Creative Reading

Ralph Waldo Emerson tells us "there is then creative reading as well as creative writing. When the mind is braced by labor and invention, the page of whatever book we read becomes luminous with manifold allusion. Every sentence is doubly significant, and the sense of our author is as broad as the world."

Authors, the ones we love, touch us by saying that which we can not articulate ourselves. While reading - if we are truly, actively reading - we see connections to the world around us, to our own lives, to our own thoughts, and this makes the story itself even more powerful, full of truths momentarily captured.

I often wish I could express this feeling to my students, the feeling of connection one feels with the text and with the author in those moments of realization. As always, I should have turned to Emerson, the man with the quote for all times. I used another Emerson, "the invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common," as my senior quote. And to this day it is the bit of wisdom I draw on the most.

Just as when reading a book, looking at the world around me carefully can cause the most common objects to "become luminous with manifold allusion."  It may sound a bit cheesy but seeing a branch fall from a tree after a storm or a heavy snow always strikes me.  I am reminded of losing pieces of myself, things I used to be, to enjoy, to love.  Or I am reminded of the death of a loved one.  Seeing water flow down the street towards the drain reminds me of change.  Sometimes watching some move gracefully or unusually will bring a smile to my face and remind me of the pleasure and ability of the human body.

Do you guys have any moments like this?  

With books, I sometimes feel the world while reading or more commonly directly after finishing a book.  Certain books are poignant, and I do not use that term loosely.  For one brief moment, I feel like I have understood something important about the world.  This feeling is usually fleeting, and it can be difficult to re-grasp even when re-reading that same passage or same book.


Has any author ever made you feel the world?