These events are separately run and operated. Please reach out to the specified event contact for assistance.
Join us for a day of Zoom discussions of two criticallay acclaimed novels.
In the morning, we will discuss Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson. Published in 1980 this debut novel was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and awarded the PEN/Hemingway Award for best first novel.***************************************
Your $40 fee covers mailing new copies of both books, which will be sent promptly upon receipt of your registration. Please send this form, with your check made out to Philadelphia Great Books Council, to John J. Munk, 82-28 250 Street, Bellerose, New York 11426-2524. For more information, contact him by email at johnjmunk@verizon.net or at 718-347-7815 or Susan Odessey at sodessey5759@gmail.com or at 215-327-1691. The registration deadline is April 28, 2025.
Readings for discussion Friday, Saturday, and Sunday:
Friday Evening: Foster
by Claire Keegan
Saturday Morning: The Bear
by William Faulkner
Saturday Morning; The Lover
by Marguerite Duras
Sunday Morning: The Last Samurai
by Helen DeWitt
This year, we are returning to Pendle Hill
Pendle Hill Information
, a twenty-four acre
Quaker retreat, west of Philadelphia, midway
between Swathmore and Media. Pendle Hill has
slightly raised their rates, and we responded
accordingly:
All rooms and buildings are non-smoking.
provide Alcohol is not served, but BYOB is allowed in
individual guest rooms and private rented spaces. We will
provide libations for Saturday night’s social activity. Parking
and WiFi are complimentary. There are no televisions.
Check-In is Friday after 3:00 pm; rooms are available after 4:00 pm.
Currently, no Covid restrictions apply. Yet, we will adhere to up-to-date
protocol recommendations from the CDC and Pennsylvania.
Accommodations: There are six rooming houses. A few offer en suite bathrooms while most share
family style.
For more information please consult:
Preparing for your stay and
Campus-Accessibility-2023.
Food, for the most part, is made from scratch, with organic fruits and vegetables
used extensively. All meals include gluten free and vegetarian and vegan options.
The kitchen can offer plain chicken or tofu, boiled eggs, tuna, or hummus:
Dining Room Meals.
Travel: The facility is within a 10-20 minute walk of the SEPTA Regional Rail in
Wallingford which travels along the Media Wawa Line into Philadelphia, as well as the SEPTA
trolley which goes to the Springfield Mall, 69th Street, and Philly along the 101 Route.
For other travel directions, consult: Pendle Hill Directions.
Local attractions include the walking path at Pendle Hill, the stunning Swarthmore College
campus, and the quaint towns of Swarthmore and Media with their cafes, restaurants and shops.
On Friday evening, we will explore Claire Keegan‘s novella, Foster.
It portrays young girl in County Wexford, Ireland being sent to live with foster parents on a farm
while her mother gives birth. Keegan’s narrative has received acclaim, winning the 2009 Davy
Byrne's Irish Writing Award.
On Saturday morning, we will explore William Faulkner’s classic novella, The Bear.
This work traces a young man’s development in the context of an annual hunting trip, as well as
his later attempts to reckon with his family’s fraught history of racial and other abuses.
On Saturday afternoon, we will look at another classic, The Lover, by
Marguerite Duras. This semi-autobiographical novella relates the story of a young French girl’s affair
with a wealthy Chinese man in 1920’s colonial Vietnam. It explores themes of love, desire, and power
dynamics, and is known for its lyrical prose and evocative portrayal of a forbidden romance.
On Sunday morning, we will address a highly acclaimed contemporary novel,
The Last Samurai, a first novel by American writer Helen DeWitt. It explores
the relationship between a single mother, Sibylla, an American expatriate, who works as a
freelance typist, and her son, Ludo, who live to-gether in a small flat in London. From a young age,
Ludo proves to be a child prodigy who embarks on a quest to find his father.
As a substitute for a male influence in his upbringing, Sibylla plays him Akira Kurosawa's
Seven Samurai, which he comes to know by heart. This novel was shortlisted for
the 2002 International Dublin Literary Award and the Los Angeles Times’ 2001 Art Seidenbaum
Award for First Fiction, and was longlisted for the 2001 Orange Prize for Fiction.
Saturday, October 5, 2024
2:00 - 4:30 pm EST
A Virtual Experience via Zoom.
In this brilliant reconsideration of what fostered the rise of fascism and anti-Semitism in twentieth-century Europe, Frederick Brown chronicles the intense struggle for the soul of a nation.
Émile Zola's J'accuse will be emailed to you.Saturday, February 1, 2025
2:00 - 4:30 pm EST
A Virtual Experience via Zoom.
Swann in Love is part of Proust's monumental masterpiece In Search of Lost Time. This new translation, by Brian Nelson, serves as a perfect introduction to his writing.
Sunday, February 2, 2025
2:00 - 4:30 pm EST
A Virtual Experience via Zoom.
Colette skillfully portrays her characters’ shifting inner lives and desires amid a clear-eyed depiction of interpersonal power dynamics.
Thursday - Sunday, May 1 - 4 2025
A Virtual Experience via Zoom.
Camus' profoundly disturbing novel of a Parisian lawyer's confessions is a searing study of modern amorality.
No Exit is an unforgetable existential portrayal of Hell in Sartre's best-known play we are focusing on. The three other plays are not included in this discussion.
The Years is a personal narrative of the period 1941 to 2006 told through the lens of memory, impressions past and present—even projections into the future.
The Occupation Trilogy contains the three brilliant, angry novels of the wartime series. Our focus is on The Night Watch, the second novel in the trilogy, where Modiano tells of a young man caught between his work for the French Gestapo, his work for a Resistance cell, and the black marketeers whose milieu he shares.
Contact: Alexis DesRoches
Phone number: (207)-779-8979
Email: newenglandgreatbooks@gmail.com
Fees are very reasonable for a two-night stay with good accommodations, six meals,
pleasant confer-ence rooms, and delivery of books. Cost: $400 per person for double-occupancy;
$440 per person for single-occupancy; and $260 for commuters. On request, we can try to arrange roommates.
Registration Limit: Only the first forty-five applicants are guaranteed.
Therefore, please register as soon as possible.
Cancellation: Anyone cancelling before October 24, 2025
will have $100 deducted of their registration.
Information:
Contact: John Dalton
Or John Taylor
Registration Form: Because of complications with holding registration onsite, we have opted for the full payment as deposit.
Make checks payable to: Fall Institute. $400.00 per person double occupancy; $440 per single occupancy; $260 per commuter.
Fall Institute Registration Form
Complete and mail with payment to:
John Dalton, PO Box 424,
Newtown Square, PA 19073
Monday: At the Existential Cafe
by Sarah Bakewell
Tuesday: The Stranger
by Albert Camus
Wednesday: Catch 22
by Joseph Heller
Thursday: The Unbearable Lightness of Being
by Milan Kundera
Friday: An Artist of the Floating World
by Kazuo Ishiguro
Saturday: Short Stories
Pigeon Feathers
by John Updike
Love
by Clarice Lispector
Our timely theme for Colby 2025 is Existential Perspectives. Join us as we explore the complexities that confront people as they proceed through the vicissitudes of life.
Our week at Colby is now enhanced with the option of staying in air-conditioned dorms
at the Alfond Main Street Commons, in downtown Waterville.
Registration: Registration covers books and discussions, as well as lectures, films, group social activities, use of athletic facilities and tennis courts,
and a real Maine Lobster Bake.
On campus registration includes a single or double dormitory room (six nights: Sunday through Friday night)
and all meals.
For a nominal additional fee, you may stay over Saturday night either before (July 19th) and/or at the end of the week (July 26th).
Those opting to reside in the air-conditioned dorms at Alfond Main Street Commons stay in the four or six bedroom suites mentioned above.
Food: Dining is at Dana Dining Hall, newly renovated with air conditioning, which offers a variety of distinctive locally grown and organic foods in
an all-you-can-eat buffet and provides many options for vegetarians.
Commuters: Commuters participate in all activities, but live on their own, off-campus,
and receive lunch each day at the Dana Dining Hall and attend the Lobster Bake. Breakfast and dinner for commuters are optional for additional fees.
Colby food is delicious and plentiful. Living arrangements are in comfortable dorm rooms. Fans and reading lights are available.
On campus there are no air-conditioned dorms, but Colby has made their air-conditioned dorms, Alfond Main Street Commons,
in downtown Waterville available. There are private bedrooms in suites for four or six with shared bath facilities. All buildings are smoke-free.
The school provides towels and bed linen, although some prefer to bring their own towels. You might want to bring a mirror.
Special Arrangements: Arrangements can usually be made for people with special needs. If you have special medical or other needs,
please include that on your application. That information is forwarded to John Dalton (jd5258875@aol.com) who assigns
rooms and oversees accommodations.
Travel Arrangements: Participants make their own travel arrangements.
Many arrive by car, but there is air service to Portland, Bangor,
and Augusta ME; Manchester, NH; and Boston, MA. Rental cars, buses and limousine service are available from
these key locations. There is also a Greyhound bus terminal in Waterville right outside the campus.
For those without cars, rides with other participants can sometimes be arranged.
Coordination of carpooling can be made by emailing participants.
Registration and Refunds: A deposit per person is required with registration.
Cancellations before June 30, 2025 cost ($100). Cancellations from July 1 to July 19, 2025 incur a half deposit loss.
After that, you lose the standard deposit. The balance of registration is due at Colby on Sunday, July 20, 2025,
and must be either Cash or Check. A previous attendee registering individuals new to Colby, is eligible for a $25 discount,
unless already receiving a scholarship. You must register by mail. Previous rollover of any deposits due to Covid still apply.