This article in the London Free Press (a paper that lined the cages of all my pet birds as a child) takes a stab at differentiating between literate and literature in teen readers:
But he cautions, “Don’t confuse literate with literature. One is process and the other is product. The question shouldn’t be, ‘Is my kid reading?’ but rather, ‘What is my kid reading?’”
[via Places for Writers]
It’s the usual “Is it literature?” argument asked by many adults of their kids reading material. And while it’s important for parents to know what their kids are reading (or playing for that matter), with some kids just getting them to read is an achievement. The ones who are turning to teen “literature” are already accomplished readers, comfortable with sitting down with a good book and dealing with the subtle subtext in many of the books featured in the article. The ones going for the “non-literature” material, like graphic novels and manga, are usually teens struggling to read for a variety of reasons.
Instead of limiting the “is it literature?” question to YA fiction, let’s take it to the adults. Let’s ask all those people reading Stephen King, John Grisham or that DaVinci Code guy if they care whether or not their book is considered literature. I don’t think they’d care at all. They’re reading and they’re enjoying it. That’s what matters to them. And while I’m the first to complain about the dumbing down of our culture, I believe that all forms of art serve their purpose. Some books are literature, some aren’t. Each has an audience. Each serves its purpose. One is not better than the other.
So, let’s keep producing great YA literature for the kids who want it, but let’s also give the struggling readers something to get hooked on reading. And let’s stop worrying about whether or not it’s literature.
tagged: [literacy] [reading] [books]
