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the stories of elizabeth bennett, bilbo baggins, jo march, atticus finch, anne shirley, + many more carry a sort of magic in them, do they not? we certainly think they do. in fact, we know they do. here at The Commonplace, we believe that we can carry this magic within our hearts through the study and admiration of classic works of literature + if we do that, it will find its way into our lives. if you notice, all the characters we listed at the beginning lived culture-defying lives: elizabeth waited for true love, bilbo defied social norms, jo chased her dream of becoming a published author, atticus pursued justice, + anne was brave in the midst of change. whether in great or small ways, each of these characters made an impact on their worlds and showed others the beauty of living differently.

The Commonplace was born out of a desire to cultivate the lives of those desiring to live differently.

we're a small band of classically educated students who desire to counter a culture that is becoming increasingly self-centered and vain. in order to do this, we decided to begin the journey of keeping our own personal commonplace books as a gentle attempt to fall from the convoluted American dream.

through the slow process of immersing ourselves in literature, oration, + poetry, both modern and ancient, we have discovered that our views of mankind, the world, + nature have been greatly influenced by the greatest artists that have ever lived. the words of jane austen, mark twain, lois lowry, louisa may alcott, homer, shakespeare, martin luther king jr., Jesus Christ, + many others are now living in our notebooks, + our hearts, sculpting our character + giving us a view of the world on a global scale.

when we copy down the words of influential thinkers + artists throughout history, we immerse ourselves in the works of the masters. don't be afraid to let words shape you. let them break you. let them take you on a journey.

without further adieu, welcome to The Commonplace, a place where people of all ages, backgrounds, + cultures can come together to learn, grow, + fall in love with literature anew every day, united by a desire to live differently.

we read to live. 

welcome to The Commonplace