Against YA Article by Ruth Graham ... Opinions?

[Michael Druebeck]

Hi there,

First of all, I apologize if there is already a similar discussion thread in this forum.

I just read a recent article by Ruth Graham called, "Against YA", in which the author asserts that it may be damaging to adults to devote most of their reading activity to books that target teenagers as their primary audience.(http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/..._be_embarrassed_to_read_children_s_books.html)
I work in the library and I have noticed that, particularly among my co-workers, YA fever is spreading like Game of Thrones wildfire, to a degree that it is impossible to ignore.

I am not a YA reader or fan; however, nor am I enraged by it. What does bother me is that, at least in my environments, there seems to be a parallel emergence of anti-intellectualism, in a variety of forms. Whenever I discuss my love for classic Russian literature, post-modern fiction, or avant-garde poetry, my colleagues act as though I am being pretentious and insecure ... but ... I am only reading what is FUN and ENJOYABLE for me. I am not trying to be challenged or elevated, to me Brothers Karamazov is light reading: it is fiction, it is funny, it is well written, and it has unforgettable characters and spiritual depth.

Does anyone else think that the rise of YA has been accompanied by at least a slight wave of anti-intellectualism in literary tastes?

Cheers,
Michael

 

[Occlith]

Thanks for posting the article.

I wonder if Ruth Graham has actually spoken to any adults as to why they would read YA. The psychology behind it would to me be more interesting than complaining about it. Perhaps it's just a form of escapism or maybe these are adults who didn't read much as children or as young adults and are reading what's popular now.

Michael, based on your observations what is your take on it?

In the USA anti-intellectualism was popularized during the presidency of G.W. Bush. I haven’t had the impression that is the case now but the dumbing-down has been around for quite a while.

As for your reading, is the perceived anti-intellectualism just from co-workers or from patrons also?

 

[SFG75]

Graham's line of argument consists of two main points: (1)YA books are too simplistic and end in a "tidying up" way that is just not natural for adults; (2) People should work form YA to A books, not vice versa, or at least, read most of their material in the form of YA and thus, stunting their growth. I don't feel confident enough to offer an opinion on the first line of argument, but the second one is quite compelling.

"There’s a special reward in that feeling of stretching yourself beyond the YA mark, akin to the excitement of graduating out of the kiddie pool and the rest of the padded trappings of childhood: It’s the thrill of growing up. But the YA and “new adult” boom may mean fewer teens aspire to grown-up reading, because the grown-ups they know are reading their books. When I think about what I learned about love, relationships, sex, trauma, happiness, and all the rest—you know, life—from the extracurricular reading I did in high school, I think of John Updike and Alice Munro and other authors whose work has only become richer to me as I have grown older, and which never makes me roll my eyes."

I could understand reading a YA book from time to time to see what all the hub-bub is about, but beyond that, I don't see how it would be a genre that is worth returning to. The author has a strong point as there is something about 'stretching' yourself and venturing into new territory. How often do we try and do this ourselves? I think that would be a great topic for discussion.

Interesting thoughts on anti-intellectualism, I think that has been around a long time in America. Garry Wills wrote a book by that very title years ago and I still consider it as the definite history of that kind of movement in America. We do have a strong anti-authority impulse that comes from the founding. In some respects, it is healthy, in other ways, not so much. I don't know that much about library science programs, but I fear that many programs are becoming largely vocational and forgetting their liberal education roots. When teachers think more technical and "how to" in regards to computers, business, and libraries, they are not thinking "why" and examining history and philosophy. I would think a librarian would be a strong reader with a literature, humanities, or philosophy background. I would be disappointed to hear if one studied general studies for their B.A. and then obtained their M.A. in library science without a strong core or interest in a specific critical area.

 

[literatureutopy]

YA and NEW ADULT are good reads. Here is a question why do you read? Why do any of us read? What books get our attention? What books draw our imagination? I love reading children's books, YA, as well as adult books. What gets our brain thinking just read and read. Yes! I am considered still a young adult and going to become considered an adult in one more year. Another thing I love YA novels they are just fun to read, they are like romance novels they are my escape from the ordinary life. To say that we cannot think because we read YA and not adult books is missing out. You can still be intellectual when reading YA. Any type of book whether it be a child's book, YA, new adult, or adult book can challenge one's mind.

 

[Beth Rodgers]

I just read this article. Thanks for sharing it. Even though I do see some of Graham's points throughout the article, I wholeheartedly disagree with much of what she writes. Before I respond to specific points from her article, I also want to make it clear that I read a variety of genres, including young adult, romances, mysteries, and more.

When she says that "adults should feel embarrassed about reading literature written for children," I feel that she is discounting the wealth of truly great writing that exists out there. If the writing wasn't so well done, there would not be a genre devoted to the beauty of young adult writing. There would not be countless TV shows and movies devoted to teens and how they are perceived by others as well as themselves (see 90210, Dawson's Creek, Gilmore Girls, Gossip Girl, etc.). It seems condescending to tell me, as a full-fledged adult but an avid young adult book reader, for her to tell me that I should be embarrassed when I am anything but.

She claims that defenders of YA fiction admit that reading YA has to do with "escapism, instant gratification, and nostalgia". Now, I'm not claiming that I don't feel these ideas are true. However, when I read young adult fiction, it is about more than these three ideas. It is about enjoying the story lines, identifying with the characters (even adults have self-esteem issues, relationship troubles, and issues with their kids or their parents, among a variety of other issues that plague them), and reading what I am invested in spending my career writing. Just because young adult novels do not necessarily end ambiguously does not a poor novel make. The novel I have just written finds ways of wrapping up while leaving some ideas up in the air. So it is with life. Sometimes life turns out to be good, even if just for a little bit. It doesn't mean that the next sentence that could have come after the ending of the novel won't be the beginning of something upsetting or unclear. Anything can happen. That is the point of having an imagination. That is the point of hoping for sequels. Think about TV shows you watch and the cliffhangers that come along with the mid-season or end of season finales. They make you want to keep watching because you wonder what happens next. Even with unambiguous endings, you still might wonder what is going to happen. Will the characters stay together if they ended up together? Will they break up? Readers don't know. That is half the fun of having an imagination and continuing to read or watch something. The same is true in other genres of writing, including those with the "adult" label tacked on.

When she says in the article, "Fellow grown-ups, at the risk of sounding snobbish and joyless and old, we are better than this," I again felt that same tone of condescension. I do not feel embarrassed of sharing that I wrote a young adult novel, so why should I feel embarrassed that I am reading one? If young adult novels are so lacking in depth and ambiguity, why is she even bothering to write about them? Why are they worth her time to even consider if we can do better than them altogether?

Finally, when she says that she remembers wanting to make her way to the adult stacks when she was younger, I can definitely identify with this. However, when she says that she "wouldn’t have wanted to live in a world where all the adults were camped out in" the young adult stacks, I disagree. If she wants to read what adults are reading, shouldn't it be a testament to how great young adult fiction is that adults are interested in it, that they find worth in it, and that they share a love of reading for a variety of works rather than just what is termed "adult" reading material?