Adult beginners

How I introduced myself in the Norwegian Classical Association, August 2023

Hope uneducated rogues are welcome in this group too. (I have actually studied for a very long time, but completely different things). I've always been interested in languages, and have learned quite a few modern languages. As I was searching for materials to learn modern Greek, I also quickly came across discussion forums and resources for ancient Greek, and got so fascinated that I started learning that too. And from there it wasn't far to Latin.

Anyway, suddenly I'm following controversies about Emily Wilson's translations on Twitter ("what's your favorite translation of the Iliad" maybe doesn't work as a topic at a barbecue in Norway? ;)), reading a French novel from 1825 about when Constantine Lascari fled from the Ottoman Empire to Naples in 1453, reading Hansel and Gretel in ancient Greek, watching Youtube videos with people playing Minecraft in Latin...

Where it will all lead, I don't know. But I'm going to keep going as long as it's fun ;) Curious whether there are any activities/meetups etc in Norway that are open to non-academics.

What was it that triggered it?

I'm someone who got started with an interest in history and the classics well into adulthood — even though I've always been a bookworm, I feel like I'm starting at about 0. I've heard a lot of the names before, but it all gets mixed up...

I'm very interested in how people "get started" with literature/art/classical music etc... Especially those who didn't get it from home/from childhood... (I used to be a researcher, and I dream of a study where you find a bunch of people and map out their "Bildungsreise" — what was it that triggered it...)

When I started with this myself (and I can say very precisely what triggered it for me) a couple of years ago, I had a very strong impression that in Norway you have those who have "always" read/known about classical literature, theater, history, classical music etc — grew up in homes where that was normal, hang out in artist circles etc — and those who are complete strangers to it...

There are surely lots of people in Hamar who are much better versed than me — but I have the impression that either you've "been doing this your whole life", or you haven't... Where are the forty-year-olds who've suddenly discovered Ibsen, or Wagner, or Dante? (they surely exist, but I can't find them). And how do people get inspired to try?

And it's actually great fun — classical literature isn't just "boring" and dry at all, it can be incredibly exciting. And even more fun if you have people around you that you can share with, get inspired by etc.

The one thing that helps of course is having more content about literature that people run into. But it might have been interesting to do something concrete with "adult beginners" — could you find some people who've started reading serious literature as grown adults, and show them off, hear about how they started, what inspired them, what was hard at first, what really hit home... Or even a group that isn't there yet, that wants to be challenged a bit? (Admittedly I'm pretty tired of celebrity reality shows etc, but...)

From letters to a literary critic at NRK (February 2025) and a writer at Minerva (July 2024)

A goal

We read De Rerum Natura as part of the Catherine Project reading group, and I found a Norwegian translation on nb.no translated by Trygve Sparre. Not a name I had heard before so I got curious and found an incredibly interesting article about him on oversetterleksikon (a fantastic source, by the way).

This article was very motivating for me, because it gives a little hope to us self-taught people... Otherwise a lot of people in this group have a formal background, but here we have someone who was self-taught in Latin, worked with something completely different his whole life, and then published a whole series of translations as a pensioner. So now I have a goal! ;)

I get an incredible amount of enrichment from it, I look forward to learning more for many years, and I'd love to find others in Norway who share the interest...

From a letter to a writer at Minerva, July 2024

In five years, you'll be five years older no matter what! Wouldn't it be cool to be five years older, and also read ancient Greek? Or be able to play the saxophone? Or know woodworking?

30 July 2025 · @houshuang

Amateur

Those of you who read my wall may have noticed that I've thrown myself into a lot of strange cultural stuff in the last couple of years... From classical languages to theater to opera (nobody is more surprised than me!) to classical music, and more... I'm not afraid to say that I don't know anything, but I think it's so much fun to learn more! And it's nice to discuss and share with others...

And the more you learn (together), the more you appreciate things. It's fun!