Mission

Bibliophiliac is the space where one passionate, voracious reader reflects on books and the reading life. You will find reviews, analysis, links, and reflections on poetry and prose both in and out of the mainstream.

A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us. Franz Kafka

Friday, February 4, 2011

The Literary Blog Hop February 2-5





The Literary Blog Hop, hosted by The Blue Bookcase, has a thought-provoking question this week (from Robyn of You Think Too Much):


What setting (time or place) from a book or novel would you most like to visit?  Eudora Welty said that "Being shown how to locate, to place, any account is what does most toward making us believe it..." so in what location would you most like to hang out?

I'd like to see the wine dark sea of Homer, sail with Odysseus, see a Cyclops, be dazzling enough to tempt or anger the gods, and watch Calypso work her magic.  Ancient Greece is fascinating, and I am filled with curiosity about the lives of the Ancient Greeks.  What was it like to live in this land of astonishing beauty, to witness the Dionysian festivals, the great tragedies, the birth of all drama? What would it be like to hear Socrates ask questions in Athens? Life and art, humans and gods, drama and ritual, all come together in a brilliant and powerful way in the place I'd like to visit.

5 comments:

@parridhlantern said...

To be at the whim of the Gods, to be turned to stone, a monster,or some plant matter, because the wrong God fancied you, because another God was jealous, or just peed off. I shall take my rest at Alexandria, & read of your travails, from the great Library, whilst discussing its meaning with all the poets & scholars, and over a simple repast will philosophize the hidden agendas off the gods.

Deb Nance at Readerbuzz said...

Yes, this sounds lovely, but I'm not sure it would be quite so lovely to be a woman in this world.

Here's my post: http://readerbuzz.blogspot.com/2011/02/blog-hop-where-in-world.html

MissA said...

Oooo nice choice. Not that I've read The Odessey, but I own it and intend to read it over the summmer. To meet some of the greatest thinkers ever, to see the Gods, would be amazing. And visitng Athens where my favorite color is celebrated? priceless ;)

I would love to visit the Harlem Renassiance from Nella Larsen's Passing. Or the elegant parties of Gatsby. Ignoring the racisim, I would want to attend a dinner party with Langton Hughes, Countee Culleen, Nella Larsen, Zora Neale Hurston, James Weldon Johnson, Ida B. Wells, etc. Things were happening in Harlem! To see the amazing literary, artisitc and fashon contributions coming out of Harlem would be phenomenal.

I just want to go to Gatsby's parties to have fun =D

Anonymous said...

I absolutely agree! Ancient Greece is fascinating. I loved all the mythology. I was fortunate to visit parts of Greece and it is an amazing place if you haven't been there. So many old ruins and temples to explore.

Anonymous said...

Oh, the Greece of the Odyssey--excellent choice! I would certainly love to do so, but would like to try a life more like Athena or Artemis than some of the poor women who end up kidnapped or worse!