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Gnomic Utterances. These are traditional, and are set at the head of each section of the Guidebook. The reason for them is lost in the mists of History. They are culled by the Management from a mighty collection of wise sayings probably compiled by a SAGE—probably called Ka’a Orto’o—some centuries before the Tour begins. The Rule is that no Utterance has anything whatsoever to do with the section it precedes. Nor, of course, has it anything to do with Gnomes.
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Date: 2008-03-06 03:29 am (UTC)Some of this will be repeating what you've already said, but I want to think/write through my response in my own words... It took me a long time to learn it for music as well as literature -- not to write off any genre or category. There are true gems somewhere in every section of the library or record store, though it can take time to find them (and/or to find the ones that you really like as well as appreciate aesthetically). If you've got that kind of time, great. Not everybody does.
I, also, am irritated by those who think only children's literature has something worthwhile to offer, as I am irritated by those who think it has nothing to offer. It's fine to only want to read one kind of literature; it's not fine to then condemn all other literature as Not Worthy.
It's fine to have a preference. It's fine to want to develop expertise in a particular area, to read or listen for depth over breadth. Nobody can read everything, of course. The important thing is to remember that your choices are your choices, and you've got no right to judge other people's choices based on your own preferences.
This is not me saying that everybody's opinion on everything is equally worthwhile and there's no such thing as Informed Critical Judgment -- of course not. And I know some individuals who, in my personal opinion, make poor reading choices and could be reading a) more and b) better. But that's my opinion of another person based on long-term observation of their reading habits, not a sweeping critical judgment of a certain kind of reader or a whole category of books.
Nice NEA reference too, btw. I agree.