Books Still Matter

Teaching literature to students without reading the texts afresh is sort of like preaching an old sermon to a congregation without first checking in with God about it. Doesn’t really seem right or fair.

That preface comes to mind because our World Literature course is back on the schedule for this spring semester at Gateway. I’ll be re-reading some exemplary literature over the next few months. It’s easy to get caught up in the monotony of routine and lose appreciation for reading (or fail to do it altogether). Nice when you have a formal class to guide you into a reading or writing discipline as Kent discussed.

My Methodology for Exploring Literature
Do you remember your lit survey class from sophomore year in college? I do. I was not yet an English major, but I adored my lit classes… until English 3020: Brit Lit I rolled around at LSU. We started with Caedmon's Hymn jumped to Beowulf and by the time we got to Spenser’s Fairie Queene, literature lover or not, I had all but checked out.

So my vision for literature is to reverse the timeline. Instead of starting with works of antiquity and progressing to contemporary literature, we start with contemporary works in my class and then trace back in time to see the literary traditions as they have emerged. It has been an interesting experiment and has seemed to help students maintain an appreciation for the classics by the time we reach them.

A Contemporary Literature Excursion
Today in class we discussed excerpts from Peace Like a River, a 2001 bestseller by Lief Enger with rich Christian themes. We first discussed parallelisms between the novel and To Kill a Mockingbird in terms of a child narrator and the tension between good and evil. We also covered Christ figure symbolism and characterizations, use of humor as a narrative strategy, and my bottom-line take on the novel: its delightful ability to realistically and accurately portray the supernatural without ridiculing, belittling, or being snide about faith.

A Moment in Time (in a Classroom)
The highlight of my day was when we went around the circle sharing our impressions of the novel and an enthusiastic student declared, “I loved this reading! I can’t wait to read the entire thing!”

The Punchline
Books still matter. People are still moved by literature. Despite any other technology medium, there is no substitute for the power of a good book. I was encouraged to hear the other students share their disappointment that the excerpt ended—they wanted to read more. Who knew today’s students do read… and that they like it?

We need those moments where we read something truly captivating and are reminded that books still matter. Thankfully I witnessed that moment today. It encouraged me so much, I loaned the novel to yet a different student not in that class. We both left the better for it.

Want your turn? Simply share one of your favorite books with someone. Everybody wins.