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Written by Sherrill Fulghum
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Some thoughts on the lost arts of reading and writing.
Recently in the local paper were two separate articles about writing and students.
The first spoke of how writing with pen and paper has become a lost art. An art that is no longer taught in school. Students hear about what to write but now how to write.
The second was on how writing will take on a new importance in the twenty first century.
Every week I go to my local library. I usually get a few videos, but I always make sure that I have plenty to read.
As long as I can remember I have been reading books. At first they were talking books. Later I would read print whenever I could find a book I liked that had print large enough for me to see.
When I was young large print books were not so plentiful as they are today, but there was a plethora of talking books available.
In those days the talking books were on records. The talking book machine was an olive green record player with the speaker in the lid. What made the machine special was that it could play records at eight or 16 rpms. It also played at 33rpms.
Today talking books are on cassettes.
Books on tape, and occasionally on CD, can be found at any library.
I can remember telling my mother all about the book I had just finished as she prepared dinner or was washing dishes.
Since I love to read so much I simply cannot rap my brain around the idea that people don't like or want to read. As the man says in the song "Wildwood Flower" "you can take a trip and never leave the farm" when you read a book.
When I went to Russia I got to see places that I had read about in my literature class. It brought the places alive in a whole new way. The story had a whole different perspective.
Reading and writing are two sides of the same coin. People who don't read aren't going to write. And if they do, it will not be done well.
In today's society text messaging is all the rage. Each group of people has their own way of saying things that may be not understood by the general public. When students do write they tend to write in the same way they speak - usually in fragments - and spell the way they text.
To understand how to write, you must also read at least some even if it is on tape or CD.
The local library is a place free for all and is filled with books of every description. It is a place of learning and a place to relax. A place to read.
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