Tuesday, November 25, 2008

We Need a Revival of the Literary Sort!

It's time for a revival, folks. No, not a revival that you'd go to in a church, although we could all probably use a little of that, but a literary revival. I know what you're thinking: "Literary revival?! Why, America is at its pinnacle of literary achievement. You must have heard about the greats like Stephen King, Michael Crichton, Anne Rice, Harlequin, and even that Brit who writes about sorcerers. We don't need a revival!" Well, if that's what you're thinking, then you just made my point!

We've fallen into a rut. It's been a long time since we've had a great writer who's a star at the same time. I mean, take an American Literature course and see what decade the last writer on the list comes from. It's probably going to be the 1960s, and I personally don't think there was much great literature then. I'm looking for the likes of Hemingway, Faulkner, and Frost. These men were not only great writers, but they were stars! That's what I'm craving.

I suppose it happens from time to time. It seems that the greats come and go every fifty years or so, and they all seem to get lumped together. But, boy, when they come, they are a splash! We need them right now, that's for sure. I believe that our writers are the catalysts of culture and stimulation of thought. And at this point and time, we desperately need a return of literature so that we can recover from an imposing intellectual famine.

Don't get me wrong. There is nothing bad about pop-fiction. We need stories that are easy and fun to read too. They all have their place. I've heard some teachers say that they don't care what you read as long as you read. That's all and good up to a point, but there needs to be some occasional thought in there as well. I'd also like to add that there needs to be some beauty too. Great writers write with a richness and descriptiveness that takes us to other places, makes us feel other emotions, and forces us to react to other causes. That kind of literature promotes change and stimulates art. That's the revival I'm talking about.

I try to find the lemonade stand when there seems to be a bumper crop of lemons, and boy do we have a cash crop this year! Well, the lemonade of financial downswings seems to be great literature. We'll see if this is the case this time. I know the Great Depression brought out the creative juices in our last batch of great writers, so I'm hoping that this crisis we're facing now will do the same. I don't know why it's like that. Perhaps fear brings some to places they've never been, or perhaps they see the extremes that really move them to find beauty in the bleak.

Poetry, in particular, is suffering great damage, and has been suffering for many years. Not that we don't have some outstanding poets right now, but none of them are known except for those who are in academia. Most Americans only know poetry through that great poet, Hallmark, and that's just not acceptable. It is time for our own version of Robert Frost to capture the general population -- a poet who opens the hearts of the people; a poet who opens the eyes of readers.

I'm praying for revival, and I challenge you to look for that next great writer or poet. When that person breaks through, we need to support his/her work and make sure that we spread the word so that others may benefit as well.

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