Personal Literary Influences
History has been filled with creative artists in a variety of fields. Much of the contribution has come in the field of literary works. Writers have tackled taxation without representation, civil rights, womens rights, abortion, euthanasia, and numerous religious and political views. Writers have also influenced the creative minds of children through fairy tales, stories of adventure through countless time periods, imaginative accounts of history and culture. Words surround us and have influenced each of in many ways. My life has been no different. Writers of past and present have been responsible for building my life and shaping it into what it is today.
Growing up, my first introduction to literary works was in the form of pre-school books introducing me to different ways to explore the world around me. Nursery rhymes in their song like fashion taught me to memorize rhymes and recite them to a fun melody. My parents read to me as often as time allowed and it helped grow my curiosity to explore books with them even more. When I entered kindergarten, I discovered an even wider range of stories and words through books. My teacher held circle time where she read to us and told us stories about giants, trolls, princesses, princes, witches, and dragons. The Busy World of Richard Scarry brought to life an entire town of animals of all kinds. These stories and illustrations placed an emphasis on action and minute detail in depicting everyday activities (Richard Scarry 2008). These friends as I called them as a child went to school, work, and lived in homes with families just like me and my friends.
My teachers daily circle times encouraged a deeper yearning inside of me to discover more stories like those of Richard Scary and even the fairytales of the Grims brothers. I was so excited on the day the teacher informed the class that we were going to learn to read stories just like she read to us. I wanted that very much. Another scale of literary works was introduced in the form of See Jane run and Spot likes to jump in mud. The world of words came to life in a new way and by the middle of elementary I was checking out as many books in the library as possible. I could read on my own and that meant I could escape into any story whenever I wanted. It was an amazing experience that was paving the way for a greater influence of literary artists through the next several years to come.
All throughout my schooling, teachers enforced the importance of reading. My teachers read to the class for daily story time all the way into middle school. If students didnt want to read, the teacher didnt give up or walk away, but instead sat down and read to the students ensuring the words were poured into the minds of each of us. I remember by elementary teachers reading novels like Charlottes Web by E.B. White, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine LEngle, and Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks. All of these books taught me as a child to use my imagination, keep an eye out for adventure, and above all keep reading to find out what will happen next. The way the stories were read and the animation my teachers put into them made them come to life even more. This furthered my thirst to read, but also began to open up a new world of creative writing as well.
Moving farther into middle school and early high school introduced an entirely new world of literary figures including names like E.B. White, Charles Dickens, Emily Dickinson, Geoffrey Chaucer, Jane Austin, Jack London, Mark Twain, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Stephen Crane, and the list goes on. Literature and reading classes were required courses and ensured students learned at least the foundations of the literary world and how authors used the written word to express views and share stories of imagination with not just their own children, but hundreds and thousands of others around the world.
At the same time the literary classics were being introduced through school, the bookshelves of local bookstores and grocery stores were being lined with the amazing adventures of Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling, the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, and the Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. The book industry entered into a time of demand as Hollywood movie studios began producing real life motion pictures depicting our favorite characters. Avid readers were flocking to the theatre to see the movies, while avid movie goers began gathering at local bookstores to buy the books to learn even more about the on screen characters and story lines. The literary craze was picking up and I was right there with it standing in line to catch the latest movie and holding a spot in line for the next great book release.
Teachers played a great role in encouraging me to read on my own and explore history and culture through a variety of books. Teachers also were a great source of encouragement to take the love of reading step further by putting my own thoughts down on paper. All throughout elementary school, students participated in writing exercises that complimented reading assignments. Reading comprehension was a daily routine for as long as I can remember. Yearly testing always included sections of reading comprehension where stories were read, questions answered, and essays written. As far back as I can remember, writing was encouraged just as much as reading. I remember putting together my first book in sixth grade. All of the students in sixth grade had to take a class in which they were required to write their own short story, illustrate it, and then put it together in a handmade book form. I was so proud of the book I wrote. It was a crazy story about animals and their crazy adventures (most likely inspired by the early stories of Scarry and Grim). It was childish of course, but it was my work and it was my book. To this day I have no idea what happened to that book, but I remember the process of creating it, writing it, and reading it to friends and family. It was a wonderful sense of accomplishment and was just another stepping stone into the future.
Parents and teachers alike were the primary influences in my life when it came to learning to read and write as well as continue to develop my own skills in reading and writing. Yet, it was the books and stories themselves that really shaped my life and my thoughts and actions of the past and of the present. Reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn brought to life the real issues involved in the Deep South most specifically slavery and civil rights (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn 2010). Red Badge of Courage depicted real life stories from the Civil War sharing the heartache and pain of the war as well as the mixed emotions of those torn apart from family and friends. The classics laid a foundation for future literary courses into high school and on into college. The higher the level of learning, the larger the literary world became ranging from American literature to Greek mythology and legend.
The importance of learning to read and to study literary authors is not something that can be taught by one teacher during one particular time in life. It takes the entire core of teachers during the education process to teach, instruct, and inspire students not only to learn to read to get by, but also to learn to read for the sake of learning. My parents started it all by simply taking the time to introduce me to books by reading them to me long before I understood what they were. From there, it became the role of each of my teachers throughout schooling to continue reading to me and teaching me to read for myself. Literature classes were needed to help me understand what it was I was reading as well as to learn about great authors that used their knowledge of words to make a difference in the world around them. Even the media played a hand in the literary process bringing books to life and encouraging the reading of additional stories. All of this together made my role as a reader and writer possible.
Growing up, my first introduction to literary works was in the form of pre-school books introducing me to different ways to explore the world around me. Nursery rhymes in their song like fashion taught me to memorize rhymes and recite them to a fun melody. My parents read to me as often as time allowed and it helped grow my curiosity to explore books with them even more. When I entered kindergarten, I discovered an even wider range of stories and words through books. My teacher held circle time where she read to us and told us stories about giants, trolls, princesses, princes, witches, and dragons. The Busy World of Richard Scarry brought to life an entire town of animals of all kinds. These stories and illustrations placed an emphasis on action and minute detail in depicting everyday activities (Richard Scarry 2008). These friends as I called them as a child went to school, work, and lived in homes with families just like me and my friends.
My teachers daily circle times encouraged a deeper yearning inside of me to discover more stories like those of Richard Scary and even the fairytales of the Grims brothers. I was so excited on the day the teacher informed the class that we were going to learn to read stories just like she read to us. I wanted that very much. Another scale of literary works was introduced in the form of See Jane run and Spot likes to jump in mud. The world of words came to life in a new way and by the middle of elementary I was checking out as many books in the library as possible. I could read on my own and that meant I could escape into any story whenever I wanted. It was an amazing experience that was paving the way for a greater influence of literary artists through the next several years to come.
All throughout my schooling, teachers enforced the importance of reading. My teachers read to the class for daily story time all the way into middle school. If students didnt want to read, the teacher didnt give up or walk away, but instead sat down and read to the students ensuring the words were poured into the minds of each of us. I remember by elementary teachers reading novels like Charlottes Web by E.B. White, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine LEngle, and Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks. All of these books taught me as a child to use my imagination, keep an eye out for adventure, and above all keep reading to find out what will happen next. The way the stories were read and the animation my teachers put into them made them come to life even more. This furthered my thirst to read, but also began to open up a new world of creative writing as well.
Moving farther into middle school and early high school introduced an entirely new world of literary figures including names like E.B. White, Charles Dickens, Emily Dickinson, Geoffrey Chaucer, Jane Austin, Jack London, Mark Twain, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Stephen Crane, and the list goes on. Literature and reading classes were required courses and ensured students learned at least the foundations of the literary world and how authors used the written word to express views and share stories of imagination with not just their own children, but hundreds and thousands of others around the world.
At the same time the literary classics were being introduced through school, the bookshelves of local bookstores and grocery stores were being lined with the amazing adventures of Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling, the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, and the Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. The book industry entered into a time of demand as Hollywood movie studios began producing real life motion pictures depicting our favorite characters. Avid readers were flocking to the theatre to see the movies, while avid movie goers began gathering at local bookstores to buy the books to learn even more about the on screen characters and story lines. The literary craze was picking up and I was right there with it standing in line to catch the latest movie and holding a spot in line for the next great book release.
Teachers played a great role in encouraging me to read on my own and explore history and culture through a variety of books. Teachers also were a great source of encouragement to take the love of reading step further by putting my own thoughts down on paper. All throughout elementary school, students participated in writing exercises that complimented reading assignments. Reading comprehension was a daily routine for as long as I can remember. Yearly testing always included sections of reading comprehension where stories were read, questions answered, and essays written. As far back as I can remember, writing was encouraged just as much as reading. I remember putting together my first book in sixth grade. All of the students in sixth grade had to take a class in which they were required to write their own short story, illustrate it, and then put it together in a handmade book form. I was so proud of the book I wrote. It was a crazy story about animals and their crazy adventures (most likely inspired by the early stories of Scarry and Grim). It was childish of course, but it was my work and it was my book. To this day I have no idea what happened to that book, but I remember the process of creating it, writing it, and reading it to friends and family. It was a wonderful sense of accomplishment and was just another stepping stone into the future.
Parents and teachers alike were the primary influences in my life when it came to learning to read and write as well as continue to develop my own skills in reading and writing. Yet, it was the books and stories themselves that really shaped my life and my thoughts and actions of the past and of the present. Reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn brought to life the real issues involved in the Deep South most specifically slavery and civil rights (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn 2010). Red Badge of Courage depicted real life stories from the Civil War sharing the heartache and pain of the war as well as the mixed emotions of those torn apart from family and friends. The classics laid a foundation for future literary courses into high school and on into college. The higher the level of learning, the larger the literary world became ranging from American literature to Greek mythology and legend.
The importance of learning to read and to study literary authors is not something that can be taught by one teacher during one particular time in life. It takes the entire core of teachers during the education process to teach, instruct, and inspire students not only to learn to read to get by, but also to learn to read for the sake of learning. My parents started it all by simply taking the time to introduce me to books by reading them to me long before I understood what they were. From there, it became the role of each of my teachers throughout schooling to continue reading to me and teaching me to read for myself. Literature classes were needed to help me understand what it was I was reading as well as to learn about great authors that used their knowledge of words to make a difference in the world around them. Even the media played a hand in the literary process bringing books to life and encouraging the reading of additional stories. All of this together made my role as a reader and writer possible.
Categories:
0 comments:
Post a Comment