Clubs similar to Ariston have been in existence for some time. One group of current (and affiliated) essay clubs is listed here.
Here is a brief representative list - some of these vary in purpose to some extent, and have changed over the years, though all involve meetings and presentation of papers:
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Club List |
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| Name | Year Begun | Location | Purpose |
| Calliopean Literary Society | 1788-1831 | New York City | Compositions; recitations; orations; disputing science or literary. No controversial subjects in theology or politics; Archives: New York Historical Society Library and Columbia University |
| Century Association | 1847 | New York City | Founder: William Cullen Bryant. Original: arts and letters society. Today: venue for exhibition of art of members; other |
| The Literary Club | 1849 | Cincinnati | The Cincinnati Literary Club is the oldest essay club in
the United States. It was founded in 1849. Now comprised of 100 male
members, the Cincinnati Literary Club has a grand tradition. The club
meets every Monday from September to June. At each meeting at their
private clubhouse, there is time for drinks and then the membership
proceeds under an archway into the reading room. Delightfully, the
inscription on the archway reads, “Here Comes One With a Paper.”
Each member writes and reads an original essay every two years.
Following the reading of the essay there is a supper at the clubhouse
where informal discussion of the paper takes place. Since 1885 all the
essays have been archived in their clubhouse. The CLC also has a website
that archives their essays. The Cincinnati Literary Club has only
cancelled meetings during the Civil War and the 1918 Flu Epidemic. All
topics for essays are permitted except those promoting a religious or
political view
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| Examiner Club | 1863 R. W. Emerson | Boston | Oral presentation & discussion; written summary and minutes |
| Fortnightly Literary Club, of Indianapolis | 1885 | Indianapolis | Writing and presentation of papers; (20-40 min) and avoiding political and religious subjects and vacation travelogues; Focus on serious issues in literature, art, science, political government, and social and domestic economics. Archives IN Historical Society |
| The Chit Chat Club | 1874 | San Francisco | |
| Saturday Club | R. W. Emerson | Discussion of topics over lunch. Only written record: bio at member’s death bound and archived. Saturday Club founded Atlantic Monthly (1857) as literary and cultural commentary magazine James Russell Lowell, first editor. | |
| Chicago Literary Club | 1873 | ||
| The Vidocq Society | 1990 | Philadelphia | Crime solving |
| The Indianapolis Literary Club | 1877 | Indianapolis | |
| Redlands Fortnightly Club | 1895 | Redlands, California |
The club was founded January 24th, 1895 and is believed to be the second oldest literary club in the United States. The club gathers in the non-summer months, fortnightly to read papers that have been researched and written by members. Over 2000 papers are archived in the Redlands A.K. Smiley Public Library as a result of the club’s work over the years. Dr. James Fallows began to place these informative papers on the club website in 1997. Today you can have access to nearly 200 papers on this site. |