Great Works \’09

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What is the use of literature? That question immediately irritates me because its brusque tone implies that there is no point in reading. If there is no point in reading then why read at all? Take me for example, how could I aquire the ability to interpret and describe tone if I did not take the time to read and study texts. Why would people read books, magazines, the signs on the streets? Sometimes it is “utilitarian”, something useful and pragmatic. Sometimes the pursuit of reading for its usefulness sounds dull, exceedingly dull and literature can not be generalized as “dull”.

 

Then they started to discuss poetry, that’s not dull at all. I like poetry. Poetry, with a capital P denotes its importance as a subject.  According to one professor “Poetry is a way of happening”. Instead of using prose to describe occurrences on can use poetry to imprint a sharper, clearer image. In this age of technology and instant gratification, clear communication is seriously underrated. Some people would describe Poetry as “hard”. Yet it is one of the most free forms of expression and easy to interpret if you are a good communicator. A good communicator isn’t defined by their words per minute speed, or how fast they speak. A good communicator is  uses the minimal amount of words befitting a transfer of thoughts, ideas, and information. Reading teaches on to be a good communicator.

 

At one point the moderator mentioned Anna Karenina as an important text. I cringed visibly. I absolutely loath that book, Tolstoy’s characters, never ending sentences and DRAMA. I’m shuddering now just thinking about it. Sure its considered a classic work of Russian literature and also required reading. However all I remember thinking about Anna is “WHY IS SHE DOING THIS! HOW IS SHE GETTING AWAY WITH THIS!!”. Without giving away too much of the plot I realize that literature teaches us to question reasons and methods of human action. Human life is not a linear sequence of events without cause or development. There are emotions, catalysts and literature teaches us how to interpret them.

 

Good writers can describe your life experiences and help you “make sense of a world that really doesn’t make sense” according to one Professor. I agree with them. Literature can transport a reader halfway across the globe, back in time, into the future and deep into the subconscious. This is not an overstatement. I love to write because I love to read! Literature has evolved, there is so much to read! It does not matter if you are a teeny bopper “Twilight” fan, a Phillip Pullman sci-fi aficionado, a Dan Brown thrill seeker or a scholarly fan of James Joyce, reading develops your personality! We’re at the age where we aren’t sure who we are, what we want, or where we want to go. Reading literature aids in the development of identifying “wants”, and that’s what we all “want”. Right?