By Judith Gayle | Political Waves
I read an argument over at Huffy this week about which books would better serve our college-bound high school seniors. The author cited the classics — Twain, Shakespeare, Dickens — as necessary reading, but bemoaned the lack of works by multicultural authors, writing of far-off places and peoples. This, asserted the author, failed to give students the rounded view of the world they needed for higher learning. It was suggested that graduates are hampered by their focus on Western literature and in most cases, an all-American, all-white view of life.
While there may be something to that, as our racial demographics shift in this nation, that will change as well, although I expect it will take academia some time to refresh its notion of what “classic” means. Meanwhile, we have contemporary classics* that allow us to shift the kaleidoscope on cultural imagery and kids who enjoy reading will probably stumble upon some of them. A few come to mind, works like Alice Walker’s The Color Purple, and I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou’s early autobiography. To Kill A Mockingbird continues to be everyone’s favorite. All of these are still timely today — the definition of “classic” – and now is a perfect time to reread The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck.
As a young woman, I was influenced by the great British classics, by the works of Ernest Hemingway, by playwrights like Tennessee Williams and poets of all stripes. I learned an alternate history from the Am-Ind anthology, Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee and James Michener’s homage to the Pan-Asian islanders and exploration of Calvinism’s emotional bankruptcy, Hawaii. I would much rather discuss Judeo-Christian philosophy with someone who has read his wonderful history of the Holy Land, The Source. As an avid reader, my list of early influences is much too long to include here.