To legitimise his very existence, 17th Century philosopher, Rene Descartes said, ‘I think, therefore I am’. It’s indisputable that books make us think, and applying Descartes philosophy makes reading more than a pastime. We ‘are’, by our encounters with words, existing in the worlds of the texts, and so are our audience. From this perspective, the popular phrase, ‘a reader lives a thousand lives…’ becomes more than a persuasive technique to encourage students to read, but instead, becomes a truth that is as real as falling in love, having a baby, graduating from university. A little book, David Malouf’s ‘On Experience’, which I borrowed from a colleague recently, discusses the inherent reality of the lives inside our heads. Highlighting the power of imagination, Malouf argues that everything we experience as human beings, be it intrinsic or extrinsic, is real when it makes us feel. On the back of Descartes insight and Malouf’s opinion I too argue, books give us real experiences.
EXPERIENCING FICTION
It makes complete sense that the written word is as real to us as our physical and emotional encounters. How else can we explain the longevity and impact of stories that have survived the evolution of humanity? Think Dante’s ‘Divine Comedy’ written in the 1300’s’; Shakespeare’s works, written in the 1600’s; and Homer’s ‘Odyssey’ and ‘Iliad’, believed to have been written in the 7th Century BC. There is no other explanation to why we preserve and are impacted by texts that have outlived our great, great, great … grandparents. Like generational traits, traumas and beliefs, the sensational experience of Dante’s emotional travel through Hell, Purgatory and Heaven; Shakespeare’s consequential message about premature love and outrageous ambition; and Homer’s educational theme of misplaced grief and intense pride, is as impactful to us as our ancestral history. These words have altered us in the same way we are altered by those who came before us. These words have flowed through generations, like the very blood running through our veins.
POWER OF BOOKS
Experiencing fiction is as advantageous as it is dangerous. When we read and write, we make connections between realms of perspectives: text to self, text to world, text to text; therefore, we experience the world from these dimensions and draw from our own experience, both lived and imagined, to encounter the world inside us, the words in front of us, and the world around us. This complements our life outside of books by giving us ‘a thousand (extra) lives’ to grow. Both from a writer and reader’s perspective, this thought can be frightening. As writers, particularly Christian writers, we now have an extra responsibility to create a world that is conducive to living the Gospel. As readers, we now risk our souls with every book we pick up, and the choice between one book and another becomes a pivotal moment.
WORD TO SOUL ENCOUNTERS
I’m sure every reader can concur that books are so powerful they can touch our souls. We can all think of at least one book that has touched us this deeply. I argue that all books do this, some on a conscience level and some, subliminally. Every book makes us think, and we know what Descartes has to say about this. Perhaps it’s time to cordially invite our soul into our reading and writing. It’s been a silent observer for far too long. We Christian writers are familiar with praying for guidance when we are creating our stories. We ask for divine intervention to produce work to glorify our God. By consciously reading and writing with our soul, we invite God into every word. We are also conscious of every word we read and how it is altering us as writers and shepherds.
My message, like Descartes and Malouf’s, is clear. When we think and feel, we are having an experience. As Christian writers and avid readers, therefore, we should be conscious of the impact that the written word is having on ourselves and our audience. We have a responsibility to our souls and the souls of our readers to produce and read work that is building character and improving societies. Of course, I’m not suggesting that we create plots that are all sunshine and roses with perfect characters who don’t err. Boring. Like Dystopian fiction, for example, the message is in exaggerating and animating the consequence of wrong choices; taking readers to a world where the effect of bad decisions is shown. I challenge us to expand our minds on this. We hold a magic mirror to a thousand worlds, literally in the palm of our hands in the form of books. We have no excuse but to write and read towards our best selves, best society, and best world. It’s not as though we have only one life to get it right.
Thank you, Louise.