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Classic Reads: a Case for Plurality?
Educator and philosopher Mortimer Adler lists three criteria for books considered for inclusion in the literary canon: Contemporary significance, inexhaustibility (the book can be read again and again), and relevance to the ‘great ideas and great issues that have occupied the minds of thinking individuals for 25 centuries.
While the criteria makes sense, my own list of classic reads differs from lists created by educators, academics, and philosophers like Adler. While I loved many of the classics assigned by my teachers, there were plenty of books I didn’t care for. Moby Dick, for example, felt foreign to me. Perhaps I’d feel differently now. Or perhaps not.
The qualities that make a book significant and inexhaustible are, it seems to me, subjective. I’m deeply moved by the short stories of Andre Dubus, a brilliant author who writes about love and family, sin and redemption. I relate to his imperfect characters, their problems, their attempts to do the right thing, whatever that may be, their success and their failures. For me, Dubus’s stories are inexhaustible-I read again and again, always finding beauty and meaning, some new nugget of insight.
If there is a problem with the literary canon, it’s that subjective selections are presented as objective. We’re taught that books on the list are the great books. We should enjoy them-or at least appreciate their brilliance-and we (I at any rate) feel inadequate if we don’t. But what exactly are those ‘great ideas and great issues’ and who are the ‘thinking individuals’ to whom Adler refers?
Issues and ideas change-once primarily books by dead white men, the canon now, thankfully, includes works by women and minorities, as well as by authors writing outside the Western tradition; thus ‘contemporary significance’ and ‘relevance’ change. Ideas of love, death, redemption and so on expand to include ideas about difference or otherness. As the face of academia changes, becomes increasingly diverse, Adler’s ‘thinking individuals’ also change, as do their evaluative criteria.
I’m not suggesting the canon be chosen by populist vote (although maybe the creators should be more plural). I am suggesting that the lists are subjective-and subject to the sensibilities of elites whose criteria may differ from ours. Accepting this subjectivity is freeing. We need not feel guilty for disliking a ‘great’ book any more than we ought to feel guilty for finding meaning in a mass market paperback-an interesting dilemma in its own right, considering Dickens’ immense popularity.
As with Dickens-and Mozart-today’s popular works may be tomorrow’s classics!
I’m honored and thrilled to know and work with Christine Nolfi, Molly Greene, and Rachel Thompson-memorable authors whose brilliant work is on my classics list!
Which books are on your list? And what criteria do you consider most important?
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A Story of Love, Loss, Connection, and Grace
At the heart of the seemingly perfect Tyler family stands sixteen-year-old Leah. Her proud parents are happily married, successful professionals. Her adoring younger sister is wise and responsible beyond her years. And Leah herself is a talented athlete with a bright collegiate future. But living out her father’s lost dreams, and living up to her sister’s worshipful expectations, is no easy task for a teenager. And when temptation enters her life in the form of drugs, desire, and a dangerously exciting boy, Leah’s world turns on a dime from idyllic to chaotic to nearly tragic.
As Leah’s conflicted emotions take their toll on those she loves-turning them against each other and pushing them to destructive extremes-In Leah’s Wake powerfully explores one of fiction’s most enduring themes: the struggle of teenagers coming of age, and coming to terms with the overwhelming feelings that rule them and the demanding world that challenges them. Terri Giuliano Long’s skillfully styled and insightfully informed debut novel captures the intensely personal tragedies, victories, and revelations each new generation faces during those tumultuous transitional years.
Recipient of multiple awards and honors, In Leah’s Wake is a compelling and satisfying reading experience with important truths to share-by a new author with the voice of a natural storyteller and an unfailingly keen understanding of the human condition: at every age.
What happens when a workaholic serial remodeler falls in love with an old stone cottage built by an ornithologist and his eccentric Irish wife? If you’re Madison Boone, you kick your budding romance with handsome Psych Professor Coleman Welles to the curb and lose yourself in a new project.
Madison renovates distressed homes in addition to her busy real estate sales career. When she hears about a quaint house on a private tract of land overlooking Lake Sonoma, she climbs in the window for a private tour and falls in love with the place. Good fortune enables her to purchase the Blackburne’s property, but far more than a new home and lush gardens await discovery during this renovation.
As Madison works on the remodel, she’s drawn into an old love story with dangerous consequences. She unearths buried secrets and discovers herself in the process. Good thing she has three wise, hilarious friends to advise her along the way! Mark of the Loon is the skillful combination of history, mystery, and romance in a novel that explores deep friendship, choices, and how individuals cope with loss.
Dr. Mary Chance needs a sabbatical from medicine to grieve the loss of her closest friend. But when she inherits a struggling restaurant in Liberty, Ohio she isn’t prepared for Blossom Perini. Mary can’t resist falling for the precocious preteen-or the girl’s father. The bond they forge will transform all their lives and set in motion an outpouring of love that spreads across America.
Welcome back to Liberty, where the women surrounding the town’s only restaurant are as charming as they are eccentric.
Second Chance Grill is the prequel to Treasure Me, 2012 Next Generation Indie Awards Finalist, which The Midwest Book Review calls ‘A riveting read for those who enjoy adventure fiction, highly recommended.’
I agree with so much you've said. I have little respect for any exclusive club including "the canon" even though it now includes (far too few) women and people of color. When I'm able, I teach outside the canon to include other works on my syllabus. But some courses still require those thick anthologies we all remember from college, with the same old authors.
Thank you so much for taking part in the hop, Cindy! I absolutely loved your post! I'm so glad you're able to incorporate a wider range of works into your teaching. I'm sure your students will benefit greatly from that!
The canon does change, albeit very slowly. Even though I loved teaching Shakespeare's plays every year when I was still in the classroom, I often questioned the worth of doing so to the exclusion of so many other fabulous authors.
That's a great point, Jeri! So many books are introduced each year and it's important to ensure we keep re-evaluating. Thank you for taking part in the hop!
Great post Terri.
I can't decide on the most important criteria for a classic read. There are so many aspects that make up a truly great book. I agree with the ones that you have covered.
Murakami, Tolkien, Irving, Orwell and Hemingway are just a handful of authors that come to mind when thinking of Classic Reads
Thank you, David! You mentioned some great books in your post. Thank you so much for joining the hop!
I think there are quite a few reads out there now that will soon be known as classics. Classics are the ones that will stay with you even after you've put them on the shelf.
I completely agree, Schledia! That's a great definition of a classic. Thank you so much for taking part in the hop!
I think the list of classic reads and classic authors, just gets longer every year. Always more added to the list.
That's certainly true, Elisabeth! There are so many more classics than we will ever have time to read. Thank you for joining us!
Hi Terri,
I enjoyed your thoughtful blog very much. Though late on the draw, I wrote a blog about this and thought you might like to know I added a link to your site.
~Cordially and with thanks,
Just Jill