A collection of schools, churches and book clubs are uniting to read Dante's Divine Comedy in honour of the 700th anniversary of his death.
14th September is considered the anniversary of Dante Alighieri's death, the author who wrote Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso, which collectively make up the epic poem Divine Comedy - a text exploring the depths of heaven and hell in 14th-century prose.
To mark the anniversary, multiple universities are partnering up from 8th September to encourage each other to read Dante's work in 100 non-sequential days and form the "World's Largest Dante reading group."
Each week, readers will be encouraged to read three cantos, or a section, of the poems. Each reading assignment will be supplemented by video presentations and explainers written by professors and designed to people to the literature.
The program will continue from 8th September until 17th April 17 2022, allowing clubs flexibility to begin their reading later in the year.
In an interview with Catholic outlet Aleteia, Anthony Nussmeier of the University of Dallas said that "We really want to emphasize the idea of the poem as a Christian epic, one that is informed by Christianity and one that can inform Christians with its wisdom, even in 2021." Nussmeier believes that this opportunity is perfect for anyone "who might be interested in the intellectual underpinnings of western Christianity."
The 100 Days of Dante initiative is organised by the Baylor University Honors College.
