Mar 20 2008
Out of the Dust
At the end of last summer I found myself overcome by the towering tidal wave of The Twilight series. Coming out of nowhere, suddenly everyone I knew had the books in hand. I read through the three books in a period of weeks, inundated by vampires, werewolves and Bella Swan. I was intrigued. I posted a little bit about them. And then had a nice little email exchange with Kathryn about their merits.
Entertaining narrative, interesting idea, a few issues with some things, was what we said. Ultimately, said Kathryn, not literature. I emailed back a lament. Does anybody write literature anymore?
It was about that time that my sister was passing a book around our family that had nothing to do with vampires and the like. So, I read Out of the Dust, and I had an answer. Yes, someone still writes literature. And this someone was Karen Hesse.
Out of Dust is the story of 14 year-old Billie Jo, growing up in the Oklahoma Dust bowl. The book is written in free verse, so every story inside the story is a poem. Billie Jo’s life is not easy. But I loved reading about it. My sister said she felt like she was covered in dust as she read through the pages.
Writing in free verse requires more succinctness and containment compared to regular prose. But free verse poetry also allows for great expression and it is a perfect fit for a story about a time that was sparse, often bleak and limited. And still, there is light that sometimes shines through the dry and dusty, cracked earth.
You ask the question, “Does anybody write literature anymore?”
I had been asking myself this question, ironically, as I, too, took that late summer 2007 journey through the Twilight series. As I look at Stephanie Meyer’s intended audience and the other books in that genre, it probably is literature for them, considering the other things they could be watching and viewing. The case she makes for virtue is the “truth” that comes out of her storytelling, and so few books or movies this audience might watch are lacking in even a kernel of truth, and especially not this one. So I believe considering the audience she is making a good sell of the truth about virtue to many who would not otherwise listen.
But I am so grateful to you for pointing out another story about a teen that contains literature filled with truth, and I am presuming, for a younger audience. Audience may be the biggest hurdle to anyone writing literature anymore. Relating to my own daughter that age, I believe we cannot discount the desire, and thus an audience, of young and old for such written works.
[…] another writer this week, and we had an interesting discussion about substance vs. fluff. Another writer this week also lamented, “Does anyone write literature […]
I’m in. Thanks for the recommendation. Have you ever read any Wendell Berry? See if you can get a copy of Remembering.