Why reading classics matters
Reading is solitary. But then again, it’s not.
Lisa Lucas, executive director of the National Book Foundation, says in a PBS NewsHour interview, “Even though we think of reading as something that we do alone in our rooms by ourselves, we talk about books, and we take the ideas that we learn from books … and we bring them to our conversations.”
What we read shapes us and the way we view and interact with the world.
So what about classic literature? Most people read it in high school – and then forget about it. What might have gotten missed that could speak to this moment?
Create a More Connected Minnesota
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Tuesday, MPR News host Kerri Miller and two dangerously well-read women discussed which classics should be on your list, as well as what classics can teach us about living.
Guests:
Karen Swallow Prior is research professor of English and Christianity and culture at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and the author of many books, including “On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life through Great Books.”
Sarah Rafael García is a writer and the owner of LibroMobile in Santa Ana, Calif.
To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above.
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