RE: The World According to Walter

The general reader can include professors or grad students I just exclude
them because sometimes their motivations are different. Some of them (more
often than others) read for a paycheck, a grade, or peer acclaim and
sometimes they enjoy the critiquing more than the reading. I single them
out because more often then not they are after something different than I
am, not all "proffesional" readers are this way but seems that those
celebrated or cited as authorities by this proffesion seem to be more
interested in criticism and not the stories. Again, I am sure that not all
are such but they do occupy a distinct place in this field. Example: I am
sure many of you are capable of building your own home if you chose to. You
wouldn't need much rigourous technical knowledge, never the less it would be
an enjoyable learning experience for those unfamiliar. The last thing you
would need for actual design and construction is a boorish civil engineer
ragging your ear on all the structural theories involved and discussions on
the irrelevant arcane methods of construction.

Daniel
-----Original Message-----
From: Matt Kozusko [mailto:mkozusko@parallel.park.uga.edu]
Sent: Monday, October 28, 2002 5:04 PM
To: bananafish@roughdraft.org
Subject: Re: The World According to Walter

Yocum Daniel GS 21 CES/CEOE wrote:
>
> [...] the reader who reads for enjoyment and looks for
> meaning and intent without looking for theories.

> Apart from Professors
> and grad students etc all the readers prior to this list that I have
> discussed literature with fit this definition.

Where do professors and grad students fall in the arena of readers,
relative to all those others? Or where in the spectrum, or where on the
continuum?

And why do you single them out? Entertain for a moment the possibility
that your preconceptions about academia have so deeply colored your
experience of teachers and instructors that all you can see when you
encounter an academic is someone looking for "theories." If nothing
else, consider how aburd it is to suggest--as you do--that
"professional" readers don't read for enjoyment or don't celebrate
meaning and intent every time they crack open a text(e).

While you're doing that, I'll remind myself that my preconceptions about
the "real world" get the best of me perhaps more often than not, and
that consequently, I am dismissive of a life experience I've not had the
opportunity to enjoy or despise, whichever the case would be.

--
Il n'y a pas de hors texte,
Matt
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