Comments on Anne Greenawalt: I Am a Literature Snob

Gabrielle,
I think you may have missed the poin...

2011-09-18T20:53:25.231-04:00

Gabrielle,
I think you may have missed the point of what I was trying to say. I was trying to say that although I personally do not want to read "formulaic fiction" I am now understanding why it is OK to consider it acceptable reading for adolescents, especially those who are disengaged readers.

And, as I commented before, I do not think it's a crime to enjoy those types of books, it's just that, as a writer, I get frustrated when readers don't understand that it is much more difficult to write a book like The Scarlet Letter than it is to write a book like Twilight.

(And for the record, as much as I dislike Twilight, I would choose to read it over The Scarlet Letter.)

I think that talking about the Twilight series and...

2011-09-18T16:48:55.095-04:00

I think that talking about the Twilight series and other book series that actually made reading fun for me as a kid as low quality reading is not the way to go. The only reason I even started reading was because I got to read stories that I liked and that I could actually understand. I loved Roald Dahl and though his stories were not above level reading, I read them all the time. This helped me read in the classroom better because I read other books all the time so when it came to another book, I would give it a try. You can be a good reader without reading the Oedipus series or the Scarlet letter, which I never read.

Anne, I relate to what you are saying as well. To ...

2011-09-17T20:37:12.031-04:00

Anne, I relate to what you are saying as well. To compare the Twilight series (although a great escape from college finals) to the Oedipus series is not fair to the classic. However the students will create more meaning through teenage love and drama than ancient Greek mythology and incest.

Anne, I really can relate to much of what you writ...

2011-09-17T18:11:52.730-04:00

Anne, I really can relate to much of what you write. Like you, I was encouraged by my parents to read "better" books. I appreciated your viewpoint as an author who really considers words and the importance of word choice. Wilhelm places a good bit of emphasis on the reader "transaction." I wonder if this can be taken too far? In formulaic fiction,(I'm thinking of the romance genre) I believe it can empower one to take action in their own life, but if it is continually read as a way to escape, can it be classified as literature that truly engages the reader or has "transformative" power as literature. As teacher's I'm sure it is an ongoing struggle to determine what literature best fits the needs of our students.

I'm glad you understand what I'm talking a...

2011-09-17T08:52:09.911-04:00

I'm glad you understand what I'm talking about!

For the record, I don't think there's anything wrong with enjoying the story of the Twilight series, it just bothers me when people believe they are the best-written books of all time.

To put it in terms of music: I think Beethoven is a "better" musician than someone like Katy Perry, but a lot of people are more entertained by and prefer to listen to Katy Perry, and that's fine! But I would still argue that Beethoven's music is of a higher quality than Katy Perry's because it takes more skill to compose and perform it.

Wow! You have expressed in clear words exactly wh...

2011-09-17T01:57:03.768-04:00

Wow! You have expressed in clear words exactly what I feel about literary quality. I agree with what you have written: how a text is written versus writing for plot. I also distinguish certain texts as richer than other texts (although not necessarily "above") because in addition to an engaging plot or powerful characters, the language of the text has a special poetry. (I am in love with words.)

Wilhelm and Shannon have certainly challenged what I label "literature" as well.

[I must admit, I do love Twilight... But, I also realize that I love it in very different ways and for different reasons than I love, say, Moby-Dick.]