Meaningless Meanderings

A Good Reader

Earlier this week, John Hoppenthaler visited Lock Haven University to speak to those willing to listen. Hoppenthaler spoke of his poetry and as his time as a personal assistant of Toni Morrison, but his final words during the Q&A section lead to one of the most important ideas of the night. I asked Hoppenthaler if he had any advice for those present who are striving to become writers.

“Read” he answered. While this may not be the Philosopher's Stone of writing, it is at least one step closer to understanding. Hoppenthaler continued on, by explaining that all writers should read, and read anything they can find. That we should not only read the classics, which are written by “dead guys,” but also our contemporaries. This way, Hoppenthaler believes that we can expand our vocabulary and see what the others around us are doing. “No one writes in a vaccuum,” he stated, trying to prove that writing is always changing and, to be accustomed to these changes, we must read.

While it is not possible to be a good writer without being a good reader, it is possible to be a good reader without being a good writer. Sadly, this is far truer than one could expect.

With the majority of the world on the Internet, finding information is not very difficult. Learning about sections of history or finding biographies is just a few clicks away. Sadly, this idea also takes away from the concept of reading, as more and more students settle for the Sparknotes version of literature, whether contemporary or classical. Why suffer through Poe or Faulkner when you can have the ideas condensed into a small, bearable dosage? Because it does not help you become a writer, or even understanding the writer. We writers (or those aspiring to be writers) are crippling ourselves by neglecting to do what we expect others to do: to read.

Step away from your computers and grab a book. Sit in the library and just start reading, or go to a Barnes and Nobles and find something fun to kill a few hours with. One of my fellow bloggers (Amanda) writes about books; take her thoughts into consideration. If you wish to write, then start reading. There is a large world of knowledge that we do not have, but it is waiting for those of us willing to take it.