Beyond book groups . . . the joy of a literary salon

I’m one of those people who love the camaraderie of talking about books with like-minded readers but despise having to read selections that don’t interest me. Or titles so poorly written it’s an affront to spend the time to finish them.

Creating a literary salon is a way to share the love of reading and books without all the pressure.

First emerging in the Age of Enlightenment, salons were gatherings of like-minded people for intellectual conversation. As printed materials became more available, the salon movement widened to embrace a wide range of topics.

This past week, I joined an art historian, philanthropist, and retired business consultant as charter members of our very own literary salon. The theme was Leadership, which felt appropriate for this moment in time.

I brought Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Leadership in Turbulent Times, a thoughtful parallel study of the leadership development of four pivotal American presidents—Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, and Lyndon Johnson—that explored how their times of adversity shaped them.

To Kill a Mockingbird is not a title I would associate with leadership and yet C.S. presented it as a model of personal leadership in the character of Atticus Finch, leading ‘from the inside out’, a compelling perspective that may well send me back to those familiar pages for another look.

And what about A Month in Siena? N.G. introduced new-to-me author Hisham Matar as well as a visual feast of the Allegory and Effects of Good and Bad Government frescoes, painted by Ambrogio Lorenzetti from 1338-1339. The lessons about good and bad leadership echo across the nearly 700 years since the heyday of the republican Sienese city-state, where Council members met daily in the hall where these frescoes surrounded them.

M.G. brought us back to the present with her thoughtful presentation of Susan Rice’s memoir, Tough Love: My Story of the Things Worth Fighting For. Daughter of a Tuskegee Airman and the ‘mother of the Pell Grant,’ Rice reflects on the lessons of leadership her parents taught, including ‘don’t take no for an answer’ and ‘never use race as an excuse or advantage.’

An afternoon of delightful conversation and at least two new authors to explore as well as one beloved classic to revisit.

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