Better Read, Not Red

The NEA announced on Halloween, that spooky day, that 72 American "communities" have been given "Big Read" grants to read a book. The books they will read were also announced:

http://www.nea.gov/national/bigread/communities.html

The amounts of specific grants, from $5,000 to $40,000, were not announced.

This program is intended to "revitalize the role of literature in American popular culture and bring the transformative power of literature into the lives of its citizens."

The program was launched in response to a study that revealed the accelerated decline of reading, esp. among the young: "The Big Read aims to address this crisis squarely and effectively. It provides citizens with the opportunity to read and discuss a single book within their communities. The initiative includes innovative reading programs in selected cities and towns, comprehensive resources for discussing classic literature, an ambitious national publicity campaign, and an extensive Web site."

Yesterday, NEA czar Dana Gioia took the next step and announced a follow-up initiative, "Better Read, Not Red," in which every American's reading will be arranged by the NEA.

The required reading will be age-appropriate, although those over 40 will not be required to re-read some text they were assigned in Media Studies 101. Those under 20, however, who may never have read a book, will have to enter chat rooms to discuss such aspects of transformative literature as style, tone, and theme.

It is still unclear whether reading "printed" material will count (or even be allowed). Because print is notorious for being convenient, eye-friendly, and imagination-stimulating, it is difficult to track and therefore considered by some as no longer appropriate.

Then, too, claims Gioia, only the elite still have access to printed books, since stores no longer stock them.

Gioia also suggests that many old-style books contain difficult words and explore concepts, like freedom of choice, that are no longer applicable.

Gioia feels that e-reading is more democratic, because it can be streamed directly from nea.gov servers.

And, since most writers are really teachers in creative-writing programs, truly effective content for Americans to read ought to be provided by NEA-supported (and supervised) content-providers.