Excellent article (as usual). Categorising writing as worthy or not prevented women from being published (and taught to read) not so very long ago, which I imagine Prior would not advocate.
But her point that most sticks with me is an insistence on effortful reading. I’m reading a novel by Karl Ove Knausgaard, and wondering why I adore his writing. At least in part it’s because he’s so easy to read. No showing off, no unnecessary adjectives and descriptions. If I re-read a sentence it’s to enjoy it once more, not to puzzle it out. Some literature won’t be as accessible as this-due to language and time differences-but surely no writer sets out to be hard to understand.
I understand the arguments you're making here about reading not making people better than others, the examples you give are very persuasive. And I don't believe in the spiritual or moral superiority assigned by the author either. Yet there is a growing body of work that does suggest that reading fiction closely does help develop empathy. There is also a depressingly large amount of information about who reads fiction, and by which authors. Men read less fiction than women and when they do read it they typically read male authors. Women read books written by men and women and are less likely to decide not to read a book simply because it might have been written by a man. I think all of these things can be true. I know that you, Noah, read voraciously obviously. I think you can agree with me that this puts you in the minority of men your age in the U.S. though? Though you besmirch her prolific and august name JCO wasn't trying to imply she's unaware of film or music as important forms of art. I think she's trying to point out what's different about the act of reading fiction that separates it from other types of narrative. Because there IS something fundamentally different in the process. I don't think it's something spiritual or superior and that it happens to a greater degree to people who read fiction. It can happen when one is exposed to any great art, to a lesser extent. I'd imagine people that only read novels that reflect their own experiences probably wouldn't show the level of empathy seen in people who read novels where they see the world from a wide variety of times and perspectives. Obviously I didn't consider my daughter to be less than human before she was able to read. However if I didn't believe there was something necessary and very important to be found in books, then I wouldn't have spent so many hours reading books to her when she was too you to read for herself. She was definitely always human but the joy and pride I felt when she started reading her first middle grade chapter book was unique.
Excellent article (as usual). Categorising writing as worthy or not prevented women from being published (and taught to read) not so very long ago, which I imagine Prior would not advocate.
But her point that most sticks with me is an insistence on effortful reading. I’m reading a novel by Karl Ove Knausgaard, and wondering why I adore his writing. At least in part it’s because he’s so easy to read. No showing off, no unnecessary adjectives and descriptions. If I re-read a sentence it’s to enjoy it once more, not to puzzle it out. Some literature won’t be as accessible as this-due to language and time differences-but surely no writer sets out to be hard to understand.
I understand the arguments you're making here about reading not making people better than others, the examples you give are very persuasive. And I don't believe in the spiritual or moral superiority assigned by the author either. Yet there is a growing body of work that does suggest that reading fiction closely does help develop empathy. There is also a depressingly large amount of information about who reads fiction, and by which authors. Men read less fiction than women and when they do read it they typically read male authors. Women read books written by men and women and are less likely to decide not to read a book simply because it might have been written by a man. I think all of these things can be true. I know that you, Noah, read voraciously obviously. I think you can agree with me that this puts you in the minority of men your age in the U.S. though? Though you besmirch her prolific and august name JCO wasn't trying to imply she's unaware of film or music as important forms of art. I think she's trying to point out what's different about the act of reading fiction that separates it from other types of narrative. Because there IS something fundamentally different in the process. I don't think it's something spiritual or superior and that it happens to a greater degree to people who read fiction. It can happen when one is exposed to any great art, to a lesser extent. I'd imagine people that only read novels that reflect their own experiences probably wouldn't show the level of empathy seen in people who read novels where they see the world from a wide variety of times and perspectives. Obviously I didn't consider my daughter to be less than human before she was able to read. However if I didn't believe there was something necessary and very important to be found in books, then I wouldn't have spent so many hours reading books to her when she was too you to read for herself. She was definitely always human but the joy and pride I felt when she started reading her first middle grade chapter book was unique.
Thanks for reposting this, it’s definitely applicable at any time.
It’s very human to categorize, compare, and create hierarchies, and ugh, soooo teeeedious. Oh congratulations on being human whoopidy doo.
Everyone I interact with is human, and increasingly for me, all that means is that each and every one of us is an asshole with great potential.