Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Book Club:  Imagination #5 Discussion Questions


In our family "Our hero" is always followed by "Harold Ramorez." Why?

Who is Harold Ramorez?
Is he related to Epaminondas?

What is your favorite heroic epic?

Eneas Africanus by Harry Stillwell Edwards

Have you memorized this poem yet?

No

Why not?

Per Plato, my memory has been destroyed and my mind is weak.
Plus I have two copies (one hardback, one paperback) and it's available to you to read online.


In competition with Sir Walter's lofty lines,
I propose Randolph of Roanoke by John Greenleaf Whittier ~

All parties feared him: each in turn
Beheld its schemes disjointed,
As right or left his fatal glance
And spectral finger pointed.
Sworn foe of Cant, he smote it down
With trenchant wit unsparing,
And, mocking, rent with ruthless hand
The robe Pretence was wearing.

Too honest or too proud to feign
A love he never cherished,
Beyond Virginia’s border line
His patriotism perished.
While others hailed in distant skies
Our eagle’s dusky pinion,
He only saw the mountain bird
Stoop o’er his Old Dominion!


What do Yeats, Walter Scott and Flannery O'Connor have in common?

Piety of Place  ~

I'm on a mission to find out why Mary Flannery named her place *Andalusia.*
This link to the farm website states that the O'Connors called it *Sorrel Farms* until they realized the original owners/family had named it *Andalusia.*


In A Good Man is Hard to Find did you feel badly about what happened to the grandmother?

Frankly, I was totally taken aback by the story, having never wanted to read it again.   But after perusing some of O'Connor's non-fiction, now I understand that she was purposefully trying to shock the reader.  I still question her approach (I am still turned off by her characters) and turn to Mark Twain's advice for comfort ~

Truth is stranger than Fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possiblities.  Truth is not.


Even though a lot of people from Florence, Italy are apparently in Hell, why do we still desire to visit that city?

Because Tony Esolen is lead guide for the tour.


How does this chapter relate to what is currently happening in Egypt?

If I stretch my imagination, I'll guess that some Egyptians are acting on feelings of patriotism.   But I'm rather suspicious of the situation and like to read alternative news sources.  One article suggests that a MLK comic inspired some.  Another suggests that the uprising started after a young girl's speech.


Questions inspired by the imagination of book club moderator and writer extraordinaire, Cindy.

Join the discussion!

4 comments:

  1. I googled Harold Ramorez and apparently he is on Facebook. :D

    He is also "in" Booth Tarkington's Penrod, a book I have yet to read.

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  2. The question about Egypt was completely open-ended. I am still unsure also but it is interesting to see various groups trying to grab the narrative.

    I will wait to tell you about Harold Ramorez.

    Looking forward to reading Eneas Africanus someday.

    I fear my memorizing days are over and even what I have already committed to memory is weak but I look forward to the day when I sit in a rocking chair reciting blindly, probably in one of the homes of my children.

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  3. I'm glad you've been perusing FOC's non-fiction!! I'd be interested in learning more about the name too. :) This series is so interesting; I am enjoying reading your answers!

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  4. You should read The Habit of Being, a collection of Flannery O'Connor's letters. In addition to being a highly entertaining and enlightening book, it gives a lot of insight into Flannery as a person and into what she was trying to say through her short stories. It is one of my favorite books ever!

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