[bksvol-discuss] Re: Working draft "Educational Books"
- From: Rogerbailey81@xxxxxxx
- To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 12 May 2009 11:23:58 EDT
I have also heard the word classic defined as a perfect example of its
kind. I don't ordinarily hear it used that way though. There are a lot of words
that are ill defined or have no clear definition. An example that comes to
mind is the word friend. If you ask someone what a friend is they usually get
very serious and say, "A true friend is. . ." Then they say something
profound. Aside from the fact that the question was about the word friend rather
than a true friend the way they almost always actually use the word it only
means casual acquaintance. In the case of the word classic I was referring
to its use to describe certain writings of fiction and automatically
assigning it educational value simply by its being tagged with the word
classic. In
the case of nonfiction it is easier to tell if a book has educational value.
That determination can be made by tests of factualness and usefulness.
There is still a nebulous area though. No matter how factual it might be I would
be hesitant to count celebrity biographies as educational. When it comes to
fiction, though, I really do not see how the value can be judged by any
criteria but personal taste. That is, it is almost entirely subjective. Yes,
certain people may have a strong preference for something that has stood the
test of time and those people are often called English teachers and since
they hold entire classrooms of people hostage to their tastes year after year
those books will continue to stand the test of time. On the other hand, my
preference in fiction is science fiction and some of the science fiction that
has given me the most pleasure and has been most intellectually stimulating
to me and thereby educational for me I am sure that most English teachers
would label literary trash. One of my strongest values is education and so in
order to further my education I have, on my own and without being assigned
to do so, read a good many of the books that are touted as classics and so
educational. I can't say that there was no intellectual stimulation at all,
but I have never found any of them as stimulating as the literature with a
small l that I prefer and that would never be found in a list of educational
literature. I am not about to say, though, that my science fiction is the only
educational fiction around. I am only claiming that it is so in my
subjective framework. I realize that it may do nothing for a lot of others and
if
those others find something else intellectually stimulating then by all means
they should indulge in it. I do object, however, to the fact that most of
those who prefer the so-called classics are not so willing to admit to the
subjectiveness of their preference. They ordinarily insist that their fiction
is great literature and remain condescending to other types of literature.
That is snobbery and I detest snobbery. I detested it when my high school
English teachers literally laughed at my reading preferences and I still detest
it when not only that happens, but also when incidents happen like my being
told to remove my hat when I went into a bar because they had a dress code
or when I hear some sneering remark about my hair being too long.
"Philosophers have merely
interpreted the world in various ways; the point is to change it." Karl
Marx
The Militant: http://www.themilitant.com/txtindex.shtml Pathfinder Press:
http://www.pathfinderpress.com
Granma International: http://granma.cu/ingles/index.html
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Subj:
[bksvol-discuss] Re: Working draft "Educational Books"
Date:
5/12/2009 9:47:06 AM Eastern Daylight Time
From:
akp@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
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Hi Roger,
<smiling> You may be somewhat right in your assessment, but here's the
thing. Classic whether in literature, art or music is indeed something which
has
stood the test of time. It represents a type of art which characterizes a
given time period, and it is also relevant to what's happening today.
Aristophanes' The Birds is just as fresh and just as relevant as it was in
500 BC. Shakespeare's plays are still read and still produced. Morley's
plays
are not done. Dickens and Austin are classics because they represent their
time and also because their characters exemplify human emotions and
conflicts
which are relevant today. Boticcelli (sp), Reubens, Renrois, mon`e and
Pecasso(sp) are classics because they have meaning today. Bach, Mozart and
Beethoven
are classics because they typify the musical traditions they represent.
As for why Lady Chatterley is different from the authors you cite, it's
because there is more to that book than just sex. Hey, "Hard days' night" is
now
a classic. So is "Yellow Submarine". So is Benny Goodman and Caruso. I
dunnow if this makes any sense at all.
Ann P.
--
AAnn K. Parsons
Portal Tutoring
Email: akp@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Web Site: http://www.portaltutoring.info
blog: http://www.samobile.net/users/akp
Skype: Putertutor
"All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost." JRRT
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