The Crafty Reader

by Robert Scholes

"I believe that it is in our interest as individuals to become crafty readers, and in the interest of the nation to educate citizens in the craft of reading. The craft, not the art. . . . This book is about that craft."--from the Introduction. This latest book from the well-known literary critic Robert Scholes presents his thoughtful exploration of the craft of reading. He deals with reading not as an art or performance given by a virtuoso reader, but as a craft that can be studied, taught, and learned. Those who master the craft of reading, Scholes contends, will justifiably take responsibility for the readings they produce and the texts they choose to read. Scholes begins with a critique of the New Critical way of reading ("bad for poets and poetry and really terrible for students and teachers of poetry"), using examples of poems by various writers, in particular Edna St. Vincent Millay. He concludes with a consideration of the strengths and weaknesses of the fundamentalist way of reading texts regarded as sacred. To explain and clarify the approach of the crafty reader, the author analyzes a wide-ranging selection of texts by figures at the margins of the literary and cultural canon, including Norman Rockwell, Anaïs Nin, Dashiell Hammett, and J. K. Rowling. Throughout his discussion Scholes emphasizes how concepts of genre affect the reading process and how they may work to exclude certain texts from the cultural canon and curriculum.

Genres: Literary Criticism, Books About Books

272 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2001

About the author

Robert E. Scholes was an American literary critic and theorist. He is known for his ideas on fabulation and metafiction.

Reviews

[Ted Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent reflections on "the craft" of reading. A great browsing book.

[Cyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was published the year after I earned my BA in English. I hope it will become required reading in the critical theory class required of all English majors going for their MA. Scholes' assessment of the New Critics validates my suspicions that were a part of my resolve to not continue toward the MA. Those guys seem to take the life out of literature; Scholes' approach recognizes and celebrates the actual human beings behind the works. And his approach to the writings of St. Paul is a gem--I wish I could think and write that clearly. I also appreciate his analysis of the detective literature, sci-fi, and "science fantasy." The latter happily concludes with a ringing endorsement for Rowling's Harry Potter books--a wonderful, cheerful rebuttal to silly Harold Bloom's dismissal of them.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is fine

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tells you (or I should say reminds you) how to read a book in the New Criticism style. (New Criticism was big in the 40's, before postmodernism kicked in and people were all about interpreting everything.) In other words, to not look any deeper than what is provided on the page, and to treat the text as a subject in and of itself. It tells of ways of reading poetry, looking at art, reading Private eye novels...and the benefit of reading and working with just what's on the surface is that you gain an appreciation for certain styles. This is a good book for all the people who like Textual analysis. I have to admit, this isn't my style of book, and the kind of reading that the author illustrates isn't my style of reading. Yet, I still found it stimulating and satisfying.

[Josiah Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good criticism of the New Criticism school of thought and bringing reading to a postmodern textualizing perspective of the world. I originally utilized this book for the chapter on Science Fantasy but was polarized by the readings of Norman Rockwell paintings. The strongest essay for me was the chapter on Sacred Texts and "selective literalism" when it comes to reading of religious texts and how the texts have been I interpreted in so many different ways as to make the texts support the various chauvinistic, racist, homophobic and bigoted views of fundamentalist thought.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chapter 1 on poetry was good, Chapter 2 on textual reality had a great discussion of Norman Rockwell as a postmodern artist, concerned not with reality but with interpreting culture. The rest of the book was not of interest to me.