CANYON—The hottest 3,000-year-old epic poem in pop culture will get its turn in the spotlight in the first meeting of West Texas A&M University’s Great Books series for the semester.

Dr. Bonnie Roos, WT professor of English, will lead the discussion of Homer’s “The Odyssey” at 7 pm September 8 at Burrowing Owl Books’s Amarillo location, 2461 W. Interstate 40 in Wolflin Square.

Roos said filmmaker Christopher Nolan’s massively successful film adaptation of the poem “means people are thinking about (‘The Odyssey’) right now.”

“And it’s worth thinking about, because it’s a structured way to explore issues related to war, immigration, storytelling, leadership, nationalism—relevant to our lives today,” Roos said. “The story’s importance to people over the centuries means it has been taken up by some of the greatest writers we know: Dante Alighieri, James Joyce, Derek Walcott to name a few.”

Roos said she would love to see the movie’s fans attend the meeting.

“I hope people who are curious about the text might drop by for some of the general conversations about how the book and the movie differ, maybe get inspired to read it, and that people who know the text well will be excited to share their views about some of the philosophical and political questions the text invites,” she said.

 The discussion series—sponsored by the Department of Englsh, Philosophy and Modern Languages in the Sybil B. Harrington College of Fine Arts and Humanities—is open to those who either have or haven’t read the story, said organizer Dr. Daniel Bloom.

WT professors and guest lecturers lead the monthly Great Books discussions.

For information, email Bloom at dbloom@wtamu.edu.

Readers and writers also may be interested in the monthly meeting of the Burrowing Owl Poetry Circle, led by Dr. Pat Tyrer, retired WT professor of English.

At this monthly gathering, attendees can share their own works or those by others, or they can simply listen. The June meeting is set for 6 pm September. 24 at Burrowing Owl Books, 400 15th St. in Canyon.