reading: September 2007 Archives

Abraham Piper writes:

"If we read fiction or poetry and we look for 'the point' instead of immersing ourselves in the experience, we ruin our faculty for truly enjoying it. We will see or read or listen to great art and only think of it as a cipher to be broken. The pleasure of the art will be replaced by the pleasure of 'figuring it out.' Sure, there is sometimes deciphering to be done, but that is not the point of a story or a poem."

Read the full post here.

Let me know what you think about his article. What if the fiction author actually has a point that he intends for the reader to figure out? How much good fiction is written "without a point"?

(HT: MouseNaround)