Literary respite

Books are best when shared.

During the shared reading experience, we read short stories and poems aloud. Along the way, we take small breaks and talk about what we have read.

The method is simple; it involves reading a literary text aloud in a group, and then having a conversation about the text afterwards. First we read a short story, then a poem. The focus of the conversation is not on literary analysis, but on the experience of the text. We wonder together. The goal is not to arrive at a common interpretation, but to bring in different perspectives and experiences of the text, so that we expand the experience for each other. We read to become wiser about ourselves – and others.

You don't need to prepare, and you don't need to have read much before. The group's reading leader reads the text aloud, at a leisurely pace, stopping along the way, and inviting reflection and wonder. You don't have to participate in the conversation, it's perfectly fine to just listen, and to share the experience that way.