Joseph Luzzi

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Los Angeles, CA, US
English
Joseph Luzzi (PhD, Yale) is Professor of Comparative Literature and Faculty Member in Italian Studies at Bard College.
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Offerings

8 Books That Changed the World
Virtual,
1 hr
What 8 books can change your life, the ones you would want to take to your “desert island”? This presentation about the books that changed the world will unveil the mysteries of the Bible, Homer’s Odyssey, Dante’s Divine Comedy, and Shakespeare’s Hamlet then closer to today Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse, Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird and Joseph Heller’s Catch 22. We will explore the creative processes behind these masterpieces as we trace their impact and develop reading skills to release their remarkable riches. Professor Luzzi will show how these fascinating works help us understand some of the most pressing concerns today, including the nature of religious faith, questions of personal identity, even the quest for the American Dream. Participants will be encouraged to develop their own list of “essential reading,” as Professor Luzzi helps them acquire the skills necessary for enriching their encounters with books of all kinds.
The Story of America in 7 Book
Virtual,
1 hr
In 1869, as our nation was recovering from the devastations of the Civil War, the critic John William DeForest described the quest for "the Great American Novel," suggesting how difficult it was to capture the complexity and diversity of the American experience in a single book. The past century and a half has seen many remarkable attempts by a wide range of authors to meet this challenge and distill the essence of U.S. history into the pages of unforgettable writing. We will explore those 7 books that best represent this quest to tell the American story, answering such questions as: What does it mean to be "American"? What are the books that have had the greatest impact on U.S. history and culture? How can fiction illuminate the hard truths of American life?
Reading Dante: Exploring Grief
Virtual,
1 hr
What makes Dante such a fascinating and essential author – and why is his classic from 700 years ago, The Divine Comedy, more relevant to our everyday lives than ever before? Join us on August 5th for a truly unique celebration of Dante and his work, as one of the world’s most acclaimed Dante scholars, Professor Joseph Luzzi, shares his lifetime of study with you about the writer Italians still call Sommo Poeta, Supreme Poet. Luzzi will offer a candid look on Dante while drawing on his Vanity Fair “Must Read” memoir, In a Dark Wood: What Dante Taught Me About Grief, Healing, and the Mysteries of Love, the story of how Dante’s wisdom and vision helped him overcome a great personal tragedy.
Why Shakespeare Matters Today
Virtual,
1 hr
Why are the works of William Shakespeare still considered “essential” reading today, some four hundred years after they appeared? How can the lessons of his theatrical universe help us understand the major social and political conflicts we face in modern times? Together we will explore the factors that continue to make Shakespeare so vital a force in popular culture, as we focus on his stunning contributions to the English language, his unparalleled grasp of human psychology, and his use of literary form to astonish and enchant. We will center our conversation about “Shakespeare today” on three of his greatest and best-known works: the magnificent tragedies Hamlet, Macbeth, and King Lear.
C. Dickens, Master Storyteller
Virtual,
1 hr
Why is Charles Dickens’s fictional world, even though he wrote more than a century ago, so vital today? And what made Dickens’s novels into the “Netflix” of his age: serialized books so popular that his adoring fans waited with bated breath for their appearance? Find out the answers to these questions and more in our special Book Group discussion of the Victorian author who rose from humble origins to become a soaring literary celebrity and one of the most beloved – and best-selling – novelists of all time.
Botticelli’s Secret
Virtual,
1 hr
In this talk, we will explore a true Renaissance “Whoddunit.” Some 500 years ago, Sandro Botticelli, an Italian painter of humble origin, created work of unearthly beauty. An intimate associate of Florence’s unofficial rulers, the Medici, he was commissioned by a member of their family to execute a near-impossible project: to illustrate all 100 cantos of The Divine Comedy by the city’s greatest poet, Dante Alighieri. A powerful encounter between poet and artist, sacred and secular, earthly and evanescent, these drawings produced a wealth of stunning images but were never finished. Botticelli declined into poverty and obscurity, and his illustrations went missing for 400 years. This presentation will show how the nineteenth-century rediscovery of Botticelli’s Dante drawings brought scholars to their knees: this work embodied everything the Renaissance had come to mean. Today, Botticelli’s Primavera adorns household objects of every kind.
A Literary Friendship
Virtual,
1 hr
The names F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway invoke two of the greatest giants of 20th-century American literature, the authors of novels that continue to captivate readers worldwide today. Less known is how their personal literary connection and friendship reveal key elements of their work and help us understand the themes of some of their most compelling writing. In this brand new presentation, Professor of Comparative Literature Joseph Luzzi will take us inside one of the most consequential friendships – and rivalries – in all of American literature, as we explore the dramas, emotions, and events connecting the legendary authors of works like The Great Gatsby and The Sun Also Rises.
Books for the Post-Pandemic
Virtual,
1 hr
As we come upon the two-year-plus anniversary of the Covid lockdowns, many of us are looking forward to a time with less social distancing and more of the things we have missed during the pandemic, especially seeing our loved ones in person and connecting to new places. What books best capture these longed-for experiences that we hope will be coming in the times ahead? This presentation takes book lovers on a tour of four masterpieces that speak to our need for adventure, travel, and reconnecting with the wider world after this long year of pandemic: Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun also Rises, Karen Blixen’s Out of Africa, E. M. Forster’s Room with a View, and Jack Kerouac’s On the Road.