Wednesday-Night

Work in Progress

The Wednesday Night Salon is not unique, much as it pains us to say so. As Cleo Paskal points out, the Greeks have been debating in public and private settings for 2,500 years.

A fascinating piece that Anne Sophie Coleman OWN forwarded about the Cultural Salon of Dr. Alaa Al Aswany has inspired us to create a new Page dedicated to Other Salons, Other Customs.

We suspect that some 150,000 years ago there was an elitist group of homo sapiens (probably no women) who gathered around the fire to debate the issues of the day: hunting grounds deteriorating thanks to the damn migrants/nomads; the efforts of one or another to take over the leadership of their community; the strange changes in the weather … not so different from today’s preoccupations. Maybe even the occasional criticism of the avant-garde graffiti in the caves in the next valley.

More recently: “The term salon is commonly associated with French literary and philosophical gatherings of the 17th century and 18th century, though the practice continues today in many cities around the world.” Traditionally, the great salonnières were women, but in 18th century Poland, the most famous salon was the Thursday Dinners of King Stanisław August Poniatowski.
We note with a certain glee that “There were also less well known ‘Wednesday Dinners’ (obiady środowe) which brought together educators, scientists and political activists.” That sounds familiar.

All of which would indicate that all around the world there are people who enjoy civil discourse and debate in a private setting with their peers. We intend to find out more about them.

The epicenter of wit and literary talent had to be the legendary daily gathering known as The Algonquin Round Table of 1920s New York. Sadly, it lasted only a decade, but better to have had 10 glorious years, than to have sputtered out after a much longer period. Also it’s interesting that one of the factors contributing to its disappearance was the intrusion of public spectators, bringing us to the conclusion that a certain amount of intimacy is a prerequisite for success.

The Charlottetown Conversation Salon sets forth an objective that sounds similar to the Wednesday Night Salon:
“We try to recreate (in a contemporary and informal context) the energy and relevance of the Salons of previous eras… gatherings that had an important influence on social progress.
So we welcome people of all persuasions and disfavor the formation of ‘cliques.’ The only requirement for attendance is sincerity and an interest in expressing your views and insights while remaining appreciative of those of others.”

In what sounds like a creative approach to community dialogue, the University of North Carolina has introduced salons as a program of the Institute for the Arts and Humanities (IAH). They are “designed to connect UNC faculty with the broader community for intellectual exchange [and] to promote conversation between diverse constituencies. Each salon is hosted by a community member, who invites friends or colleagues to attend. The IAH invites interested faculty and guests talk over dinner.”

There is, of course, Salon, the e-zine (Salon.com), the [self-described] award-winning online news and entertainment Web site that combines original investigative stories, breaking news, provocative personal essays and highly respected criticism along with popular staff-written blogs about politics, technology and culture. But in its current incarnation, it is somewhat shrill. As an inspiration for Wednesday Night, it lags far behind many other sources.