Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Topic: Why Read Essays?



10-second review: To find out what other human beings think about their experiences.

Title: “Eavesdropping on Contemporary Minds: Why We Need More Essays in Our High School classrooms.” KH Campbell. English Journal (March 2010), 50-54.

Summary: Notes the series of essays published each since 1915, The Best American Essays.

Sue Orlean, editor of The Best American Essays, 2005: “That they [essays] continue to be written and read is enduring proof of that, all indications to the contrary, our voices matter to each other; that we do wonder what goes on inside each other’s heads; that we want to know each other and we want to be known. Nothing is more meaningful—more human, really—than our efforts to tell each other the story of ourselves, of what it’s like to be who we are, to think the things we think, to live the lives we live.”

Comment: I write a blog in which I summarize essays from a variety of sources. http://essayreviews-rays.blogspot.com/ RayS.

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