Joseph Harris’s book was not what I
was expecting; it was a pleasant surprise. Usually when you get assigned
reading from a text on writing it is about the all standard, if I may say
boring, stuff that goes along with writing an academic paper. Harris isn’t
about that. He puts those things aside and actually talks about practical
things; he doesn’t tell you how to do things but what to include in them.
It is
hard to separate Harris’s definitions of reading and writing; probably because he
treats them as one and the same. He says as a reader you should strive to
understand the text and know what argument it is trying to make. The structure
of the text isn’t as important as its function; what is the author getting at? At
that point you have become a writer because to understand the text you need to “rewrite”
it. You read what the text has to say, interpret it through your own
perspective, and then find a way to use it. Harris describes it as a
negotiation between reader and writer; a “coming to terms” as the chapter title
suggests. The reader, turned writer, must give the original text its due and
then use it to further his point. When comment on a text and provide an
opinion, it’s also important to explain how you arrived there. From experience,
everyone can have a different perspective even when they read the same piece of
work, so it is important to know what yours is.
Harris
views writing in much the same way that Andrew Sullivan does. They both see the purpose of writing as
participating in the conversation. Harris sees writing as “a fluid and social
activity.” That sounds like a definition of blogging to me! Harris puts more
emphasis on what is said, not in what format. He is drawn to writing that “strives
to be a part of public life.” He suggests that writing should be shared and “rewritten”
many times so it can push ideas to their limits. Sullivan discussed how he
likes the intimacy of sharing with his readers and hearing their responses and
seeing where the conversation could go.
While Harris’s discussion of
reading and writing makes sense to me (especially as his book is geared towards
writing), is it possible to JUST be a reader?
