Literature Alive! have had a presence in Second Life going all the way back to 2006, their goal is :

The goals of Literature Alive! are to help faculty create ethical and immersive learning environments that provide “added value” to students in composition, professional writing, and literature courses: to help students use the resources of a 3D world to add to the depth and breadth of understanding literature; to foster a community of open access educators dedicated to the sharing of teaching content; and, finally, to promote a lifelong love of learning through a lifelong passion for reading.

Personally I’m a big fan of learning and a big fan of reading, so I like the cut of their jib. Literature Alive! currently have a couple of exhibits in Second Life. One is a virtual pilgrimage of The Canterbury Tales and the other is Edgar Allan Poe’s House of Usher.

We’ll start with The Canterbury Tales. The starting place is Tabard Inn and being a Dwarfin I can’t resist a good inn! There’s also a mini game here, which if you complete you will be able to claim a free meal … that definitely appeals to a Dwarfin too!

There’s more here too, there are biographies of Chaucer’s and the biography of Sir Thomas Becket. Then further in the build there’s the chance to learn about customs and manners of medieval England. Then if you’re brave enough you can read the full text of Chaucer’s Prologue and here you have an interesting choice, you can read a version in either Middle English or modern English.

A warning, if you’ve never read middle English before be prepared for something different, you also may want to be thankful that Beowulf and Old English aren’t an option, that gets most confusing.

Canterbury Tales Virtual Pilgrimage

The Canterbury Tales Virtual Pilgrimage is a non-profit educational build of Literature Alive! Residents can learn about the life and times of Geoffrey Chaucer while “doing” the pilgrimage. Treasure chests with free prizes await for those that want to challenge themselves with CT trivia!

Visit in Second Life

SLURL To Canterbury Tales Virtual Pilgramage : http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Jeogori/57/131/106/

Now if Chaucer isn’t your thing, how about a bit of Edgar Allan Poe? Literature Alive have an exhibit at SL12B entitled Edgar Allan Poe’s House Of Usher, which, as the title explains, allows you to find out about the life and works of Edgar Allan Poe.

Now if you want to see this exhibit, time is short, as it’s part of SL12B it’s likely to disappear after July 4th.

SLURL To Edgar Allan Poe’s House Of Usher : http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/SL12B%20Impressive/39/20/22

Literature Alive are a non-profit team that believe in open education and sharing resources. They have worked with a variety of bodies over the years and they work on a voluntary basis.

The team are :

• Desideria Stockton, Founder & Educational Designer, 2006-Present
• Daliah Carter, Executive Assistant, 2007-Present
• Eloise Pasteur, Principal Builder & Scripter, 2006-2010
• Royce Sommer, Principal Builder, 2015-Present

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