Taliesin Connections
Sat Feb 22, 2025 10:00 AM - Sat Apr 5, 2025 11:30 AM PST
Online, Zoom
Description
Dates: February 22nd; March 1st, 8th, *15th [break] *29th; April: 5th.
Time: Saturdays at 10 am Pacific/1 pm Eastern/6 pm UK
Classes are held online, using the Zoom platform and last around 90 minutes.
* Classes on these dates will be at 5 pm in the UK due to US daylight savings time starting sooner than UK summer time.
Cost: Regular price $85 US.
*Patreon patrons: $70.
*You must be a patron at the time of registration, and remain a patron for the duration of the class series.
This six-week series will focus on poems from the Book of Taliesin in translation. Emphasis will be on finding meaning in the poems, their historical context, and particularly their connections to other Celtic-language texts. This will include time spent with both the "historical" and the "legendary" poems. We will only cover a few poems per session, to allow for real depth of understanding.
You will need a copy of The Taliesin Sourcebook, edited and translated by Frank Olding (2024) as a textbook. Other translations you own may also prove useful for study, but only this book is required. The Taliesin Sourcebook is available from Green Magic Publishing in the UK, and via mainstream online booksellers worldwide. (Available on Kindle for last-minute sign-up!) For a discussion of other collections of the Taliesin poetry, see the video, below.
What to expect from this class:
Independent preparation for the classes. I hope you will study the poems each week before we look at them in class.
Weekly online class includes – my presentations, Q&A sessions, moderated discussions. Classes usually last around 90 minutes.
Emphasis on orality. I encourage you to read the poems out loud during your study time, and students will read the poems out loud in class (but no one will be forced to do that!!)
Study guide - I'll send you a study guide with the class schedule, what to read for each week, etc.
Access to class recording if you need it. (Recordings may not always include class discussions, but will always include all presentations.)
Weekly notes. You will receive these as a PDF after each class. These will include:
- Important points and graphics from the presentations
- links or citations to any texts referenced in the presentations
- links and citations to further reading on the topics covered, which you can follow up on, if you wish.
Important! You should receive an email from me within 24 hours of paying for the class. Please respond to that email. If you don't see it, check your spam folders, etc. and if you can't find it, contact me by clicking "contact organiser", below! It's important that we are in email contact, so that you can receive the zoom links and class mailings.
You can always find my active and upcoming class listings at: https://tinyurl.com/GDclasses