Our literary group will start the book “Disgrace” by John Maxwell Coetzee on August 15 at 3 pm. Coetzee, a South African-born novelist, essayist, linguist and translator, received the 2003 Nobel Prize in Literature. He is one of the most acclaimed and decorated authors in the English Language.
If you have been thinking about joining the group, this is the perfect time to do so. Vivien Lane will be guiding us through the analysis and discussion of the first half of the book in August and the second half in September.
If you would like to join us or just have questions about the group, we would love to hear from you at:
uwcstudygroups@gmail.com
Literary Masters Meeting Notes
On Thursday August 15, I had the privilege of attending a session of “Literary Masters”, where led by Vivien Lane, our member and Literature Professor, we discussed “Disgrace” by J.M. Coetzee. A few days before, Kathleen Hall had sent the “regulars” a link to the reading material and I took the opportunity to read it, facilitated by the friendly presentation. The writing aspect was out- front excellent, but the topic I found unpleasant, though very catchy. After initially wondering if it would be worth dwelling on it, I signed up so as not to dismiss an opportunity to learn. And learning we (I?) did! Vivien started with a synthesis of “Youth”, Coetzee ́s biography, and mentioned facts of the writer ́s life which would serve as background information to “Disgrace”. Afterwards, Vivien started reading the first chapter out loud, continuing to almost half way through the book, with brief stops to comment on the many ways in which Coetzee can be categorized as a post-modernist writer as well as pointing out references in the book to the historical times in which the story unfolds. South Africa, from colonization to post -Apartheid, was briefly discussed.
Coetzee, notwithstanding his moral values and dedicated life, suffered from discrimination. In 1971 he was denied a permanent visa in the USA, where he was working as a professor, for having participated in demonstrations against the war in Vietnam. He and his family moved back to South Africa. In the 90 ́s, while Mandela was president, the African National Congress accused him of being a racist. This made Coetzee, previously honored at the University of Cape Town as Distinguished Professor of Literature, leave South Africa to reside in Adelaide, Australia, where he still lives.
Thanks Vivien for your enriching class! The second part of the book will be covered in Literary Master ́s next session in September.
Kathleen Hall