July 10, 2006
My parlor
In my field, most people have had a least a passing introduction to Burke's notion of the parlor, where the conversation has been ongoing for years before we arrive and will continue for years after we leave.
I've had this idea for a long time about being the proprietress on an Inn, along the lines of the inn on the old Bob Newhart Show, but not as big, perhaps. An inn where guests come to stay, in a country setting, with plenty of room for gardening, and a small orchard, a pond, and some animals. An inn with a kitchen where I can cook, as I so love to do, for others. And an inn with a big library/study, the kind with books from floor to ceiling and tables and cozy chairs and stuff. In this library, I dream of having reading groups, discussions of literature and other texts for interested guests and locals.
These two ideas together got me thinking about the library/study as my own version of Burke's parlor. If I had such a room, and had the entire spectrum of thinkers and writers and philosophers available to be in it, who would I want to have there and why?
This seems somehow newly important as I begin the serious work of exam preparation. Of all I have read, and all I wish I had read but haven't yet, whose words send me to their other words in search of their wisdom? The list could be ever so long, so I'll start by asking you.
If you could invite any 5 people, writers, scholars, philosophers, etc., to an evening of parlor conversation, who would you invite, and why?
Posted by cageyer at 01:34 PM | Comments (0)