Distance Learning | Le Salon 2/2

Jun 30, 2021

Book Diversity in Canadian Literature

Traditionally Canadian Literature, or CanLit, has highlighted voices of European settlers, been divided along English versus French...

A Jane Austen-inspired Cocktail Recipe from Toronto’s Famous Last Words Bar

Marisa

May 13, 2021

A Jane Austen-inspired Cocktail Recipe from Toronto’s Famous Last Words Bar

I am so thrilled to bring you a cocktail from the amazing literary-themed bar in Toronto, Ontario, Famous Last Words (FLW)! Over the past...

Could she have meant that?! Sexual Innuendos in Jane Austen’s ‘Emma’

Marisa

May 10, 2021

Could she have meant that?! Sexual Innuendos in Jane Austen’s ‘Emma’

Uncover the 'sexy' side of Jane Austen's Emma with a deep dive into the novel's sexual innuendos--including Kitty, a fair, but frozen maid.

Capturing the Gothic Life of Shirley Jackson on Film

Marisa

Apr 28, 2021

Capturing the Gothic Life of Shirley Jackson on Film

I finally had the time to sit down and watch the 2020 movie Shirley (currently on Amazon Prime), based on a novel of the same name by...

School Textbooks Reflect our Societal Values

Marisa

Apr 11, 2021

School Textbooks Reflect our Societal Values

I recently wrote a post about What Makes a Literary Classic in which I was thinking about what we culturally consider a ‘classic’ and how...

Marisa

Mar 18, 2021

Literary Cocktail: Miss Cathy's Whip

"Wuthering Heights is the name of Mr. Heathcliff's dwelling, 'wuthering' being a significant provincial adjective, descriptive of the...

Reviewing One of the First English Novels

Marisa

Feb 24, 2021

Reviewing One of the First English Novels

How do you review a book that is 300 years old? The grammar, punctuation, and narrative structure are not like anything we see in today's...

The French Kiss Cocktail and a Romance Novel: A Perfect Match!

Marisa

Feb 11, 2021

The French Kiss Cocktail and a Romance Novel: A Perfect Match!

'Tis the season to read steamy romance novels and clink a glass (or two) with a valentine! This month Le Salon is diving into a close...

Marisa

Feb 9, 2021

Classic F#@*ing Literature

Not typical classroom vocabulary, but a historical lesson nonetheless! That oft used F word can be a noun, an adjective, a verb, an...

Marisa

Jan 31, 2021

What Makes a Literary Classic?

Is it the amount of time that has passed? A wide readership? Originating from an ancient civilization? Defining a 'Classic' There is an...

25 Books to Help with your Lockdown Wanderlust

Marisa

Jan 20, 2021

25 Books to Help with your Lockdown Wanderlust

Usually with the flip of the calendar to the New Year, we all begin looking ahead, planning for new adventures. But this year is so...

Finding Their Voice: The Female Bildungsroman

Marisa

Jan 3, 2021

Finding Their Voice: The Female Bildungsroman

Is there such a thing as a female bildungsroman? I break it down for you (including some suggested reading!).

Creating Christmas Traditions with Charles Dickens

Marisa

Dec 14, 2020

Creating Christmas Traditions with Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol (1843) continues to be read, watched and performed after more than 175 years, and is enjoyed by all...

Literary Cocktail: A Christmas Carol's Smoking Bishop

Marisa

Dec 10, 2020

Literary Cocktail: A Christmas Carol's Smoking Bishop

“A merrier Christmas, Bob, my good fellow, than I have given you, for many a year! I’ll raise your salary, and endeavour to assist your...

Marisa

Nov 11, 2020

Remembrance Day 2020 #CanadaRemembers

You may be familiar with his words, but do you know the man who wrote ‘In Flanders Fields’? John McCrae was a Canadian military surgeon...

Reader-Response Theory: Putting the "You" Back into Literary Criticism!

Marisa

Nov 2, 2020

Reader-Response Theory: Putting the "You" Back into Literary Criticism!

When diving into literary criticism, I always encourage people to start with reader-response theory because it is something most people...

The Gothic Bluebook: Terrifying the Masses

Marisa

Oct 30, 2020

The Gothic Bluebook: Terrifying the Masses

While reading Franz J. Potter’s book The History of Gothic Publishing, 1800-1835 Exhuming the Trade (2005), I recently stumbled upon the...

A Feminist Legacy: Looking at the Lives and Sorrows of Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley

Marisa

Oct 8, 2020

A Feminist Legacy: Looking at the Lives and Sorrows of Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley

Charlotte Gordon’s biography Romantic Outlaws: The Extraordinary Lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley is an excellently...

Distance Learning During Covid-19: Teaching Classic Literature to your Teen

Marisa

Sep 2, 2020

Distance Learning During Covid-19: Teaching Classic Literature to your Teen

If you are struggling with a teen who has to tackle classic literature in their English class, here are 5 tips to support them.

Further Reading: Getting Closer to the Literature you Love!

Marisa

Aug 11, 2020

Further Reading: Getting Closer to the Literature you Love!

What you can expect from the Further reading blog! Easy-to-understand theory, literary themed cocktails, book recommendations, and more!

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