Greek in Glacier program brings philosophy to the park

Walter Roberts III of Detroit has brought Plato to Polebridge, along with Greek and Latin.

In Polebridge, one can expect the unexpected.

On the property at Square Peg Ranch is a one-room, screened-in building with old chairs, sofas and plenty of books relating to ancient Greece that serves as the meeting place for the Plato Group, which began meeting informally in 2012.

“A few summers ago a small group of Polebridge locals began to gather on Friday afternoons to discuss the life values present in ancient Greek philosophy,” Roberts said.

So how did Roberts, a former college professor with a Ph.D. in classics from the University of California-Berkeley discover Polebridge as the setting to share his passion for ancient philosophers and languages?

“I’ve been spending summers here for a really long time. I was actually working for someone in New York City whose sister used to own the Polebridge Merc, so I came in ’91 or ’92 to work in the Merc,” Roberts said.

During that time, he was studying for his Ph.D. in the same room where the Plato Group meets today.

“This has been my little haunt for a long time,” he said.

The Plato Group is part of Greek in Glacier, an intensive Greek and Latin language program designed by Roberts.

Throughout the summer, a variety of seminars for the Hellenists and Latinists are offered through Greek in Glacier, but the Plato Group is for anyone and everyone, whether they are new or seasoned to reading Plato, Roberts said.

“With a little bit of background, they [Plato’s texts] are probably the most accessible philosophic works because they are written as dialogues — almost plays,” Roberts said. “We basically read the thing out loud and I might make a note here or there, give some historical background, but largely we just read and free associate.”

On July 17, the atmosphere was casual. Roberts sat in a recliner eating spoonfuls of cantaloupe while waiting for participants to arrive. Adjacent to him, Plato Group member AZ Holbrook of Arizona leafed through Plato’s “The Republic,” which the group has been delving into since July 3. Holbrook is a graduate student at the University of Arizona, studying philosophy. He initially met Roberts about two years ago when the pair began reading Latin together.

It wasn’t long before Holbrook’s aunt Elizabeth arrived on that July afternoon.

“The North Fork is full of improbable people — Ph.Ds of all sorts, M.D.s, lawyers, and Walter actually shares his expertise with these groups of people, which I think is very cool,” said Elizabeth Holbrook, who herself has a Ph.D. “I mean, the whole notion of Plato in Polebridge — it’s wonderful.”

Reading texts such as “The Republic” is as pertinent for people of modern civilizations to read as it was to ancient ones, according Holbrook.

“The reason I find it so interesting is because when we think about how we live in the modern era we like to imagine all of these issues and problems we deal with are somehow new and we’re working through them for the first time,” he said. “When really so many of the things that we think about today have been thought about before by extremely intelligent people.”

Elizabeth added, “AZ is right. We fight many of the same battles when we could fight them a lot smarter.”

The Plato Group meets at 2 p.m. each Friday through Aug. 14. Ten dollars is the suggested donation for people who want to drop in for a session.

The ambitious part of Roberts’ Greek in Glacier program is getting people to register for the intensive, and pricier, Greek and Latin seminars where students read texts in their original form.

“That’s what I’m ultimately working towards,” Roberts said. “Basically bring people to this marvelous place and do serious intellectual work.”

Greek in Glacier is offered through the Detroit Greek and Latin Educational Foundation. The foundation’s mission is to advance the study of Greek and Latin in urban public schools, Roberts said. Roberts resigned his position as a professor at University of Vermont to establish the foundation with the goal of restoring ancient Greek and Latin in Detroit schools.

“I want to try and restore Greek and Latin to Detroit public schools with the larger mission of just spreading classical knowledge to people who don’t usually encounter it,” Roberts said.

For more information visit detroitgreekandlatin.com or email wroberts@detroitgreekandlatin.com.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.