Dante Pilgrimage

From the Minister:

This is something new that will be happening weekly on Zoom, from Friday April 15th 2022. 

What will be happening is a Zoom reading of the whole of Dante's Comedy, to take place weekly, and extending until Friday 29th March 2024. The starting point of this timetable reflects the common critical opinion that Dante's journey begins on Good Friday. The end point reflects my own reading of the poem – of which more in due course!

Each session will begin at 8pm and last forty-five minutes. We’ll start with a reading of the canto - three lines in Italian to begin, three more Italian to end, and everything else in Robin Kirkpatrick's translation. Details of the recommended edition are below. If it is a struggle for anyone on this list to purchase the book, please contact me privately. 

There will never be any expectation that anyone has read the text in advance. The first ten minutes will go to reading the canto out loud. After that I'll usually do a brief intro, then we'll discuss together – perhaps in breakout rooms, depending on numbers.

The course of study stretches over two years, a journey of 104 weeks. That makes one week for each of the poem's 100 cantos, plus four weeks left over. We will take these 'rest weeks' at the points where Dante's own journey breaks, in Inferno 11 and Purgatorio 17. So in June 2022 we will pause at the point where Virgil says: "Slow it behoveth our descent to be, / So that the sense be first a little used / To the sad blast, and then we shall not heed it.". Like Virgil, we will find "some compensation", in the form of two talks on the Commedia by currrent Ph.D. candidates at KCL and UCL. We'll pause again in April 2023, where Dante reports feeling "the force within his legs compelled to halt". Dante says that "Although our feet must stop, your words need not.", and so there will be two more talks at this point.

Dante's poem has some claim to be considered the greatest work of literature ever written, and Dante wrote it intending and praying that the poem might help its readers along the path of salvation. That's also my prayer as we undertake this journey together - I hope you will join us!

Ewan

Inferno Paperback: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/196095/inferno/9780141393544.html
Inferno Hardback: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/354/35452/inferno--the-divine-comedy-i/9780141195872.html
Purgatorio Paperback: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/35453/purgatorio/9780140448962.html
Paradiso Paperback: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/35454/paradiso/9780140448979.html

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87179878823

Current schedule

  • Friday 15th April 2022 Inferno 1
  • Friday 22nd April 2022 Inferno 2
  • Friday 29th April 2022 Inferno 3
  • Friday 6th May 2022 Inferno 4
  • Friday 13th May 2022 Inferno 5
  • Friday 20th May 2022 Inferno 6
  • Friday 27th May 2022 Inferno 7
  • Friday 3rd June 2022 Inferno 8
  • Friday 10th June 2022 Inferno 9
  • Friday 17th June 2022 Inferno 10
  • Friday 24th June 2022 Inferno 11
  • Friday 1st July 2022 ‘alcun compenso’: Laura (tbc)
  • Friday 8th July 2022 ‘alcun compenso’: Ed (tbc)
  • Friday 15th July 2022 Inferno 12
  • Friday 22nd July 2022 Inferno 13
  • Friday 29th July 2022 Inferno 14
  • Friday 5th August 2022 Inferno 15
  • Friday 12th August 2022 Inferno 16
  • Friday 19th August 2022 Inferno 17
  • Friday 26th August 2022 Inferno 18
  • Friday 26th August 2022 Inferno 19
  • Friday 2nd September 2022 Inferno 20
  • Friday 9th September 2022 Inferno 21
  • Friday 16th September 2022 Inferno 22
  • Friday 23rd September 2022 Inferno 23
  • Friday 30th September 2022 Inferno 24
  • Friday 7th October 2022 Inferno 25
  • Friday 14th October 2022 Inferno 26
  • Friday 21st October 2022 Inferno 27
  • Friday 28th October 2022 Inferno 28
  • Friday 4th November 2022 Inferno 29
  • Friday 11th November 2022 Inferno 30
  • Friday 18th November 2022 Inferno 31
  • Friday 25th November 2022 Inferno 32
  • Friday 2nd December 2022 Inferno 33
  • Friday 9th December 2022 Inferno 34
  • Friday 16th December 2022 Purgatory 1
  • Friday 23th December 2022 Purgatory 2
  • Friday 30th December 2022 Purgatory 3
  • Friday 6th January 2023 Purgatory 4
  • Friday 13th January 2023 Purgatory 5
  • Friday 20th January 2023 Purgatory 6
  • Friday 27th January 2023 Purgatory 7
  • Friday 3rd February 2023 Purgatory 8
  • Friday 10th February 2023 Purgatory 9
  • Friday 17th February 2023 Purgatory 10
  • Friday 24th February 2023 Purgatory 11
  • Friday 3rd March 2023 Purgatory 12
  • Friday 10th March 2023 Purgatory 13
  • Friday 17th March 2023 Purgatory 14
  • Friday 24th March 2023 Purgatory 15
  • Friday 31st March 2023 Purgatory 16
  • Friday 7th April 2023 Purgatory 17
  • Friday 14th April 2023 ‘si i piè si stanno’
  • Friday 21st April 2023 ‘si i piè si stanno’
  • Friday 28th April 2023 Purgatory 18
  • Friday 5th May 2023 Purgatory 19
  • Friday 12th May 2023 Purgatory 20
  • Friday 19th May 2023 Purgatory 21
  • Friday 26th May 2023 Purgatory 22
  • Friday 2nd June 2023 Purgatory 23
  • Friday 9th June 2023 Purgatory 24
  • Friday 16th June 2023 Purgatory 25
  • Friday 23rd June 2023 Purgatory 26
  • Friday 30th June 2023 Purgatory 27
  • Friday 7th July 2023 Purgatory 28
  • Friday 14th July 2023 Purgatory 29
  • Friday 21th July 2023 Purgatory 30
  • Friday 28th July 2023 Purgatory 31
  • Friday 4th August 2023 Purgatory 32
  • Friday 11th August 2023 Purgatory 33
  • Friday 18th August 2023 Paradise 1
  • Friday 25th August 2023 Paradise 2
  • Friday 1st September 2023 Paradise 3
  • Friday 8th September 2023 Paradise 4
  • Friday 15th September 2023 Paradise 5
  • Friday 22nd September 2023 Paradise 6
  • Friday 29th September 2023 Paradise 7
  • Friday 6th October 2023 Paradise 8
  • Friday 13th October 2023 Paradise 9
  • Friday 20th October 2023 Paradise 10
  • Friday 27th October 2023 Paradise 11
  • Friday 3rd November 2023 Paradise 12
  • Friday 10th November 2023 Paradise 13
  • Friday 17th November 2023 Paradise 14
  • Friday 24th November 2023 Paradise 15
  • Friday 1st December 2023 Paradise 16
  • Friday 8th December 2023 Paradise 17
  • Friday 15th December 2023 Paradise 18
  • Friday 22nd December 2023 Paradise 19
  • Friday 29th December 2023 Paradise 20
  • Friday 5th January 2024 Paradise 21
  • Friday 12th January 2024 Paradise 22
  • Friday 19th January 2024 Paradise 23
  • Friday 26th January 2024 Paradise 24
  • Friday 2nd February 2024 Paradise 25
  • Friday 9th February 2024 Paradise 26
  • Friday 16th February 2024 Paradise 27
  • Friday 23rd February 2024 Paradise 28
  • Friday 1st March 2024 Paradise 29
  • Friday 8th March 2024 Paradise 30
  • Friday 15th March 2024 Paradise 31
  • Friday 22nd March 2024 Paradise 32
  • Friday 29th March 2024 Paradise 33
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