Please note the library will close at 12:30pm on Fri 12/13 and will be closed Tues 12/24 - Wed 1/1.

BROWSE

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PROGRAMS / READING GROUPS / The Examined Life

This group continues the Socratic dictum by examining the concept of friendship.

OVERVIEW

What is a friend? How many do we have? What is our responsibility to them? And they to us? Our readings this year will span the literature from Aristotle to contemporary poets.

MEETING AND READING SCHEDULE

This reading group meets on the fourth Wednesday of the month in the Athenæum’s Bound, from 5:30-7pm. Please note, there is no December meeting.

Wed, September 25
Friendship (Nicomachean Ethics Book 8) , Aristotle; “Us Two”, A.A. Milne

Wed, October 23
“Friendship”, Ralph Waldo Emerson; “Alone”, Maya Angelou,

Wed, November 27
“Mending Wall”, Robert Frost; “Ubuntu”

Wed, January 22
“Fellowship”, Franz Kafka; “Old Friend”, Edgar A. Guest

Wed, February 26
“True Friendship”, Pascal Pensées; Telemachus, Friend, O. Henry

Wed, March 26
“On Friendship”, Kahlil Gibran; This Other Eden, Paul Harding

Wed, April 23
The Friend, Sigrid Nunez

Wed, May 28
The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

GROUP FACILITATOR

The Examined Life Discussion Group is curated and led by Robert Allio, an Athenæum member with a continuing interest in the humanities.

This group has reached capacity. To be added to a waitlist, please email readinggroups@provath.org with EXAMINED LIFE as the subject line.

The Athenæum is deeply grateful to our wonderful volunteer leaders. Please note library reading groups are not classes or courses, but rather a way for individuals to discuss readings together, guided by both expert and amateur enthusiasts. Participants should expect discussion-based, not lecture-style meetings.