Book Clubs

Summer☀️Club: The Kurdish Women’s Movement: History, Theory, Practice by Dilar Dirik

In-person, Portland, OR area, 10 meetings, no cost

It’s not something that makes the news cycle here in the US, but there are actually decades of study and practice that center women’s liberation in “the Middle East” or the SWANA region (Southwest Asia and Northern Africa). Asking yourself why you’ve never heard of the Kurdish Women’s Movement is just the beginning. Let’s study together to receive these hard-won lessons, dig into our own context, and imagine if not determine what we can do to increase autonomy and freedom for people of all genders here. This group is local to the broader Portland, OR area, hopefully to have an in-person component. Starts in July.

Week 1: Reading thru chapter 3 (thru p 32)

Week 2: Finishing Part I, Chapters 4-9 (p 33-59)

Week 3: Part II (p 60-80)

Week 4: Begin Part III, Ch 13-15 (p 81-111)

Week 5: Ch 16-19 (p 112-133)

Week 6: Ch 20-23 (p 134-169)

Week 7: Ch 24-25 (p 170-207)

Week 8: Ch 26 (p 208-240)

Week 9: Ch 27-28 (p 241-274)

Week 10: Ch 29-32 (p 275-313)

Open in the Portland, OR area. Register your interest here or send questions to newroothealing@pm.me

Fall🍂Club: The Speech of the Grail: A Journey Toward Speaking that Heals and Transforms by Linda Sussman

Remote, open to all, 6 meetings, $90

I have an abiding interest in the Grail Quest, and I’m not the only one: Versions and characters proliferate. This book in particular accompanies Wolfram’s Parzival. I first read The Speech of the Grail in 2018 and I’ve picked it up again and again. I really love this book because it is not just analysis and analogy but invites practice and embodiment. I will bring in some exercises and other sources of thought. Expected to start in September.

Week 1: Introduction – Reading through the Prelude. Background and setting our container.

Week 2: Chapters 1 & 2 – The context of the speech of the Grail with themes like the quest, storytelling, and imagination.

Week 3: Chapters 3 &4 – Articulation and also silence as phenomena of speech. Discussing libido and its direction and relevance. 

Week 4: Chapters 5 & 6 – Time and timing of speech, the ability to listen and suspend judgment. Arriving at poetry‘s threshold and playing with speech and story. 

Week 5: Chapters 7 & 8 – Performance of story, and some enemies of communication and expression. The encounter with otherness, tolerance for paradox, and improvisation.

Week 6: Closing – Epilogue. Ethical harvesting of our time together, and encountering the labyrinth. 

Register your interest here or send questions to newroothealing@pm.me