Some Books I read When I began Studying Literature
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- Опубликовано: 15 окт 2024
- In my teen's, I discovered I wanted to spend my life studying literature, and even re-organized my senior year in preparation for it, only to realize I could not afford college, nor could I justify the cost given the low quality of education I had access to. In light of this, I pursued studying literature on my onw in my free-time, and I've been doing this for about 13 years, if we date it back to when I first voluntarily read a book about the study of literature. In this video I share some experiences and recommend a few books pertaining to the study of literature.
Nothing is wasted if you are doing what you are passionate about. I'm 55 and discovering how much the thread of writing hidden in plain sight has been woven through my life, but I was distracted by other interests. Even these distractions can now be fuel for the fire. Time to get back to the true calling.
At 72 I reintroduced myself to the classics. I pick up Oliver Twist and loved it. In high school oh so long ago I had it in I even forget the class and didn't care for it. But at the time my focus was playing football and chasing cheerleaders. Not at 72 and much more mature I love the classics. I'm not collecting Charles Dickens, The Bronte sisters, Dostoevsky Alex Dumas and Thomas Harty.
Best wishes with what you choose to read. I hope you get some great stories. Happy reading.
Your story reminds me of my own. I'm 31 now, but when I was in my teens I was reading a lot of excerpts of Jean Francois Lyotard, Jean Baudrillard, and Fredric Jameson, lots of those beginner's guides to postmodernism and that sort of thing. I thought that I would go to college for a degree in philosophy so I could make a living of criticizing and theorizing about the world around me, seemed like the greatest thing I could imagine at the time, but it would have cost too much and my dad gave me a lot of flack for wanting a "useless degree" - in hindsight it would have been a mistake, and I'm glad I didn't go.
My other idea was to get a degree in botany and agriculture, but I'd have had to move to Nebraska, I believe, and I was far too much of a homebody and too into what my friends were doing to move so far from home. Also I was disillusioned once I realized farming is almost entirely on an industrial scale now and I probably couldn't make a living on twenty acres, and that a degree wouldn't change that.
I wound up doing neither, and never went to college, but I've never stopped reading and learning, always wanting to know more today than I did yesterday, although I don't read much philosophy or cultural criticism these days. I totally understand what you mean by feeling like you're never going to be able to do anything with what you've learned because of the way the system works. I've had that same issue, that I feel like no matter how much I learn I can't do anything with it because I don't have a degree and so who would ever publish what I write or take it seriously? I've considered writing books, articles, but I'm always stopped short when I remember I don't have that overpriced piece of paper that gives me the social qualification required to present my thoughts to the public without being immediately dismissed.
On the other hand, I would argue that by starting a Booktube channel and making videos, you are making progress towards something, doing something with the knowledge you've clearly spent a lot of time and effort learning. I've learned that sometimes the best we can do is speak out, contribute to the discussion, help others by sharing what we've learned even if all we get is the satisfaction of spreading our knowledge.
This comment was more encouraging than it could ever have anticipated.
And yes: we do indeed have eerily similar stories.
Super interesting. Most of these books I've never heard of. Certainly the ones about studying literature as opposed to works of literature. Now I see how you are steeped in thinking about the big picture of literature and literary criticism. How cool to have encountered that Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry so early in your life.
While I agree that tuitions at universities have gotten out of control, I think they are based not on the quality of the teaching but how much money you can make after you get out of school--so your ability to make enough money to pay off the debt you will have accumulated. Do I think they're unrealistic in that regard also? Yes, I do. But I still feel it's a shame that you have not gotten an educational credential to reflect what you have learned on your own. Have you looked into any unconventional programs that allow you to create you own course of study? Have you looked into more challenging schools?
All that said, I'm sure my undergrad teachers would not be happy to hear that I never went on to complete an advanced degree--even though they had acknowledged that the cost/benefit ratio was already tipping away from higher education paying off even back in the late 90s. Maybe it would be better to establish the Renegade School of Literature, taught by the self-educated.