…You called him an old dead English guy, and he certainly is that. But he’s not just difficult language, and he’s not just elaborate plots that could never really happen. He doesn’t live in my brain. He’s not a man of ideas. He’s a man of feelings. I love him because when I am sad or lonely, or feeling brave or scared, I can always find a character or a play that will talk to me about what I’m feeling, that will help me do a better job with my place in this world.”
(from Set Me Free, by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore, p. 190-191)
Shakespeare doesn’t do that for me. But Langston Hughes does. And the United Methodist Hymnal. And some really good fiction authors. And the book of Job. And Isaiah. And Jeremiah. And Psalms.
Once again, I wonder, if I didn’t have books, if I didn’t live in a world full of literature, where would a visual learner introvert like me find the words I need to connect me to other people, to give expression to the things I feel deep inside of me? Where could I learn and hear things at a pace where my brain can process them without all the other overwhelming social things that interfere with oral learning?
Do I just feel this way because I grew up in a literature-driven culture? Or would I still be the same way–but a little bit lost and a little more out of it and not knowing exactly what it was I was missing–if there were not so many books available for me? Or maybe none at all.
Great questions!
Sometimes my kids and I will play the “would you rather” question game. One day, one asked: “Would you rather be completely blind or completely deaf.” My child who wears hearing aids said quickly and definitively “blind! Who could live without hearing music?” The other two protested. What a blessing both “a visual learner introvert like [to] find the words I need to connect me to other people, to give expression to the things I feel deep inside of me” and to “learn and hear things.” I do think its rather amusing how my kids use their phones to text.
Keep on letting us hear Langston Hughes from time to time! And all the other writers you love to listen to.