[Greek2017] Welcome to the Greek Plays reading Odyssey discussion group

Tue Feb 7 03:42:08 UTC 2017

Hi, I was inspired by Fagles' translation of the Iliad, along with Pinsky's translation of the Inferno (which had the Italian on the facing page) to try to learn Ancient Greek.  I can't say I ever succeeded, but I've had fun trying.

I am glad Elizabeth remembers that I introduced her to Reading Odyssey, because I can't remember how I learned about it.  But it's been a godsend for me, making me read things I might not have tried, and giving me the benefit of perspectives that never would have occurred to me on my own.

Sent from my iPad

On Feb 6, 2017, at 1:36 PM, Phil Terry <pterry at collaborativegain.com<mailto:pterry at collaborativegain.com>> wrote:

Hey everyone,

Love these intros. Please keep going.

I’ll just say briefly that 10+ years ago I suggested to my closest friend, Pat Wictor, that we start reading the classics again (we had done some of these in college together) and that we really attempt to tackle the whole list before we die (we started at about age 40 and figured we had about 40 years of reading or so - maybe more).

It’s been a great odyssey and I’m excited to be returning to the Greeks for these plays before we tackle Caesar later this year.

I’ll also note that in addition to being a terrific moderator and classicist, Andre is my cousin. I’m grateful to  him for all he does to help lead our groups!

Best,

Phil

On Feb 6, 2017, at 12:54 PM, Mark Casey <markcasey at gmail.com<mailto:markcasey at gmail.com>> wrote:

Hi, book-mates,

My name is Mark Casey. I met Phil in business school, and participated in Reading Odyssey discussion groups about Thucydides and Herodotus. (Hi, Andre!)  I live in the SF Bay area and will occasionally have two young boys (ages 8 and 6) in the car with me during the latter half of the call. I'll do my best to mute the gun noises they make.

Mark

On Mon, Feb 6, 2017 at 9:37 AM Elizabeth Bernhardt <ebernhardt at cohengresser.com<mailto:ebernhardt at cohengresser.com>> wrote:

And also, I want to thank Scott Thomson for introducing me to this group.

From: Elizabeth Bernhardt
Sent: Monday, February 06, 2017 12:34 PM
To: 'Bill Swislow'; Andre Stipanovic
Cc: greek2017 at readingodyssey.org<mailto:greek2017 at readingodyssey.org>
Subject: RE: [Greek2017] Welcome to the Greek Plays reading Odyssey discussion group

Dear fellow readers,

I am Elizabeth Bernhardt.  I’m a former prosecutor, now a lawyer in private practice, and for many years I’ve been a part-time law instructor, in New York City.  I started reading Greek and Roman literature (in translation) in high school and continued while an undergraduate English major.  I also read classics while a doctoral student in English specializing in the Tudor Renaissance, which was highly influenced by Roman literature, in particular Quintilian.   (This was before law school.)

I’m so grateful to have a chance to read the classics with you all in an informal way.

All the best,

Elizabeth

From: Greek2017 [mailto:greek2017-bounces at readingodyssey.org] On Behalf Of Bill Swislow
Sent: Monday, February 06, 2017 11:43 AM
To: Andre Stipanovic
Cc: greek2017 at readingodyssey.org<mailto:greek2017 at readingodyssey.org>
Subject: Re: [Greek2017] Welcome to the Greek Plays reading Odyssey discussion group

Hi everyone,

I’ve been on calls with the Reading Odyssey for some years now. I began reading the classics on my own before that after noticing for years how important they were to the evolution of our civilization but how few I had been taught in my own education. Reading with the group has made them more engaging and impactful. I’m a former journalist, a founder and former exec at Cars.com<http://cars.com/>, and a collector of self-taught/outsider art. I do consulting now on digital media, teach occasional classes at Northwestern University’s journalism school and operate the Web site interestingideas.com<http://interestingideas.com/>.

Bill

William Swislow
bill at swislow.com<mailto:bill at swislow.com>
312-286-3486<tel:(312)%20286-3486>

On Feb 5, 2017, at 6:14 PM, Andre Stipanovic <AStipanovic at hockaday.org<mailto:AStipanovic at hockaday.org>> wrote:

Dear fellow Greek Plays readers,

Welcome to our Reading Odyssey discussion group.  My name is Andre Stipanovic and I will be your moderator each month on our conference call discussions.  I have been working with Phil Terry and Pat Wictor on and off for almost 15 years now as a participant and as a moderator in these discussion groups.  I have enjoyed reading and re-reading some of the most influential books in literature with them and others like you.  Now, with this new edition of Greek tragedies, I am looking forward to an in-depth reading of these plays with you and enriched with guest scholars like James Romm.

My interest in the Classics started with a “production” of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar in 6th grade, in which I helped to assassinate Caesar!  I love learning more about the history and culture of the ancient world, and have been fortunate to have shared my passion for the Classics in the classroom with my students for over 20 years.  Every summer I make time to explore a different and new area of the ancient world.  Last summer, I devoted my time to learning more about letter writing and the epistolary genre of Greek and Roman literature.  My other interests and hobbies include camping, music, and chess.

In order to get to know one another a little better, I would like to encourage you also to share something about yourself with the rest of the group.  Let us know what makes you keen on reading the Classics and what you hope to get out of this experience.  Just reply to all with a little bit about yourself.

Talk with you soon!

Andre

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