Inculcate Joy Of Reading Letter Of The Week - From April 17

Having written for Street Level about reading literature, I was delighted to see Andy James’ comments about exposing students to the classics (Street Level, April 13).

The great authors did not write with the intention of boring children; they were master storytellers and can weave their magical spells if today’s audiences merely give them a chance.

I have tried over the years to divide my recreational reading time between contemporary writers and those of the past. When perused on a regular basis, the slightly different style of writing and use of language present no problem at all.

What worries me is the increasing number of children and young people who are bypassing reading because of the extremely strong influences of television and film. While we all know many kids who are enthusiastic about books, I fear the majority don’t share the romance of the printed page in quite the way their predecessors did. It would be a shame to have future generations turn their backs on the accumulated treasures of the literate past.

Read to your children. Let them see both that you read and what you read. With seeds thus planted, beneficial habits will bear a lifelong reward. And remember also that what works for reading works as well for our other precious classical arts, under assault from slender funding and the loud bashing of MTV. Music, dance, poetry and painting offer us all deep treasures if we will meet them halfway. Fred Glienna Coeur d’Alene

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