How to Drink: A Classical Guide to the Art of Imbibing - Cancelled

Please note that at the request of the speaker, this event has been cancelled and will be rescheduled for a later date. More details to follow. 

Is there an art to drinking alcohol? The Renaissance poet Vincent Obsopoeus thought so. In the winelands of sixteenth-century Germany, he witnessed the birth of a poisonous new culture of bingeing, peer pressure, and competitive drinking. Alarmed, he wrote The Art of Drinking (De Arte Bibendi), a how-to manual for enjoying wine with pleasure and discrimination. The poem urges moderation while also offering tips for giving toasts and winning drinking games—all based on extensive personal experience. In this book talk, Michael Fontaine shares the wisdom and insights he's found in translating Obsopoeus' forgotten classic.

Michael Fontaine is professor of classics and the associate vice provost of undergraduate education at Cornell. He lives in Ithaca and travels frequently. His latest book is How to Drink: A Classical Guide to the Art of Imbibing (Princeton University Press, 2020).

6:00pm reception; 6:30pm lecture, gratis. Advanced registrations required.

Members and one guest per member are invited to dine at The Club with the speaker following the lecture. Please click here to access the post program dinner registration page.