinner, by James Hogg (Novel) The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar…
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Culture Club: Theme for May – July 2011
This month we’ve chosen works that were all published or released in a specific year: 1925. And what a year. In fact the variety of works is quite a surprise. Here’s what we’ll be looking at. The Great Gatsby (novel) – F. Scott Fitzgerald The Trial (novel) – Franz Kafka Mrs Dalloway (novel) – Virginia…
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Culture Club: Theme for February – March 2011
For this month’s Culture Club we’re focusing on the writer Laurence Sterne: The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman – Laurence Sterne (novel) A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy – Laurence Sterne (novel) I’m late posting this so I’m half way through the book as I write. The truth is I’m hating it,…
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Culture Club: Theme for May – July 2010
Well, it’s been a long time since I updated the Culture Club blog. There’s been a big gap between meetings, but the Culture Club is still going, have no fear. This time we’ve decided on a Mexican theme for the works we’re looking at. Why? No reason, it just seemed to fall into place when…
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Culture Club: Theme for January – February 2010
January – February 2010 Happy new year to all Culture Club readers! This month we’re looking at some of the greatest poetry in the English language, and some other works that relate to it. Here’s the list: The Sonnets – William Shakespeare (poems) The Portrait of Mr W.H. – Oscar Wilde (short story) Nothing Like the…
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Culture Club: Theme for August – September 2009
August – September 2009 The theme this month is Revenge. Obviously there are many works to choose from with this theme, but I think we’ve come up with an interesting list. There’s quite a breadth of material here too, stretching from Elizabethan to contemporary works. As always, I’m looking forward to the forthcoming discussions. The…
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Culture Club: Theme for June-July 2009
June-July 2009 The theme this month is hell, heaven and the garden of eden. Inferno – Dante Alighieri (poem) Paradise Lost – John Milton (poem) The Creation – Music by Joseph Haydn, text by Gottfried van Swieten after John Milton’s Paradise Lost (Oratorio)
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The Culture Club: Theme for March-May 2009
March-May 2009 This time we’re looking at the Don’s – Giovanni and Juan (although we’re saving Quixote for a future session). These two are based on the same story, the legend of Don Juan, which probably first saw light of day as the play El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra (The Trickster of…
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The Culture Club: Theme for January-February 2009
The theme for these two months is Samuel Johnson, plus a bit of Schubert. Apparently these two were Samuel Beckett’s favourite artists (but that’s a coincidence). There’s a lot of stuff here, so we’re allowed to skim the Boswell for the best bits about Johnson! Samuel Johnson The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia (prose)…
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The Hitchcock Blonde
I’ve just discovered (how did it take so long?) a brilliant culture blogger named Molly Flatt. She writes with great wit and style about all aspects of the arts and literature on her blog Hitchcock Blonde, as well as contributing to the Guardian Books Blog. Here’s a taster of her fine prose: In my imagination,…