Dante Today

Citings & Sightings of Dante's Works in Contemporary Culture

Gregory Bellow, “Crises of the Spirit: Dante and Bellow”

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Greg-Bellow-Crises-of-the-Spirit-Dante-Saul-Bellow

In an essay entitled “Crises of the Spirit: Dante and Bellow,” Gregory Bellow, oldest son of Saul Bellow and author of Saul Bellow’s Heart: A Son’s Memoir, compares three of his father’s novels to Dante’s three canticles. “Crises of the Spirit” parallels the pilgrim’s psycho-spiritual crisis and recovery with those of Bellow’s characters, and with the novelist’s own biography. Using private anecdotes and personal recollections, Gregory Bellow traces his father’s mid-life “crisis of spirit” through the Dantean themes of evil, spiritual cleansing, and love.

A PDF copy of the essay is available here, with permission of the author.

Daily Dante Blog

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“Welcome to Daily Dante, a blogging adventure that follows the pilgrim Dante through his journey to hell and back, as we savor the poet Dante’s masterpiece The Divine Comedy.

Daily-Dante-Lenten-Spiritual-Discipline-Blog“Daily Dante is a collaborative blog, written by a motley band of Dantophiles living in the Princeton, NJ area. We began during Lent of 2010, when we adopted blogging as a Lenten discipline: a canto a day (excepting Sundays, which technically do not count as Lent), which conveniently allowed us to finish more or less just before Easter. We have completed Inferno, and Purgatorio, and finished blogging through Paradiso during Lent 2012.” — homepage of Daily Dante: Dante as Lenten Spiritual Discipline

 

Kayleen Asbo, The Soul’s Flame: A Musical Reflection of Dante’s Worlds

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kayleenIn his epic poem the Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri weaves Greek and Roman mythology, Italian history, and Christian legacy into a map that charts the journey of the human spirit from the depths of despair to the heights of beauty and love. In observance of the Lenten season, and in honor of the 750th anniversary of Dante’s birth, Numina Center for Spirituality and the Arts presents an experience of music, art, and story that emphasizes the profound, universal elements of Dante’s vision. We follow in the footsteps of his quest in Purgatorio for hope, healing, and community.

This journey of hope and forgiveness begins at 5pm, with cultural historian Kayleen Asbo presenting art and story that charts Dante’s path through the Purgatorio. At 6pm, medieval music specialists Shira Kammen and Devi Mathieu, joined by Michelle Levy and the Dante Singers, present a program of music to lead us on that journey.

With music drawn from the medieval era and beyond, our journey crosses the boundaries of time, culture, and spirituality. The program features some of the most renowned pieces from the Middle Ages, with emphasis on works referenced in Dante’s poetry. Selections range from Gregorian plainchant and Hildegard of Bingen, to Carmina Burana and Cantigas de Santa Maria. The journey honors the common roots of all the traditions that trace their origins to the prophet Abraham by including songs and chants from Christian, Sufi, and Jewish traditions.

Philip Jonckheer will narrate our adventure. Audience members will have the opportunity to join in some of the chanting.

February 21, 5pm
Episcopal Church of the Incarnation, 550 Mendocino Ave, Santa Rosa CA
Suggested donation $25 at the door only
See: Numinia Center for Spirituality & The Arts

Schaub and Schaub, “Dante’s Path: A Practical Approach to Achieving Inner Wisdom” (2004)

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schaub-and-schaub-dantes-path-a-practical-approach-to-achieving-inner-wisdom“Dante’s Path: A Practical Approach to Achieving Inner Wisdom is primarily a self-help book. However, it is a self-help book with a difference. Authors Bonney Gulino Schaub and Richard Schaub use their perceptive, though simple reading of Dante’s Divine Comedy to guide their readers through a process that allows them to access their internal wisdom, or ‘wisdom mind,’ to achieve liberation from their fears and to realize their deeper potential.” [. . .]    —Amazon

See also Dante’s Path: Vulnerability and the Spiritual Journey (2014) and Il potere di Dante: Un cammino di illuminazione per una vita piena e felice (2021), by the same authors.

How to Cite

Coggeshall, Elizabeth, and Arielle Saiber, eds. Dante Today: Citings and Sightings of Dante's Works in Contemporary Culture. Website. Access date.

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