Frank Foley
Frank Foley
Frank Foley
Literature Heart & Soul!
Welcome to my space for sharing insights into great works of literature, and sparking conversations that help us think about the human condition. With your active engagement, we can connect and keep these great works alive in the 21st century!
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I'm Frank Foley, and for a sense of who I am, and what I'm trying to do, please check out my two recordings below. One is an audio of me trying to capture the essence of Literature Heart and Soul, the other, a short video of me getting excited about the novel, The Great Gatsby!
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Thanks for listening!
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Hello, I'm Frank Foley and I've been creating and tutoring my own literature study groups across Kent in the UK since 2006. I'm passionate about my courses, and despite being under real pressure to keep them going over the past couple of years, I'm delighted to say things are getting back to where they were before.
In terms of qualifications, I have a BA in English Literature from the University of Wales, Cardiff, and an MA in English Literature from the University of Kent.
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To let you into a little secret - I am hugely excited about 2023, and getting back to a full programme of courses!
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My Literature Lover series will explore a superb literary novel each month, focusing mainly on 20th century and contemporary books. The Great Classics series, as you might imagine, will focus on key literary works of the western canon, from Austen to Eliot, Dickens to Dostoevsky, the Brontes and, of course, many more!​
I will also run courses on Shakespeare's great tragedies, contemporary drama, the European novel, masterworks of the western canon, and a range of superb short stories! Hopefully there will be something for you!
If you're still with me, thank you!
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My classes are friendly and accessible, and open to anyone with a sense of adventure because we're going to be exploring this wonderful thing we call life, in all its glorious simplicity, complexity and mystery!
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Yes, exploring rather than analysing; staying open and curious rather than rigidly trying to find THE answer. So, if you're the black and white type, intent on pinning things down, let me beguile you with nuance, undecidables, and the subtle beauty of grey areas!
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Literature Heart & Soul, then ... a sanctuary for the literary minded! A space to engage with great fiction, enrich our understanding of who we are, and connect with other kindred spirits!
Sublime literary moments...
You turn the page, read the next sentence ... and something previously unspoken inside you, resonates in your soul with clear, articulated meaning. A second later, as you savour this moment of clarity, it is gone, but somehow you are changed, enriched.
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Great literature has this power to move us, to stir in us buried feelings, and express what we can only struggle to say.
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Through novels, short stories, poems and plays, we will explore ideas of what it means to be human, in all its complexity and ugliness, simplicity and beauty.
We'll do this with grace, humility and a sense of fun that will, hopefully, keep our serious selves quiet for a while!
An Always Within Never ~ 10-week study group
A wonderful 10-week study group inviting you to explore ideas of time, meaning, and identity in three superb novels!
The subtitle of the group ~ "sublime literary moments and the capacity for wonder" ~ is a clue to the contemplative approach we'll take across the ten weeks. We are discussing literary novels that ask questions about the human condition, reveal deft psychological insights, and capture the sublime moments that give meaning to our lives.
These are poetic, philosophical books. I will encourage you to savour them, slowly, and give them your full presence ... I will encourage you to listen to them...
An Always Within Never, a 10-week study group
Starts ~ Sunday 7th April 2024, 4- 6 pm
Schedule ~ 10 weekly 2-hour sessions
Venue ~ Online
Join my Facebook Group!
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Here's a snapshot of my forthcoming discussion groups!
FREE ONLINE CLASSES
Through the spring / summer of 2024 I'll be running free online short story classes!
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Stories will include Shirley Jackson's The Lottery, The Fly by Katherine Mansfield, and works by Anton Chekhov, Ernest Hemingway, and F Scott Fitzgerald!
COURSES IN KENT
With my Whitstable group up and running, over the summer of 2023, I am hoping to establish groups Canterbury, Herne Bay, and other Kent venues.
THE WESTERN CANON
An ongoing series of 4-week courses exploring central works of the western canon from, The Divine Comedy and Don Quixote, to Moby Dick, Middlemarch and Anna Karenina!
CLASSIC SUNDAYS - ONLINE
Sunday is the day for classic literature! We will explore from Austen to Eliot, Dickens to Dostoevsky!
LITERATURE LOVER - ONLINE
Open and accessible 3-week courses exploring a range of literary novels. Set your inner literature lover free!
SHAKESPEARE & DRAMA
My series "Shakespeare's Sea of Troubles" will explore the 4 great tragedies, and I will also be running regular courses on classic 19th and 20th century drama.
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Here's a short video of me talking about the novel Atonement by Ian McEwan.
Ubuntu and the spirit of my groups!
Something else I want to add to all this wonderful literary energy, is the spirit of ubuntu! Ubuntu is a west African concept that I first learned of in 2005, the year before I ran my first private group. It has served as a kind of philosophical framework for my groups ever since.
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There's no direct translation of ubuntu into English, but even the simple, "I am because we are," caught my eye back then. At some point, I began to think of ubuntu as meaning something like, "I can be fully me, when I help you be fully you," and though it's not necessarily exact as a translation, I think it's something to aspire to in our groups!
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(The Wikipedia entry for ubuntu is here - how would you translate it?)
As we discuss each book in detail, it helps if you've read it before the first session. Obviously, this is not always possible, but it does help the flow and energy of our discussions if we are familiar and engaged with the book in question.
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We will look at the main threads and the key themes. We'll look at the central characters and their characterisations. We'll look at structure, setting and writing style. And we'll do all this from, on the one hand, a wider, more general perspective, building up an overall impression of the book, and on the other, close in, exploring key passages, line by line if necessary, finding evidence for our more general ideas.
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Sessions will typically last for two hours with a short break at the halfway point.
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I will introduce and outline each session. This will vary from five to fifteen minutes depending on the text in question, and whether or not I've had a coffee beforehand. Then we'll get into the discussion!
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That's about it! If this sounds interesting, join one of my groups or email me if you have any further questions.
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Thanks, Frank. :)
"She had always wanted words, she loved them; grew up on them. Words gave her clarity, brought reason, shape."
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Michael Ondaatje, The English Patient
For the very brave, this far down the page... thank you! :)
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So, here's that awkward "about me" bit! In terms of higher qualifications, I have a BA Hons. in English Literature from the University of Wales, Cardiff; and an MA in English Literature from the University of Kent.
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In terms of passion, I've loved literature since that summer in my teens when I first read, The Great Gatsby. I was in a complete thrall to the beauty of the writing. Then, my father suggested I give Hemingway a try, and one fine morning I read the short story, "Big Two-Hearted River" and it blew my mind - I'd never read anything so vivid and real... it was an epiphany!
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And so my fate was sealed as a life-long literature lover! Much later I would create and tutor my own literature groups, and have done so for the past 15 years, allowing, of course, whenever appropriate, for a healthy sprinkle of Fitzgerald and Hemingway!
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If you like the sound of all this, take the leap and join a group - here - today!
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All the best,
Frank
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My contact email is:
For a link to my courses, click bookings below: