Degas had a hard time getting ballet off of his mind, too.
There have been so many false alarms, but last night a gentle rain began and it hasn’t stopped completely all day. Blessed rain.
From an email exchange today with Ron Lupton:
This was a nice thoughtful piece. http://spiritualwealth.com/ I liked it a lot. It was a ‘thwack upside the head’ like a few other things have been lately.
Meredith sent us an article from the New York Times Magazine about ‘paper’. It was basically about a guy named Barrett who decided paper needed to be studied more closely, enrolled in paper making classes, became a master and ended up teaching the Japanese some of their own early processes, etc. (I’d be happy to share it). There was one quote in the article by Bob Stein, the founder of the Institute for the Future of the Book that rocked me: “The notion of a page is being expanded as we speak. I imagine the book going in two directions – one as an art object, printed on paper in small quantities and so expensive only the rich can afford it, and the other as an electronic form that will incorporate still images, animation, a diverse set of links to the open Web and a significant social component. In terms of the electronic book, we’re in 1464 – the infancy of Gutenberg’s press – and everything is poised to change.”
I read a LOT on my iPad. Often subjects also contain animations, film, photos and lots of links to other material including instant pronunciations, definitions, etc. With a couple of taps, I can share what I’ve learned with you or dozens of friends (and I didn’t even have to use Facebook, which I am very down on, but which ‘could’ serve the same useful purpose).
That made me think about the history of the printed book which was initially only the Bible and only available to the rich. Gradually, with cheaper paper and more academic sources the book gained a wider circulation until mass printing and pulp paper made the dime novels and how-to pamphlets available to everyone. All of this cycle is not unlike what Stein envisions in our future.
The other ‘thwak’ this article delivered was the book Cultural Literacy – What Every American Needs to Know (paperback) http://www.amazon.com/Cultural-Literacy-Every-American-Needs/dp/0394758439. Like it says on Amazon this was published in 1988 when you and I were at the top of our game. We were then shocked about what our students didn’t know. Harris, the author of C.L. attempted to list the essentials. That ‘thwak’ made me recall a book I read in Vietnam by Sheilah Graham, College of One, http://fitzgerald.narod.ru/bio/graham-collegeof1.html documenting a course of study laid out for her by F. Scott Fitzgerald who was in her pants and her mind at the same time. She was clueless and he attempted to educate her by outlining what was important for her to know.
It sort of makes you think that once we have some knowledge, the natural next step is to share it.
Anyhow, thanks for the article.
Skip