OK
Here is one of the questions I want to consider next week at our meeting:
According to the latest survey (NEA,2004), people are reading less and less fiction. They are playing video games, surfing the net, reading some non-fiction, watching TV, and generally being lazy. Big surprise.
My question is this: does it matter if people are no longer reading novels? What purpose do novels and poetry play in our culture?

I just read a terrific book called, "Reading Lolita in Tehran," by this Iranian English professor who had this incredible experience teaching American and English novels in the totalitarian, fundamentalist Islamic Republic of Iran. She had to do it in secret, hoping that she would not be found out and put in jail (rape and torture could follow). She eventually moved to Virginia and now teaches there.
She feels strongly that there is wisdom and insight in literature that is not accessible in other formats. Do you agree or disagree? Do we need literature to be a civilized society, or is it just fun but not really essential?
We'll talk about this next week.....
Ellen