I was out having a great time with Jeanette Winterson last night. Ok, maybe not with her personally, but I was in the audience and had a great seat and she even looked directly at me once! Bookman came too and has never read any of her books. He didn’t even know what she looked like and when she walked out on stage he cracked me up when he leaned over and said, She has Margaret Atwood hair! Winterson’s hair is not gray like Atwood’s but both have the same kind of curls and wear their hair about the same length with a similar style. I love their hair and I sometimes wish my loose, corkscrew tending curls were more like theirs. But I digress!
Winterson was at the University of Minnesota to deliver the autumn Esther Freier Endowed Lecture in Literature. Freier was first a student and then a professor at the U but not in the literature department. Nope, she was a chemist. But she loved the arts and was well aware that funding was hard to come by so when she died she left an endowment to the literature department that allows them to have two lectures a year and make it open to the public. How awesome is that?
Winterson’s lecture was titled “Reading as an Act of Rebellion.” If you have read anything she has written you will know she is funny and smart. In person she is that too but add personable and engaging and you will understand why at the end Bookman and I both wanted to yell, please keep talking because an hour is not long enough!
She ranged far and wide from the historical to the personal. She declared reading an extreme sport because one pits oneself with and against the best in literature.
The act of reading has through much of history been rebellious. Who was and was not allowed to read was controlled. Women weren’t allowed to do it and slaves certainly weren’t allowed. The more people read, the more they could think for themselves and those in power did not want to give up their power. When a person reads, and reads widely and diversely, it makes them one of the most threatening things in the world. Books can change the way we think and feel. Books show us multiple points of view. And while someone can see you reading and what you are reading, they cannot know what is going on in your head while you are reading. This makes you and reading dangerous.
Just like we talk about valuing biodiversity in nature, we should value biodiversity in reading. And we need to not just give it lip service and say “yay for diverse books!” We have to read those books too. Books are not meant to comfort, though they can do that. Books should expand the world for us and yes, even make us feel uncomfortable. A book that makes you feel uncomfortable is giving you an opportunity to think and experience and learn something.
Truth and fact are not the same thing, Winterson remarked. Simplification is a lie. We have language to help us make sense of complexity. Reading is great training in both diversity and complexity. The more reading you do, the more language you have and language is power. Just ask Malala Yousafza, Salman Rushdie, and those who work at Charlie Hebdo.
For the most part, Winterson said, we don’t have to ban or burn books in the west these days because people are just too busy to read them. There is no reason to get worked up over what people are reading when no one is reading to begin with. Winterson is also not a fan of ebooks because if you can’t see the books, if they’re virtual, how do you know they exist? Give her the solid book on the bookshelf. That way nothing is hidden. Amazon can’t erase it from all the Kindles. Can you imagine, she asked, if Amazon came to your door and took your copy of 1984 instead of making it magically disappear from your ereader?
Creativity and imagination is the birthright of everybody. We don’t have to apologize for art and culture nor do we have to explain. The mind is not a luxury.
Such a fantastic lecture! I am so grateful I got to go. I left feeling buoyant and excited, ever so proud to be a reader and determined to be as rebellious as I possibly can.
What’s more rebellious, though, than reading an e-book? You don’t have to show anybody what you’re reading, and you can delete it afterwards. I prefer hard copies too, but believe that the more ways books can be disseminated, the better.
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Jeanne, her main concern with ebooks it seems is that there is no transparency. Amazon can erase everything on your ereader and no one could ever see them do it as opposed to removing books and/or burning them, acts that are highly visible and can’t be done in secret.
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E-books also have the quality similar to writing on water. One can edit or censor e-books easily. While it helps when it comes to rectifying typos or real errors, imagine if all books on your e-readers can be censored through a simple update – or history books on e-readers, updated according to the dominant narrative at that time.
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dharmapunx, that is a very good point! We place a lot of trust in ebook publishers to not mess with the text. right now we could compare it to the printed version but should the day ever come when books are digital only, there will be nothing for comparison and it will be very hard to verify of texts have been changed. Kind of ominous.
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As much as I love to hold a real, physical book in my hands, I must admit that with the eRevolution, accessibility to reading materials have exponentially increased, don’t you think? Not only books, but lit reviews, magazines, all the lit supplements, etc. that were previously ‘beyond reach’ have come down to earth. I mean, titles which one would not actually go and buy can now be downloaded free (e.g. Project Gutenberg). I was impressed by Edith Wharton’s library when I visited The Mount, and last I heard, they are digitalizing the whole collection there. What a wonderful idea. Having said all these, I’d like to listen to J.W., stimulating still. Glad you and Bookman both had a good time.
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Arti, Oh I totally agree that digital has made materials that were impossible to see other than in person available for anyone with an internet connect to view (Wharton’s library for example) and that it has made other materials like you mention much more accessible too. I think Winterson’s dislike stems from the potential political issues of control of knowledge. Whereas digital books can be erased in great swathes with a few clicks of a mouse and no one could see it happen, the removal of physical books can;t be so easily hidden. It’s the impact of the concrete versus the abstract.
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Thank you soooo much for this synopsis! I LOVED all of Jeannette Winterson’s ideas and I am sooooo in agreement! Though I do think e-books are important….many of us who never had access to some of best books because of expense and geography, can read them all, thanks to e-books! However I do agree that reading is an art of rebellion …it is knowledge, which brings power! I am going to look her up and read some more!
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cirtnecce, glad you enjoyed the summary! Winterson was a great person to listen to. Next fall they are going to have Marilynne Robinson! I too think ebooks are important for the same accessibility reasons you mention. I can see Winterson’s point though, there is always a down side to things too.
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Marilynne Robinson! Yowza!
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This sounds so awesome. I’m reading The Gap of Time right now and I love how she takes the extreme emotions of The Winter’s Tale and makes them contemporary and (semi-)plausible. Not at all surprised to hear that she considers reading to be dangerous; I’ve always thought that the reason it’s suppressed, and the reason it’s better for you than television, is because it teaches you empathy–you have to engage directly with characters, you can’t absorb their experience passively. (I guess with very good television sometimes you approach this level of investment, but with books it’s sort of a built-in feature.) I really want to track down a copy of her memoir now. How lucky you were to hear her speak!
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Elle, I’ve heard Gap of Time is pretty good so I am glad to hear you are enjoying it. I was astonished when someone in the audience during Q&A challenged her on why she would dare update Shakespeare. She gave a wonderful answer that had to with art being a living thing and how Shakespeare especially has always been updated and changed and played with. I completely agree with you on your points about reading and TV. I’ve read her memoir and it is really good. She did not have an easy childhood and books had a big place in rescuing her from it.
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That’s so funny–presumably the same audience member would have no truck with, eg, The Lion King or 10 Things I Hate About You, either. Siiiighhhh. I was thinking about updating Shakespeare this morning, about how what you’re doing has little to do with the language but everything to do with the emotional authenticity that his plots and characters possess. All updated versions of Shakespeare trying to find a way to do that the way he did that, just with different wallpaper.
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Elle, funny thing is I don’t think the audience member would have had any problems with Lion King, etc, he was offended that anyone would dare mess with Shakespeare as though it were possible to improve upon him, as though he were a religious text or something. You are right about the updating, it is not the language anyone is trying to improve upon, it is as you say the emotional authenticity just with different wallpaper! I like how you put that! 🙂
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Oh, I see–argh, how annoying! I mean, we don’t even have authoritative texts for most of the plays themselves, so why anyone should have a problem with simply trying to update the plots is sort of beyond me…I guess cultural purists will take any excuse?
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You and Winterson are in complete agreement as that was part of her response. 🙂
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What an amazing opportunity! There was a time when Winterson’s work (her early novels) were very critical for me. As for e-books, I have grown away from them myself, but I respect the value and accessibility that e-books provide. Some publishing houses, especially those producing works in translation rely on e-books to increase distribution (or enable any distribution of their work). I am apprehensive about Amazon because I do fear losing material should a book be pulled, but sometimes their prices are half of that of kobo. I chose carefully which to purchase e-books from and, geek that I am, a book that I truly love will ultimately HAVE to be “backed up” with a paper copy if at all possible. It is a catch 22, of course. A house fire can wipe out a library too. So again, if I see a book I own and love as a special deal for either of my e-readers, I buy a digital back up! Yes I have a book addiction. 🙂
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roughghosts, she was really great and I am so glad I got to go. Not likely I will ever get the chance to see her again. So smart of you to back up your ebooks. Most people don’t even think about that, believing that because they are saved in the cloud they are safe. Ha! In library world when it comes to digital preservation there is a system called LOKSS, lots of copies keeps stuff safe. I am a firm believer of that!
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I’ve never read anything by Winterson…at least I don’t think so. What do you suggest should be my first? As for ebooks, I have grudgingly accepted them. I was in such a mad rush to get my cat Lulu to the vet yesterday, I forgot to grab a book. But had my iPad in the car. So rather than sit and worry, I could read something to take my mind off my fear that Lulu was dying. But I still prefer the paper and glue ones. P.S. Lulu is pretty sick, but the vet said she believes we can get her well again.
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Grad, I’ve read two books by Winterson, Sexing the Cherry which is not about what you think it might be, and her memoir Why be Happy When you Could be Normal? Both were excellent. Her first book Oranges are not the Only Fruit is a fictionalized version of her memoir. Here most recent book is a retelling of Shakespeare’s Winter’s Tale. So take your pick among those and I think you be well served. I really do like ebooks for the convenience when I am away from home and I like that it is so easy to get a copy of a good many classics and other old books. But in the end I do prefer paper.
Sorry to hear about Lulu. I am glad the vet thinks she can be well again. I hope she is already on the mend!
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I heard Winterson speak in London, years ago, at a joint reading with Atwood. It was just incredible. As well as being fantastic writers they’re also really really good speakers.
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shoshi, now that must have been really something! What a pairing!
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I wish I could have been there! I don’t completely agree about e-books, but I do want my favorite books to have pages and to be placed on the shelves where I can get to them again. And I’ve read everything I’ve read by Winterson, although I should read more!
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jenclair, darn fingers! 😉 I’ve read two of Winterson’s books and liked them both and keep meaning to read more but you know how that goes! I like ebooks too but there is something undeniably wonderful about a book on the shelf.
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Huh? I meant “I’ve LIKED everything I’ve read…” not I’ve read everything!
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I am turning everything green here with sheer jealousy. (The Bears don’t look good in green, I have to say!) I am not a great fan of Winterson’s fiction but I grab every non-fiction publication of hers that I can. She used to do a fortnightly column in one of the Saturday papers and it was a truly sad day when those came to an end. I am so glad you got to hear her.
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Alex, I had no idea she used to do a column, very cool! She is one smart woman. Perhaps one day you will get the chance to see her. I will send that wish out into the universe for you 🙂
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Another Winterson fan here! I’d love to hear her talk. Reading an account by you is the next best thing…
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Helen, heh, my summary is nowhere near what being there was like. If you ever get the chance to go hear her talk, don;t pass it by, she is marvelous!
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I will seem very shallow, but I must tell that I had to check immediately Jeanette Winterson’s hair… It seems very unruly and rebellious! In the Google search a picture of herself as a kid showed up and no curls, just a few waves! I’m adding the link for those who are hair-inclined…
http://www.vogue.com/873572/the-long-view-an-interview-with-writer-jeanette-winterson/
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She sounds like a wonderful advocate for books and reading. It is important that she points out the subversive / questioning nature of books (they don’t simply have to be uplifting or “positive”. I am glad you enjoyed the talk so much
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Ian, it was great and she is a really interesting person. If you ever have a chance to hear her speak I’d highly recommend it 🙂
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smithereens, LOL! I suspect that childhood photo her hair was straightened. She is just a little younger than my mom who has curly hair like I do and has harrowing tales of actually ironing her hair to get the curl out because curly hair was not popular. Thanks for the link! I’m going to start thinking of my own hair as rebellious, that has a nice ring to it 🙂
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I read Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit in high school and I remember NOTHING about it. I really do need to brush up on my J. Winterson! Sounds like a wonderful lecture.
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Laila, it was and I am so glad I got to go!
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This sounds like such a wonderful event, and it was so wonderful to “attend” it vicariously through your post! Thank you! (Also – the Margaret Atwood comment cracks me up!)
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Emily, it was great fun and I am glad you enjoyed my recap. Both Atwood and Winterson would probably be surprised that someone would envy their hair and want to have some just like it, but I do find barely contained wildness of it quite appealing. It somehow goes with their personalities!
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I would have come out of that inspired and bouncy too. I love the idea of reading as an extreme sport. I also like the idea that “Books are not meant to comfort, though they can do that. Books should expand the world for us and yes, even make us feel uncomfortable. A book that makes you feel uncomfortable is giving you an opportunity to think and experience and learn something”.
I have this argument sometimes with people who only want to see or read nice or entertaining works, or look at pretty art. I argue that the uncomfortable art (of any form) that I like to experience/read is “entertaining” by my definition. What “entertains” me is being challenged.
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whisperinggums, we are birds of a feather in this regard! I enjoy a comfort read now and then but more often than not I want my reading to challenge me in some way with ideas or characters or language or what have you. I find that entertaining as well! It is one reason I am glad I kept reading the Foragers book recently. I didn’t like his theory at first but by the end I was won over.
Of course when I got home I thought of a question I would have liked to ask Winterson: what do you say to people who declare a book is terrible because they did not like/could not relation to any of the characters? When people make comments like that I find it shuts down discussion and never know how to respond. I suspect she would have had a great answer!
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Oh yes, that’s a great question. As you say, a hard one to answer when people say that, though I always give it a shot!
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