Why Read? by Mark Edmundson
Bloomsbury USA, originally published in 2004
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
English departments are under attack in higher education. To be precise, courses that involve reading literature are under attack. Some people still prize being able to express oneself well in writing – maybe what we’ll have down the road is simply “Writing Departments.â€
Not if Mark Edmundson has his way. Why Read? is an extended essay on the value of reading, an expansion of a widely circulated Harpers Magazine article [On the Uses of the Liberal Arts]. His answer might be quite surprising to those who have been around English Departments of late. He argues that reading is important for great writers’ exploration of the big questions of life:
- Why are we here?
- What is a life well lived?
- Why should character matter?
He believes books can change us and the test of a good book is that we can live its truth.