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?

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?

Madam and The Rent Man Langston Hughes  The rent man knocked. He said, Howdy-do? I said, What Can I do for you? He said, You know Your rent is due. I said, Listen, Before I'd pay I'd go to Hades And rot away! The sink is broke, The water don't run, And you ain't done a thing You promised to've done. Back window's cracked, Kitchen floor squeaks, There's rats in the cellar, And the attic leaks.  He said, Madam, It's not up to me. I'm just the agent, Don't you see? I said, Naturally, You pass the buck. If it's money you want You're out of luck. He said, Madam, I ain't pleased! I said, Neither am I. So we agrees!

Metaphors Sylvia Plath I'm a riddle in nine syllables, An elephant, a ponderous house, A melon strolling on two tendrils. O red fruit, ivory, fine timbers! This loaf's big with its yeasty rising. Money's new-minted in this fat purse. I'm a means, a stage, a cow in calf. I've eaten a bag of green apples, Boarded the train there's no getting off.

The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner Randall Jarrell From my mother's sleep I fell into the State, And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze. Six miles from earth, loosed from its dream of life, I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighters. When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose.

Why Poetry?  What are some of the unique benefits poetry can offer to the reader or listener?