You may have read my father’s recent post discussing his favorite authors. I can easily relate to the experience of being asked about favorite authors and books, especially in my profession as an English Literature teacher. And yet, although I spend my days in the company of some of the greatest writers of all time, it may come as a bit of a surprise to know that when students ask that question I find myself somewhat at a loss for how to accurately answer them. My struggle for an immediate and concise answer to the “favorite author” or the “favorite book” question is rooted in the slightly fractured construct of (as I explain it to my students) the battle between what I call Capital “L” Literature (or the literature of the accepted literary Canon) and the common pulp fiction of the lowercase “L” variety that populates the majority of bookstore shelves. Now, before any of you take offense, these classifications are not simply mine but are, and have been, the realm of academics for generations. We can debate these classifications, but we cannot wish them away. So, the problem I am faced with whenever a student poses that query is…do I answer as Ms. Gorham Literature Teacher, or as Wendy Gorham Reader and Writer of books? As a teacher of Literature, certain books have wormed their way into my heart as evidence of the power of the human spirit or the triumph of the written word in a world that seems to increasingly value anything but that. Even if the experience of reading them is actually painful, sometimes that pain is good pain, like the stretching of a muscle that has been resting for too long. Reading these books makes me uncomfortable with my normal way of seeing or understanding. These books ask difficult questions or consider difficult realities. They make me look at myself and the world in a new and important way. They transcend time and speak to generations. These texts are the currency through which the memory of the human experience is transacted. These are not books that I enjoy reading in the regular sense. Usually these books carry with them some difficulty. These are not “light” reading or “pleasure” reading. These are books that are painful, or beautiful, or strange in a way that forces me to work and grasp and think and cry. These are books that I read with a pen in hand because I am writing, annotating, responding to the work. I can’t just go along for the ride. The author demands my presence and my attention.
So, considering these criteria, books that ‘Ms. Gorham’ would classify as favorites are almost too numerable to list. Included, however, would be several Shakespeare works, perhaps most notably Hamlet and Henry V. Also, if we are speaking of British writers, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, and Pygmalion by George Barnard Shaw. Looking at American work, there are several pieces that top my list, including The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton, and The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. However, if I had to choose a hill to die on—that one book that shapes understanding and speaks to a multitude of situations—there is only one choice: 1984 by George Orwell. Approaching this question from the perspective of an avid reader and passionate writer, however, often produces a very different discussion. As a reader I want to be enveloped in a story. I want to fall in love with a place or with the characters. I don’t want to work and struggle as much as I want to dive in and let the story carry me. I don’t read these works with a pen, as I am more content to listen rather than engage. These are books for fireplaces and rainy days, or seaside breezes and sunhats. This is reading for pleasure in its most self absorbed and gluttonous sense. Yet, this does not, by any means, imply that these books are shallow or superficial. These books speak to the human experience, but perhaps on a quieter scale. And this is true even of the often-disparaged genre fiction books—the world of Romance, Mystery, Western, Sci Fi, and Fantasy—many of which have created some of my most memorable literary experiences. Often, as much as any great Literary masterpiece, these books have taught me about relationships and the world. They have shown me the great expanse of the human heart and have helped me, in turn, to better understand myself. The list of books that ‘Wendy Gorham’ would then deem excellent would also be varied and rich. There would be the books that grew and shaped, and continue to shape, the writer in me—books with excellent characters, imagery, and voice that inspire me in my own creative moods. These would include other mystery authors because no one can do good work without drawing from the genius of those that paved the way or are now walking besides you. My passion for intrigue began early. In sixth grade I read every Nancy Drew mystery my school library had on the shelves. She was classy and savvy, but eventually the stories became too similar and I wanted greater scope for the imagination. I graduated to more iconic mystery writers: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie. I had volume upon volume stacked on my floor and desk in my bedroom in eighth grade. But then I began to branch out. I was still an avid mystery buff, but I wanted other literary experiences too. In high school I typically was reading five or six books of different types at one time. Yes, there was always a mystery, but I had developed a huge interest in the kind of supernatural thriller that Dean Koontz specialized in and so I read dozens of his books during that time. I also discovered a deep love for historical fiction. I realized that while I didn’t like reading dry history books at all (and as such had trouble doing as well as I would have liked to do in history class sometimes), if someone told a story about characters that I cared about suddenly history came alive and I learned it without even trying. Book series by Gilbert Morris and Janette Oke gave me many hours of enjoyment and also painted a picture of a time gone by and a way of life that is gone but not hopefully not totally forgotten. On the opposite spectrum, I encountered science fiction. Isaac Asimov and Frank Herbert created vast and foreign worlds that opened the imagination. But, most enjoyable during this time was my discovery of time travel stories. These became, and continue to be, some of my favorite kind of books…perhaps because through these stories I was able to dream of entering into those historical worlds I had come to respect, or of traveling to a more science fiction style future. While there are several time travel books that are in my collection of favorites, Dean Koontz’s Lightning and Jack Finney’s Time After Time as well as the sequel Time and Again are the ones I could read again and again. Finney nearly made me believe time travel was possible. But, it was L.M. Montgomery’s tales of a lonely orphan who found love and a home at Green Gables that truly inspired me. She overcame her childhood pain. She grew from a gangly teen to a strong, confident, and outspoken woman. She embarked on an education beyond what others may have expected of her. She became a teacher and a writer. She followed her dreams and never gave up. Hmm…now that is a story worth reading. That is a story worth emulating…
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Wendy Picard GorhamWendy lives and works in the midst of words everyday--English teacher by profession, and writer by passion! Archives
April 2020
Categories
All
Follow us on Facebook and be alerted of each new post!Go to our Amazon page... |