Fire the Loose Canons

            Who decides what should be included in a “canon” of works? Is there one official canon? What literature should be considered worthy? It seems that the process of defining a canon of books would be as mysterious as the process of selecting members of the electoral college. Like politics, the answers to these questions -if there are any answers- are dramatically varied depending on who we ask.

            What began as a simple Google search quickly revealed that this is indeed a big, ugly can of worms. The term “canon” inevitably overlaps with “classic.” Just exploring the meanings of those words, or the arguments as to what different parties believe they should mean, is beyond the scope of reasonable discussion, at least here.

            Oscar Wilde has been quoted as saying, “It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it.” What do we want to read? This is the subject of a 2009 article by Motoko Rich in The New York Times, “A New Assignment: Pick Books You Like,” that was shared with us by JJ Rivera. Teachers have been giving middle school students an opportunity to choose what they read, while the debate rolls on as to whether or not that is beneficial. Considering Oscar Wilde’s quote, the students in this situation have a unique opportunity to make a statement about themselves and allowing them to read what interests them is a refreshing approach.

            Danielle Flores shared an interesting article that introduced a very unique approach: Have a reading list prepared specifically for you based on your interests, or even issues in your life. The New Yorker article, “Can Reading Make You Happier?” was written by Ceridwen Dovey. Dovey visited a literature specialist who developed a personalized “canon” for her. This deserves much consideration; our personal interests and needs are rarely taken into consideration by anyone when reading is prescribed.

            It has been suggested that people –especially young people- can lose interest in literature if they are force fed it -it is a shame for someone to be turned off of Dickens or Hemmingway because of unpleasant (quite often academic) circumstances. Another good approach is to introduce readers to authors in small doses. I had a literature class as an undergraduate student which focused on short stories, selected sections of larger texts, and poetry –it was a positive experience.

            We will always have our canons, but perhaps the trick is all in the approach –any combination of the three discussed here could be useful to anyone of any age: Let’s take into consideration what has been hailed as classic, regardless of who has deemed it such, then let’s choose for ourselves. Let’s work out what may be a particularly good choice for us as individuals, or taste the greats in smaller, more digestible pieces. Force feeding literature may do more harm than good.