Week 5: LITERATURE HU 300
Reading in America In 2004, the National Endowment for the Arts put out a study called “Reading at Risk,” about the decline of reading in America. In 2007, another study showed that 1 in 4 adults read no books in (Fram, 2007) What do you think of these findings? Do they seem accurate to what you observe? What might a decline in reading say about a culture?
1 in 4 Read No Books Last Year Woman and older persons read the most West and Midwest read more Southerners read more religious and romances Whites read more than Blacks and Hispanics Those who attend church regularly read 50% less Democrats read more than Republicans and liberals 2/3 rd of those surveyed who read- read the Bible or other religious texts Men read more biographies and histories Older, married, lower earners, less educated, rural, Republicans and Conservatives also read more religious texts
Unexpected Twists There is a rise in reading! 2002: 56.6% of those surveyed did not read outside of work and school 2008: 54.3% did not read outside of work and school The highest increases in reading are in the age range (40% of total readers) Article argues, “Is this the Harry Potter Phenomenon?”
Update on Reading For the first time since the NEA began surveying American reading habits in and less than five years after it issued its famously gloomy "Reading at Risk" report -- the percentage of American adults who report reading "novels, short stories, poems or plays" has risen instead of declining: from 46.7 percent in 2002 to 50.2 percent in 2008 (Thompson, 2009). (Note: Nonfiction is excluded from the study) What might explain the increase of reading in the last 6 years?
Which books/authors do you enjoy? Which have inspired you?
Poetry In our unit we discussed poetry, which is rarely a best- seller. Why might poetry be less popular than fiction? Where are some places that poetry does exist and thrive in our culture?
Why Poetry? What are some of the unique benefits poetry can offer to the reader or listener?