The pinnacle of intellectual life, so far as I am concerned, is to sit around a table talking about the deep questions, inspired by an excellent book. We are drawn to that table from a desire to understand and to learn, with and from one another. We read, speak, and listen, not to draw a boundary between ourselves and others, but to uncover bonds of human unity.

I had the privilege to attend St. John’s College, which has a similar vision of learning, and I teach there now. But I dreamt for years of ways to bring to the table anyone who wanted to join in the conversation. I envisioned education without strings attached, no grades, no credits, no tuition, run on the manifest love of learning alone. It took the summer of 2020 to see a way to begin. I began organizing small online tutorials and reading groups via video conference. I found readers from various backgrounds on Twitter. We began with four tutorials on Homer and two reading groups, one on Aristophanes and one on Kafka. 

Late in the fall of 2020 the Kafka group wanted to move on to Kierkegaard, but sought more readers for the difficult endeavor. I posted on Twitter: “Who wants to read Either/Or on Saturday evenings?” I received more than a hundred messages. We called it “the Kierkegaard explosion.” Our little group of 40 tripled in size overnight.

Thanks to a start-up grant from Emergent Ventures, we were able to hire an Executive Director, who built our institutional structures. The spark was lit for the wildfire growth I have had the privilege to witness. Thanks to generous donors and small grants, and fed by the zeal of two directors and our incredible team of volunteers, we now serve 600 readers a term. Join us!