Some shooting and flyfishing, a little running and an occasional beer or two and the bicycle, yeah there's that........
Broad and Narrow Views of Intellectual Writing
September 22, 2012
Reflection: There are both broad and narrow views on what should be considered intellectual writing. This causes a problem because the discrepancy in views is destroying interest in classic literature and making it hard to teach the importance of reading and writing as a tool of communication and expression of oneself. As a response I propose to open our views on what can be intellectual writing without deserting a standard of rhetoric. At the same time I believe it would be beneficial to emphasize the relatable messages and worldly information in the intellectual writing of the narrow view to get the youth interested in classic literature.How we define intellectualism, and being an intellect, is not universal. The dictionary’s definition cannot suffice in giving meaning to such a powerful term, and thus a sense of individual perception is displayed in each person’s ideas of intellectualism. This obviously relates to our treatment of writing and reading; what we have determined to be appropriate and intellectual both from the reading and writing standpoint is not reflected identically across society. Particularly in the academic world, we find polar perceptions of what is intellectual writing. The views I have come across seem to be quite divided; some believe in a very narrow definition of intellects and intellectualism which corresponds to a traditional view on reading, however a broad view has also been adopted by many. This outlook subscribes to the idea that reading and writing, and the intellectualism that comes with these things are not limited to a certain caliber of subjects worthy of study. In my opinion neither of these views are totally right; we should put emphasis on highly intellectual writing for the value it brings both emotionally and academically, without distancing ourselves from any literature or form of it which has not been previously thought to be intellectual.
With a narrow view of intellectualism, one limits worthy academic discussion to a sort of highbrow pool of subjects. I believe this view is intended to separate exceptional writing and the classics of literature such as Shakespeare and Henry James, from writing which does not compare with their eloquence. In high school the system was similar for myself; books were assigned from a list approved to be worthy of teaching. These were the intellectual books. Within this system the older generations of readers and writers can preserve and emphasize the most beautiful pieces of writing; keeping them alive during the rapid societal development we are experiencing. In my experience it introduced me to some very good literature while also ensuring that my English presentations would not be a summary of Good Night Moon. I wasn’t necessarily ecstatic to be learning Shakespeare or Robert Frost at the time; however looking back as a college student on the pursuit for meaningful knowledge, I am glad what I have previously studied has been worldly and intellectual.
I don’t mean to say the aim of this narrow view is to shun an author’s work because it is not up to par, but rather to protect the slowly shrinking culture of intellectual writing. Sven Birkerts concurs with this view in his book The Gutenberg Elegies and warns we are headed for disaster: “We are in some danger of believing that the speed and wizardry of our gadgets have freed us from the sometimes arduous work of turning pages in silence.” (32) As the entire world turns digital, this intellectual writer and reader feels some paranoia while witnessing the disappearance of his beloved craft and I emulate his feelings to a degree. We have essentially used up and began disregarding the basis for our developments of today; television shows and blogs have replaced novels and journal articles. This transformation is not total, granted, however with the lessened importance on intellectual writing our society suffers a lessened importance on being an intellectual or participating in the larger academic discussion. I have come across an idea however, that we are dividing the intellectuals from those who are not; creating an impassible gap with arrogant academics on one side and an ignorant uncultured majority on the other. Perhaps the narrow view of intellectualism is not the correct way to look at it, and maybe the very process of protecting our intellectual writing is what is destroying it.
With a narrow view on intellectualism, we confine ourselves to a limited amount of material and an even more limited amount of people who are adept to give their own input on the accepted literature. Despite my previous admission to the academic importance of classic literature, I will say I have read works of a much more recent time period (some even conveyed by means of digital media) that captivated me and displayed signs of brilliant rhetoric. For example, a National Geographic article I read on the Easter Islands jumped out to me as I was reading; for unapparent reasons at the time. Now I realize the attraction came from aspects of the article which all good literature contains; an interesting subject, one I could get in to, and also an intellectual use of language. This piece of writing was well researched and well versed, something the dogmatic scholars of today should look at and consider as a genuine contribution to academic discussion. This article was not written by a well-known author nor published in a scholarly journal, however it appeals to my idea of intellectual writing and a significant article. So if we cannot stop the failing interest in what we consider to be intellectual literature worth studying, why not expand our definition of intellectualism to encompass more works such as this one? We could expand interest and material in the intellectual world, while still maintaining the idea of intelligent writing; writing that conveys ideas and emotions with the beautiful medium of language which entraps its reader wholly. To think that every great piece of literature has been already written, or that writing is reserved for the special few who excel at it is dogmatic. Frankly it is an insult to our language to claim that only likes of Henry James deserve to write and be read seriously. Reading and writing are a means of communication, sharing thought and emotion, and should not be held above anyone’s head. Albert Einstein appeared to be anti-intellectual as a child, but now holds claim to some of the most significant and revolutionary intellectual writings of our time. It appears to me now that passion and a worthwhile cause seem to correlate more directly to my idea of intellectualism; and these are things anyone can possess. I am not saying everyone is an intellectual and can contribute to the greater intellectual cycle of reading, writing, and thinking, but rather that we should not so quickly define intellectual literature and allow a broader scope of subjects, authors, and readers to be possibly recognized as possessing intellectualism.
The broad view of intellectual writing is much more accepting, albeit this can dilute our idea of intellectualism. While it is not beneficial to confine our ideas on intellectual writing, we cannot be totally passive in our definition of it. Rather than teaching using texts like comic books or copies of Sports Illustrated which would easily interest kids and leave room for academic discussion, we should be aiming to show the benefits of reading good literature. Currently we are valuing the significance of literature as the literal words with which it was written; thus the study of intellectual writing turns to dry memorization. Gerald Graff seems to have experienced this approach to literature and describes the boredom which ensued in his article Hidden Intellectualism:
“Literature was a mass of set passages to be memorized, like the prologue to The Canterbury Tales and Mark Antony’s funeral oration in Julius Caesar. Such memory work might have been valuable had there been some larger context of issues or problems to give it point and meaning, but there rarely was.”
Here Graff makes a poignant statement; some of the most intellectual and meaningful literature was reduced to a page of words to remember during his academic career, and I can relate to a degree. This dynamic could very well be why the interest in intellectual writing has been on a decline recently, and why we need to emphasize the raw emotion and knowledge which is being communicated through these authors’ eloquent rhetoric. Hopefully with these tactics, the significance of writing as a means of communicating emotion or knowledge, entertainment or information, could be increased exponentially and the anti-intellectual childhood experiences of Birkerts and Graff would not be emulated by a child of the future.
When one considers the significance of writing and reading it becomes apparent that these processes are not only useful but essential. We must gather a more worldly view of intellectual writing in order to keep the academic process of refining written thought from remaining a polarized subject in our society. I believe we can show the anti-intellectuals the beauty and value of amazing writing and at the same time expose the previously dogmatic academics to forms of literature which they too can enjoy for the brilliant rhetoric. Writing and reading then do not become a chore for students or a staple of knowledge for academics but rather, a means of communication using the gift of written language.
“To many afflicted fly fisherman, the green drake is as irresistible and habit forming as black jack, whiskey, or easy women.”
-Nastasi
#greendrake #hatch #bugs #dryfly #drakes #ephemera #stateofjefferson #shastaheadwaters #flyfishingjunkie #dryordie
to become a better runner, you have to accept discomfort. when discomfort knocks on the front door, open it wide and let it in. greet it as an old friend. sit down, talk with it, let discomfort become your best friend. because progress doesn’t come easily, without work, without discomfort. you have to be willing to be best friends with being uncomfortable if you want to improve and want to succeed.
So very true and almost everyday.
“What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly.” Richard Bach
Those other sports? Many of them rely on circumstance. A better team than yours, bad refs, teammates who hog the ball. But running.. well the only real circumstance is you. All that can slow you do is your mind and what you are physically capable of. And I think that’s what makes it extraordinary.
Do you think you can handle this for 10 more seconds? …You can handle anything for 10 seconds. Then, you just start a new 10 seconds.
Kimmy Schmidt (via commoncraziness)
Through 100 meters, a mile, 5K or 10. It works….
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