Literature- It’s Central to Literacy

“Literature in its most comprehensive sense is the autobiography of humanity.” Bernard Berenson

“This is old stuff– how can it be relevant to my life?” I’ve heard this objection from both students and adults, as I’ve spoken through the years on the importance of reading and literature. I’ve been thinking more about literature and its place in life as I’ve worked on refining my high school literature series. I’m more deeply than ever convinced of literature’s importance, and yes- relevance- in every area of life.

With a strong foundation in literature, it becomes possible to put life into words. We read of the experiences of others, and they become our own; we are able to place our own experiences in perspective; we can grasp the significance, beauty, or tragedy of an event in a way that is impossible for a person who lacks fundamental literacy. We learn by example how to clearly express feelings, describe experiences, and empathize with others. Literature not only teaches us how to communicate, it also gives us a common basis for understanding one another.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn, in his 1970 Nobel lecture, said,

“The sole substitute for an experience which we have not ourselves lived through is art [and] literature… From man to man, as he completes his brief spell on Earth, art transfers the whole weight of an unfamiliar, lifelong experience with all its burdens, its colours, its sap of life; it recreates in the flesh an unknown experience and allows us to possess it as our own.”

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Coleridge on Math; Music for “Kubla Khan”

I have been coping with computer disasters of astonishing magnitude over the last week or so, but I had to share this wonderful quote with you. Leave it to a poet to tell the truth so very vividly!

“I have often been surprised, that Mathematics, the Quintessence of Truth, should have found admirers so few and so languid– Frequent consideration and minute scrutiny have at length unraveled the cause– Viz– That, though Reason is feasted, Imagination is starved: whilst Reason is luxuriating in its proper Paradise, Imagination is wearily traveling over a dreary desert.” (From a letter written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge to his brother George, March 31, 1791. He follows this quote with a very funny poem on math.)

Coleridge’s images tend to stick in my mind, and I don’t always care for them, but if you like his classic “Kubla Kahn,” I think you’ll enjoy Juergen Matthias Shroeder’s website with an original symphony inspired by the poem. Shroeder provides an illustrated trip through “Kubla Khan,” with clips of the symphony along the way. He explains which instruments are used, and how each illustrates a portion of the poem. It’s a wonderful lesson in how art, music, and poetry are intertwined.

Read more on “Kubla Khan.”

Frost’s Prayer in Spring

I love Robert Frost’s gentle reminder to enjoy the beauty of today. It helps me remember to enjoy not only spring, but also my sweet boys. I hope you enjoy the poem as well.

A Prayer in Spring
by Robert Frost (1915)

Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers to-day;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.

Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;
And make us happy in the happy bees,
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.

And make us happy in the darting bird
That suddenly above the bees is heard,
The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,
And off a blossom in mid air stands still.

For this is love and nothing else is love,
The which it is reserved for God above
To sanctify to what far ends He will,
But which it only needs that we fulfil.

I wandered lonely as a Cloud…

Daffodil-copyright freefoto.comSpring just isn’t spring until I can share Wordsworth’s delight in daffodils. Poetry is experience distilled to its essence. Once you’ve enjoyed an experience through poetry, you’ll find that both experience and poem are enriched.

The daffodils are in full dress in our yard today, like scraps of sunlight scattered about. If you don’t have daffodils in your garden, do plan to plant some bulbs next fall. They’re absolutely easy-care, and they’ll reward you by multiplying year after year.

Enjoy!

Here is the 1815 poem by William Wordsworth:

I wandered lonely as a Cloud
That floats on high o’er Vales and Hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. Read more

Thoughts on Choosing Literature from a 1903 Reader

Old booksI love old books. Although I strongly advocate reading whole works for high school literature, I find that old readers can be very useful in introducing an author and creating a taste for his or her work.

I was browsing through The Jones Fifth Reader by L.H. Jones, A.M., published in 1903, this morning, and I was struck by the high quality of the works it contains. I found the reasoning behind the choices in the author’s mission statement / preface. It’s quite unlike anything I’ve seen in modern texts, and well worth sharing. Enjoy!

“This book is intended as a basal reader for pupils of the sixth, seventh, and eight years in school. These years make up a period of high enthusiasms and noble impulses. During this period ideals of life and conduct are rapidly shaping themselves in the minds of the growing girls and boys. Susceptible as they are at this age to evil influences, they yet respond most readily to the call of higher motives. Noble, daring, and heroic action, when properly pictured to them, seems native to the human spirit. Read more

Thirty Books You Won’t Forget

I love to read, and on the back of my business card I share some unforgettable books. Of course, this isn’t nearly all my favorites, but I was constrained by the size of the card! Do you have a list of books you love? Feel free to share it!

Here’s my list of unforgettable books: Read more

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