Beyond the Void

The Reader’s Bloc is an online/IRL group of readers taking part in reading, listening and sharing exercises around texts that help us learn more about ourselves, the identities we share and the communities we live in.

This month’s session will examine texts by two influential thinkers of existentialist philosophy – a field that explores existence and its meaning through an individualistic lens. What does it truly mean to exist? Is there a deeper purpose to life and who decides this? Through Antoine’s quest to find meaning to a life devoid of one in Jean-Paul Sartre’s ‘Nausea’, we’ll explore how this character grapples with an overwhelming sense of absurdity and alienation.

In our second text, ‘Near to the Wild Heart’ by Clarice Lispector, we see how the protagonist Joanna is faced with the question of authenticity in the midst of a chaotic world, isolating herself from it. Here we will reflect on the tensions that arise between societal impositions and personal freedom.

If you’ve ever pondered upon these themes, join us for a thought-provoking session of Reader’s Bloc that will probe your understanding of life and its meaning.

This programme is exclusively for 18–25 year olds.

This session is conducted as part of our engagements for the MAP Youth Collective. The MAP Youth Collective is a community for young people (18-25 year olds) to engage with the arts and culture sector. The collective is for, of and by young people — to explore our shared identities and interests through art.