Why Literature?

"How is this relevant to my life?" students often ask when presented with a literature anthology or a writing assignment. I've been thinking much about literature, in the course of refining my Zeitgeist Literature (www.z-lit.com) series. I'm more deeply than ever convinced of its importance, and yes- relevance- in every area of life.

With a strong foundation in literature, it becomes possible to put life into words. We read of the experiences of others, and they become our own; we are able to place our own experiences in perspective; we can grasp the significance, beauty, or tragedy of an event in a way that is impossible for a person who lacks fundamental literacy. We learn by example how to clearly express feelings, describe experiences, and empathize with others. Literature not only teaches us how to communicate, it also gives us a common basis for understanding one another.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn, in his 1970 Nobel lecture, said,

"The sole substitute for an experience which we have not ourselves lived through is art [and] literature... From man to man, as he completes his brief spell on Earth, art transfers the whole weight of an unfamiliar, lifelong experience with all its burdens, its colours, its sap of life; it recreates in the flesh an unknown experience and allows us to possess it as our own."

and...

"...literature conveys irrefutable condensed experience ... from generation to generation. Thus it becomes the living memory of the nation. Thus it preserves and kindles within itself the flame of her spent history, in a form which is safe from deformation and slander. In this way literature, together with language, protects the soul of the nation"

and...

"World literature has it in its power to convey condensed experience from one land to another so that we might cease to be split and dazzled, that the different scales of values might be made to agree, and one nation learn correctly and concisely the true history of another with such strength of recognition and painful awareness as it had itself experienced the same, and thus might it be spared from repeating the same cruel mistakes."

Solzhenitsyn asserts that literature serves an irreplaceable transmitter of experience from person to person, generation to generation, and nation to nation. Is this relevant? It is important?

I believe that it is. The transmission of experience is vitally important for many reasons. Think about it...

Good literature broadens our experiences. Without literature, we live alone in the cage of our own experiences. We are limited by the confines of time and space-- until we open the door to the experiences of others.
-We learn to empathize by experiencing the feelings of others.
-We learn to beware of that which is false, temporal, and worthless.
-We learn about consequences by experiencing the suffering and joy of others.
-We learn to communicate from the best communicators of all time (and deep, clear communication is the foundation for healthy realtionships).

Literature shared becomes a "living memory." It opens an arena of common space, a context within which we can move toward greater understanding. It becomes a vivid shorthand with which we can communicate an idea. To describe someone as a Hamlet, or as a Bertie Wooster, offers a far more vivid picture of their personality and character than the use of simple adjectives, but without the common foundation of literature, the comparison becomes opaque.

When E.D. Hirsch wrote about cultural literacy, he warned that without a shared foundation of common knowledge, literacy would be lost. To be literate, you must not only be able to read, but you must also understand what you read and hear in its proper context. You must understand both text and subtext.

If you hear the name 'Hamlet' and don't think of the complex interplay of revenge, indecision, and circumstance as it relates to the topic of conversation, you have most likely missed the point. Ignorance is not bliss-- to misunderstand leads to inappropriate, often harmful responses. You're like a child who is bored by adult conversation-- not because the conversation is truly boring, but because he simply doesn't understand it.

Literature is one of the cornerstones of literacy. It is experience distilled, and it illuminates experience in a way that nothing else can. Great literature is timeless and relevant, and life without it would be an emaciated existence.

I could write more... but I'm back to work on Zeitgeist Lit. I hope to have beta-versions of each level available very, very soon. It looks as though the publication date for the final editions with spiffy layouts and jazzy covers will be early next year. The beta-versions will get you going, though!

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What I'm reading today: A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken
I'm just a few chapters in, and-- WOW. Talk about a relationship defined by communication! It's a beautiful, deeply moving memoir, and it includes eighteen letters from C.S. Lewis. It a book to savor, but I'm finding it hard to put down.