In response to "On Reading Ethnic Literature Now"

In reading the essay "Reading Ethnic Literature Now" by our very own literary criticism professor Peter Powers, I was struck not so much by the issues surrounding the reading of ethnic literature, but the issue of reading at all. As an English major, I confess to sometimes feeling overwhelmed by the prospect of reading another novel or essay. Each semester, I dread leaving the Messiah College bookstore with 10-12 novels, all the while contemplating the amount of time and frustration I'll put into reading each and every one of them. And yet, I continue to read, and read voraciously, not only my assigned novels but also the ones I choose simply for enjoyment or stimulation.

It is, then, astonishing to consider the lack of purposeful reading occuring in today's society. Even at the depths of my frustrations with reading I continue to read independently, an activity which often occurs at night. I indulge in a few chapters of my latest novel (it's currently Tom Wolfe)before going to sleep. I grew up in a family of readers, though I'm the only English major, and to consider that the majority of adults in American society don't ever pick up a book is, frankly, frightening.

This past summer, I read the last Harry Potter book with the same excitement as millions of other readers, from children to teenagers to adults. As someone with a particular interest in children's literature, it was encouraging to see the way children literally waited to buy the book at midnight, devouring the story with the same excitement that I imagine most kids reserve for Guitar Hero. If reading continues to be downward trend, what can account for the record-breaking consumption of J.K. Rowling's tales? Is there something special about Harry Potter that we don't see in any other form of literature? Or do the Harry Potter stories just pander to the masses as a type of literary bubblegum?

I reject the idea that Harry Potter is somehow inferior to great literary works, therefore rendering the record-breaking reading of these stories irrevelant. Reading is reading, after all, and in such dire times for literary consumption, concerned readers should be encouraged by the reading of anything with as much creativity, and, frankly, length.

All of this is not to say that I don't recognize the value of reading ethnic literature. In a previous post I discussed my concerns that the English Department at Messiah doesn't do enough to encourage the reading of ethnic literature, and I stand by that assertion. I do, however, believe that we shouldn't neglect the importance of reading, and of reading anything, in an age when reading is becoming an increasing rarity.