BW22: Philosophical June

Raphael's School of Athens

Welcome to Philosophical June and our author of the month - Dante Alighieri.  As you probably have noticed, there aren't any women philosophers included in Raphael's painting, The School of Athens.  There are many women:  from the ancients -  Hypatia -  to the present - Vandana Shiva - too numerous to mention and impossible to highlight just one.  So I'll leave you with a few links to explore for yourself: Reviving the female canon,  Ten great female philosophers and Society of the study of women philosophers 

Everything you wanted to know about philosophy broken down into manageable chunks, history brought to you without any gaps by Kings College, and everything you ever wanted to know (or not) about philosophers around the world, plus 10 easy philosophy books you have to read.

Are you back?  Did you have fun following rabbit trails?  Now that I've overwhelmed your brains and probably pushed your tbr stacks over in a scattered heap, it's time to return to Dante.  I'm currently reading Rod Dreher's How Dante Can Save Your Life which has renewed my desire for completing the Divina Commedia (The Divine Comedy) which includes Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso.   I made it through Inferno a couple years ago, meant to read Purgatorio last year, and read Paradiso this year. However I stalled at Purgatorio, so will be diving into it this month.  

Join me in reading The Divine Comedy or delving into the many branches of philosophy.

 “How can you get very far,

If you don't know who you are?

How can you do what you ought,

If you don't know what you've got?

And if you don't know which to do

Of all the things in front of you,

Then what you'll have when you are through

Is just a mess without a clue

Of all the best that can come true

If you know What and Which and Who.” 

― Benjamin Hoff, The Tao of Pooh

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BW21: Middle of the World by D.H. Lawrence

Milk Way over Mediterranean Sea by Albena Markova 

Middle of the World

by 

D. H. Lawrence

This sea will never die, neither will it grow old,

nor cease to be blue, nor in the dawn

cease to lift up its hills

and let the slim black ship of Dionysos come sailing in

with grape-vines up the mast, and dolphins leaping.

What do I care if the smoking ships

of the P. & O. and the Orient Line and all the other stinkers

cross like clock-work the Minoan distance!

They only cross, the distance never changes.

And now that the moon who gives men glistening bodies

is in her exaltation, and can look down on the sun,

I see descending from the ships at dawn

slim naked men from Cnossos, smiling the archaic smile

of those that will without fail come back again,

and kindling little fires upon the shores

and crouching, and speaking the music of lost languages.

And the Minoan Gods and the Gods of Tiryns

are heard softly laughing and chatting, as ever;

and Dionysus, young, and a stranger

leans listening on the gate, in all respect.

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BW20: Armchair Travels through the Middle East

As we sail around the mediterrean sea, visiting various ports of call, I'm drawn towards Israel.  So much safer visiting the Middle East vicariously in books, exploring the past, the present and the future.   I currently have James Michener's The Source on my nightstand, calling my name.  

In his signature style of grand storytelling, James A. Michener transports us back thousands of years to the Holy Land. Through the discoveries of modern archaeologists excavating the site of Tell Makor, Michener vividly re-creates life in an ancient city and traces the profound history of the Jewish people—from the persecution of the early Hebrews, the rise of Christianity, and the Crusades to the founding of Israel and the modern conflict in the Middle East. An epic tale of love, strength, and faith, The Source is a richly written saga that encompasses the history of Western civilization and the great religious and cultural ideas that have shaped our world.

Bodie and Brock Thoene take us step by step through the rise of world war II in Vienna in the 1930's through the late 1940's to Israel's Declaration of Independence in their historical fiction series Zion Covenant and Zion Chronicles. Beautifully written and powerfully poignant, once I started reading, I couldn't stop until I'd consumed the whole series. 

Also on my nightstand is Joel Rosenberg's political middle eastern thriller The Third Hostage, which my son immediately absconded with and once he started reading it, couldn't put it down. His stories are spine chilling, finger nibbling, good. 

When New York Times foreign correspondent J. B. Collins hears rumors that an al-Qaeda splinter cell—ISIS—has captured a cache of chemical weapons inside Syria, Collins knows this is a story he must pursue at all costs. Does the commander of the jihadist faction really have the weapons? If so, who is the intended target? The U.S.? Israel? Or someone else? With tensions already high, the impending visit of the American president to the region could prove to be the spark that sets off an explosion of horrendous proportions. Knowing that terrorist forces are already trying to bring down two Arab governments in the region—Iraq and Syria—can Collins uncover the truth before it’s too late? Or will the terrorists succeed in setting their sights on the third target and achieving genocide? 

Two Israeli authors currently on my wishlist are Amos Oz and AB Yehoshua, thanks to Eliana.  Check out Goodreads for the Best Middle East Non Fiction and  Fiction as well as Historical Novels.com for Historical Novels of the Middle East. 

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BW19: Ode to Mothers

Artwork courtesy of  Maria Oleszkiewicz 

Before I was Myself, You Made Me, Me

By 

Nicholas Gordon 

Before I was myself you made me, me

With love and patience, discipline and tears,

Then bit by bit stepped back to set me free,

Allowing me to sail upon my sea,

Though well within the headlands of your fears.

Before I was myself you made me, me

With dreams enough of what I was to be

And hopes that would be sculpted by the years,

Then bit by bit stepped back to set me free,

Relinquishing your powers gradually

To let me shape myself among my peers.

Before I was myself you made me, me,

And being good and wise, you gracefully

As dancers when the last sweet cadence nears

Bit by bit stepped back to set me free.

For love inspires learning naturally:

The mind assents to what the heart reveres.

And so it was through love you made me, me

By slowly stepping back to set me free.

Happy Mother's Day, my lovelies 

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BW18: Mediterranean May

Courtesy of Child Learns.com

Welcome to Mediterranean May and continuing our armchair travels east of the Prime Meridian.  While some continue their voyage with Darwin on the HMS Beagle, I'll be disembarking and sailing through the Straits of Magellan to cruise the Mediterranean. The sea is bordered by 3 continents and 22 countries as well as a variety of islands. .  We'll spend the next couple months exploring which will give those traveling with Darwin a chance to catch up. You can dive into history, plunge into mysteries,scale the highest peaks or dip into the valleys and submerse your palate in the fine wines and various cuisines offered by the different countries.  The sea is your oyster.

Currently in my backpack are several non fiction books including Rod Dreher's How Dante Can Save Your Life in preparation for reading Dante's Divine Comedy during Philosophical June. 

As well as Stacy Schiff's Cleopatra 

as well as historical fiction including Ben Kane's Spartacus the Gladiator

Have fun exploring! 

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