What is a “classic”? How do you choose it, classify it, analyse it? What makes a literary work part of a “canon”? According to Ítalo Calvino, a work earns this category if what it has to say never ends, if it is not just read, but “re-read”. A classic is normally defined as a book that withstands the test of time (never less than 10 years), discusses universal (and not culture-specific) themes and has a lasting influence on other writers. The books chosen for this cycle all fall into these categories, consisting of works by Agustina, Machado de Assis, Shakespeare, Goethe, Woolf and Plato.