Harvard Diaries: World Literature
Chapter 0
Over the past couple of years, my rekindled love for reading has made me both thirsty for more knowledge and brave enough to explore the vast world of literature. I’ve found joy in reading during life’s in-between moments—between school and work breaks, during commutes, and late at night. Sharing how these books shape my teaching and my understanding of the world has deepened my desire to learn from the great minds of literature. That’s how I discovered and enrolled in Harvard’s World Literature course.
My goal is to expand and refine my literary knowledge, to crystallize my thinking, and to immerse myself in the wisdom of timeless texts. The idea of studying—even remotely—with a university as esteemed as Harvard was deeply flattering.
I’ve decided to keep a weekly diary throughout my World Literature course—14 entries in total, one for each study week. In this series, I’ll share my assignments, class discussions, and personal reflections. It’s a way to document my journey, track my growth, and celebrate the insights I gain along the way.
My love for literature
Throughout my life, I’ve encountered countless books worthy of attention, and a few remarkable people whose taste in literature helped guide me toward unforgettable gems. Under their influence, I fell deeply and unconditionally in love with world literature. Living and studying across different countries and cultures has made me something of a cosmopolitan and a polyglot. I read comfortably in four languages and always prefer the original text over translations whenever possible. Studying literature was never a question of “if,” but “when”—and now, here I am at Harvard.
One of my fondest childhood memories is learning Georgian poetry with my mother. I grew up wrapped in the tiger’s skin of Pshavela, held by Dumbadze’s loving hands, and steeped in Georgian history. Poetry has always been a natural part of me. By age seven, I already had a notebook filled with my own creations. Not long ago, I picked up the pen again to write poetry—perhaps imperfect, but always passionate.
Excited and inspired by the opportunity to study this course, I felt a surge of creativity during the first assignment, which asked for a personal introduction. I decided to respond with a poem—an introduction in verse, a reflection of who I am. I had only two sessions and pure inspiration.
Here it is, presented with love and literary spirit:
From Pshavela to Harvard
I am a human, dancer, and teacher
Living in Finland with roots from Georgia
A book per week I read this year
Four languages guiding in world literature.
I love to travel through time and spaces
Exploring cultures, textures and rhythms
Dressing up in language of visited country
exploring past, present and future.
A week in England with Wodehouse and
Austen, drinking a tea of wit and sharpness.
Speaking the truth and showing your mind
Will not always be the appropriate path.
Then straight to Russia visiting Pushkin,
dancing under his poetic music
Father of Russian prose and poesy
Profound, brave and hopeless romantic.
Shota Rustaveli strong in might and spirit,
forges iron that never rusts –
Verses tempered in fire and grace
The knight in the Panther’s skin was born in 12th century
Then to the north, and frozen roads
Kalevala still drumming the beats
Composure, strength and measured course,
Battle of lonely traveler with cold.
Books between moments are shaping my life
Exploring more cultures using translation
Deepening my knowledge and sharing with kids,
creative dance across the country.
I’m curious, thirsty for knowledge
Multilingual and cosmopolitan
Knitting personal ways of living
like threads of stories worn in motion.
I grew up surrounded by ancient legends,
Byzantine myths, and archeology
Odyssey playing with cups of wisdom,
Blood pouring across Troy’s battlefield.
While Lermontov spoke of Goethe and reason,
Zola brushed the dust off revolutionary feathers.
I was drowning in depths of knowledge –
until I saw Quixote charging the windmill,
his madness clearer than my confusion.
Chasing mental crystallization led me here –
to the course of world literature.
Inspired and ready to be challenged and tested,
and let the stories guide my transformation.
N.M.
