This is a re-post. Less laziness than it might seem. In the wake of a narrow-visioned, uniformed article in the Wall Street Journal about YA lit, Sherman Alexie wrote a (not-surprisingly) intelligent, eloqent, poignant response HERE. Which inspired me to re-post some of my thoughts from earlier this year. Sherman Alexie is a smart, reasoned, incredibly enjoyable voice for our genre and our time. I wish everyone was everyone was listening.
My original post:
Anyone who has taken my class, or has asked me for advice on good books for adolescent and teen readers knows exactly how I feel about Sherman Alexie’s Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. For anyone who will keep reading for a few lines, here it is in a nutshell:
It’s the first book I recommend, and the first book I teach every term. I think it’s an almost perfect novel: funny, poignant, incredibly smart. I think every precocious reader from 12-112 should read it.
Still here? Okay…
I was lucky enough to hear Alexie speak in Philadelphia last week. He is much like his book: hilarious, emotional, incredibly smart. I laughed so hard during his talk that I felt it in my abs the next day (aside: after a winter of not-quite-enough gym time, it’s nice to be reminded I have abs in there somewhere). Of course I would love to think he and I have much in common. We’re both writers, have similar political views, are fervent song-list makers. Believe me, I’m entirely clear on the truth. He is a literary lion. In comparison, I am…a runty housecat, maybe. Probably a gerbil. And I know I (urban, privileged, overeducated) am pretty much the butt of many of his jokes. Does it matter? Nope. No way.
If you haven’t read True Diary, do. Read whatever Alexie you can find. Then weigh in here. There are certain books about coming of age that have been on school curricula for half a century or more. I won’t name them. They are beloved and important, with good reason. But perhaps they are not as relevant to our adolescents and teens as they once were. We aren’t the kids we were even a generation ago; and each generation gets farther and farther from those aged visionaries. Consider whether those books don’t perhaps belong in elective courses: “Mid-Century American Literature”, “Youth and Literature”, “Adolescent Angst through the Ages”… Our academic lives are too short and the literary back-list too long for curricula to remain static.
(Yes, I know we all have a list of “classics” we believe must be read by everyone. Trust me, I will go to the mat to preserve some golden oldies like Donne and Austen. I am not advocating Elimination. I am advocating Reevaluation and maybe a little Redistricting.)
I’m sure there are plenty more, but a quick Google showed me maybe a dozen high schools nationwide who use True Diary as a required text. I saw a lot more school districts where it is being challenged. People are banning this book– which, while being a pretty effective way to get lots of people to read it, isn’t enough– rather than teaching it. Personally, I think True Diary should be that Coming of Age book on every curriculum.
If you agree that this is a book today’s t(w)eens need to read, write to your former junior high and high school. Write to your local school board. Tell ‘em what you think. Or, just make a list here of any YA books you think are educational classics in the making. I’m curious.