students spend saturday reading ‘paradise l ost’

By EMMA DUFFY social media e ditor

Twelve books, 10,500 lines and plenty of sinful apples — all were consumed during this year’s m ilton m arathon, an all-day reading of John m ilton’s “ p aradise l ost.” o n s aturday, students and faculty gathered in the p rogram of l iberal s tudies’ third-floor lounge in o ’ s haughnessy h all to spend approximately 10 hours with the epic poem in blank verse. p articipants took turns reading aloud the text, a 17th-century rendition of a dam and e ve’s temptation in the g arden of e den.

This weekend was not the first time students have canceled s aturday plans in lieu of intense reading. The event has transpired four times, but it had a brief hiatus because of covid -19. The tradition made its post-pandemic return this year.

“ p aradise l ost” was not chosen at random. o ne could assume its length would be a deterrent, but organizer s teve Fallon, an e nglish professor, said duration is the reason to pick the poem.

“ you have to give up a day, meaning it can be tiring,” Fallon said. “ b ut there’s something about doing something you would not otherwise do. i would sit down and read a shorter poem in one sitting, but it’s rare to sit down and read a poem of this length in one sitting.” s ophomore Kat r egala remained at the event for 10 out of the 12 books. e ven though she has had past exposure to the poem, r egala said this was her best encounter with the text.

The challenge of endurance aside, Fallon considers the text not only the most regarded work of m ilton, but one of the best texts ever written in the e nglish language.

“ i think as for most of us who are native e nglish speakers, it’s one of the great treasures of our language,” Fallon said.

The poem is renowned for its excellence in any format, but students were particularly eager to hear it spoken out loud.

“ i t was for sure engaging hearing people speak out the dialogue,” she said.

“ e veryone added good flare and it was great to listen to.” a nother student in attendance, sophomore i saac b ernsten, felt the text brought to life by the reading.

“ e ven though i ’ve already read the first 10 books prior to that, i was still underlining new things that i hadn’t picked up because i grasped a greater emotional insight into the states of see milTon PAGE 4 together to create an athletic event that allowed the average student to pursue athletics on a larger scale than would be possible with any interhall competition.

The opportunity to compete against varsity athletes coupled with the lack of fervor surrounding spring sports during the early 70’s led n otre d ame students to flock toward this event.

“ b esides creating interest on campus, it does something more important. i t allows the frustrated jocks of the u niversity their chance at the big time, their opportunity to meet a major college athlete on the field of battle. b ookstore basketball is probably responsible for the making and breaking of more egos than any other event on campus,” writes Fred h erbst (‘77) in a 1976 article from The o bserver. a lthough b ookstore b asketball is known for its competitive spirit, the tournament is all in good fun. m arc r amirez (‘85), a feature writer for The o bserver, recalled some of the strange occurrences that took