Episode 7: Books I Loved To Teach

[@constancecampbell4610]

Thank you for talking about Greek plays. I love these classics. 👍

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@constancecampbell4610 oh I’m so glad, Constance. More to come…😊

[@constancecampbell4610]

@ 👍Greek classes were so much fun as a drama major. Do you have any favorite comedies?

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@constancecampbell4610 You know, I'm not well-versed at all in the Greek comedies. Aristophanes is about the only one I think I've read--The Clouds and The Frogs. I haven't read enough to have a favorite, I guess.

[@patriciah8579]

Works of this sort have always seemed daunting to me, but you always make things seem so accessible. Very intriguing video, Pat!

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@patriciah8579 thank you, Patricia. I decided to do this one on Medea now mostly because of our group discussing Pineiro’s Time of the Flies. She weaves the Medea story throughout the novel, so I thought this might be useful for the group. I’m glad I make the ancients feel accessible.

[@ariannefowler455]

I somehow managed to get through school and never read any of the Greek plays. This was my first. It was a doozy but so well done! I plan to read more. I'm glad I chose to read it as a side project of the Piñeiro group.

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@ariannefowler455 I’m going to talk about Sophocles and the Theban plays as part of this series too. I’m really interested in the ways Pineiro wove Medea through Time of the Flies. Masterful!

[@literarylove123]

I love this play. It elicits so much discussion and debate among my students. This series continues to delight!

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@literarylove123 thanks, Jen! Yes, it’s a great play for discussion!

[@theaelizabet]

I love the Greeks! I saw Diana Rigg play Medea on Broadway back in the early 1990s. Great video, as always, Pat.

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

Thank you. That must have been an incredible production!

[@Ali-AvidReader]

Love the sweatshirt Pat!

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

Thanks, Ali!

[@Travsbookshelf]

Ahh, the memories! Thank you, Pat, for this video! It brought back so much for me when I studied these works.

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@Travsbookshelf thanks, Trav. I will do a few more episodes, I think, on the ancients. Hope you’re doing well.

[@Adventures_in_Literature]

Got to study Greek, Roman, Norse mythology for a humanities class. We learned a little bit about the Greek plays. Medea sounds great. Thank you Pat.

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

Thank you for tuning in. It's a terrific play!

[@BookBuds]

I love this series !

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

Thanks! It has been a lot of fun to do so far!

[@RaynorReadsStuff]

Oooh love the sweatshirt 😊. Just reading this now. How very timely 😊. Loving this series Pat.

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@RaynorReadsStuff thanks, Debs. I thought this would be a good time…😉

[@kevintowle9665]

Okay first things first, that hoodie is awesome, and you rock it Pat! ❤ Another awesome video. I learn so much from these videos!

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@kevintowle9665 thank you, Kevin! It’s been really cool to see how this ancient play is sort of revisited in this very contemporary crime novel that we’re reading by Claudia Pineiro. We’re discussing it this week. Thanks again, my friend.

[@stuartgriffin1001]

Interesting video. Your school had a very impressive wide range of books you read and discussed

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

Thanks, Stuart. I had the great fortune of spending my career in wonderful schools. The district where I spent most of my career was terrific, and we constantly reviewed and revised the curriculum of our many courses. It is how schools should be run. Sadly, most are not these days. We reviewed and revised the entire curriculum every five years. I feel very lucky that we were always able to teach the greatest of books, and the community and the administration trusted our judgment and expertise. You don't hear of that much anymore, sadly.

[@GenreBooks23]

Excellent. Given what the women of the US may be subjected to in the next few years, a good guide may be “Lysistrata”!

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@GenreBooks23 you might be exactly right! 😳

[@books_and_bocadillos]

Hi Pat, great recap of Medea. I think Claudia Piñeiro weaved in the Greek play so masterfully - I loved it and I'm looking forward to our discussion. 🫶🏽

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@books_and_bocadillos thanks, Mariandrea! I’m really looking forward to it too!

[@BeyondBooks-wt5il]

That sounds awesome! I think I would like to read that.

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@BeyondBooks-wt5il it’s an incredible play, and the most frightening picture of a woman hell-bent on revenge. Everyone reading this newest Claudia Pineiro novel, Time of the Flies, has gone back to read this ancient Greek play to see how it connects to this modern-day Argentinian crime novel. It’s been fascinating!

[@apoetreadstowrite]

I am also a big fan of Ancient Greek Tragedy, my favourite verse translations are those by Anne Carson, but I also love the verse translations by Ruth Fainlight. Really enjoyed your video, Pat - thanks for this keenly appreciative engagement with some of my favourite texts - what glory!

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@apoetreadstowrite thank you, Phillip. More to come soon on Sophocles.

[@apoetreadstowrite]

@@BookChatWithPat8668: I look forward to it.

[@apoetreadstowrite]

@@BookChatWithPat8668: I have a video on Ancient Greek Tragedy. I was pretty proud of that one.

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@apoetreadstowrite I don't know how I missed that. I will look for it.

[@apoetreadstowrite]

@@BookChatWithPat8668: It's a video I'm very proud of. Funny how we ascertain the 'worth' of different videos.

[@joshuacreboreads]

Great video, Pat! Greek tragedy is a huge gap in my reading knowledge. I have a copy that collects about 5-6 plays each from Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, so one of these days I’m going to do a deep dive. And this made me very excited to start!

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

Hi Joshua. You will get around to the Greeks eventually. I'm going to do another one of these episodes on Sophocles some time soon, I think. Hope you're doing well.

[@readandre-read]

The hoodie looks great! I haven't read Medea since college but I have it sitting here waiting for me to get cracking. As you discussed the play I thought about Time of the Flies and the updated deus ex machina moment. I'm looking forward to the discussion!

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@readandre-read thanks, Angelia. I’m looking forward to discussing Flies too.

[@flcMorsalin]

Such a wonderful episode! I love hearing about the books that have made a lasting impact in your teaching journey. Your passion for sharing these stories is truly inspiring! Thank you for the great recommendations!

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@flcMorsalin thank you for this very kind comment. I really did love teaching. 😊

[@flcMorsalin]

@BookChatWithPat8668 You are most welcome my friend ❤️

[@davidnovakreadspoetry]

I’ve often wondered how Greek literature got to be part of the English lit curriculum. (I understand it’s probably useful to know. 🤔)

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@davidnovakreadspoetry it’s absolutely essential. Teaching English is not about teaching only literature written in English. We taught all the genres, and we taught the literature of the world. Knowing about the Greeks helps us to understand a lot of literature that comes after. I taught Euripides and Sophocles in Advanced Placement, which is a college-level literature course open to high school students. Kids got college credit for this course.

[@JamesRuchala]

I read a pile of the Greek tragedies a few years back and they're all wild heavy metal stories

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

They're definitely worth revisiting every now and then. As another commenter mentioned, we may all be hearing much more about revenge and retribution than anyone could ever possibly want to hear.

[@JessBookgirlTV]

😊

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@JessBookgirlTV hi Jess!😊

[@Nina_DP]

I am doubly intrigued to read the new Pineiro now. First, of the three of hers that I've read, I ranked All Yours third by a fair bit and I suspect some of it is down to the translator. Since the new translation is by Frances Riddle (who translated Elena Knows - which knocked my socks off - and A Little Luck) I'm curious to try it. What does this have to do with Medea? 🤷🏻‍♀️ But your video has me considering reading them in tandem in the new year. When 1) I will be looking to hide deep inside some books and 2) I fear "revenge" will be the theme none of us will be able to avoid. Sorry, didn't mean for my comment to turn depressing … I really just wanted to say thanks for another thought-provoking video, Pat. PS: I keep meaning to say how much I love that you hang onto your battered old books!

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

I hang onto the copies of books that I taught because they have my notes in them. Not ready to part with those yet. Yes, so we jumped to Pineiro's most recent translated novel, Time of the Flies, because it is a sequel to All Yours. Ines is now out of prison, and someone drags her into a revenge scheme. Every now and then, there is a chapter in which a sort of Greek chorus discusses what is going on so far in the novel, and each of these chapters always starts with a quote from Medea. There are many other really frightening parallels......After we are finished discussing FLIES, we will go back to our original chronology, so Thursday Night Widows starts next, on December 16. And I surely share your fears about this theme of revenge in the new year. I am sick at heart every time I think about what is to come...

[@CionMohler]

I’m so glad Elena seeks revenge. I don’t think the husband suffered enough in All Yours.

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@CionMohler Ines is the wife in All Yours. She’s out of prison in Time of the Flies, now 15 years after the events of All Yours. It’s a totally different character who is seeking a completely different kind of revenge in this latest novel. The husband, Ernesto, is not in this later novel at all. Are you thinking of Elena from Elena Knows? I think we’ll be reading that one in January.