I’ve noticed that many new High School reading lists contain more and more relevant contemporary novels. Of course many of the best works were not even written when I was in school but it’s good to also see some emphasis still remains on the more traditional “Classics.”
Here are the 15 classics that are High School Must Reads:
I recently read a piece in the New York Times Book Section that had me shaking my head. The subject of Bookends was “Is the Writer’s Only Responsibility to His Art?” The direction of this inquiry seemed obviously focused on the artist’s approach to his or her art (in this case literature) but the responses to the question clearly misinterpreted it to refer to the other responsibilities the artist might have, to his kids or to some moral code imposed by society or religion.
The quotation is from that drunken rascal William Faulkner (watch the film Barton Fink for a fun fictional representation of a Faulkner clone).
Perhaps here is an opportunity to recall Parker’s Myths of Literature:
Continue reading “Myths About Literature”
A Celebration of Reading 