Most days I look forward to evenings when I can relax reading a book. In nice weather it’s outside on the deck with bird songs and soft breezes. In winter it’s with the wood stove and classical music. No blaring TV screen, my phone on mute. They follow a bit later in the evening.
Reading, words on paper. The perspective arises from my background in print journalism, and research for my novels. Non-fiction books provide background information for settings, plots, and characters. Fiction for inspiration and models for the writing craft.
Words on Paper became the title of a presentation that I have given to numerous library and community groups. It may be pushback against a feeling that we’ve lost something in the digital age. It also provides a platform for promoting my novels. The title’s tagline is: An author’s perspective on literature and the Great Conversation about the human condition. That has evolved to include: An author’s quest for meaning beyond Postmodernism. The more recent cultural paradigm is being called Metamodernism – “it’s okay to search for values and meaning, even as we continue to be skeptical,” (Gary Jeshel Forrester).
Compared with the spurious character of much information online, printed books, magazines, and newspapers as a group are far more credible. Today the role of editors as gatekeepers has been greatly diminished. Research at a university in Australia offers evidence that our reading skills have diminished with the use of screens. The term “Great Conversation” comes from Robert Maynard Hutchins, who wrote a book by that title and subtitled, The Substance of a Liberal Education, published in 1952.
At book events I’ve often heard readers say they prefer holding a real book. While E-books and tablets have their advantages, such as lower cost and convenience for travel, with printed books you feel a greater connection. Holding it in your hand you can flip back and forth among the pages, appreciate the layout and typography, even smell the ink and paper. You can dog-ear favorite pages, underline important or favorite sections, write in the margins. Maybe it’s related to non-verbal communication, which some experts say represents about two-thirds of interpersonal communication.
The Words on Paper perspective provides an overview of the role of important literature in society, the philosophical “great conversation” about the human condition, the power of story-telling, some important books and authors, impact of digital technology, and the writing craft. I conclude by describing my experience as an author and my novels.
I grew up in the 1950s in a small town in central Minnesota. We didn’t have a television at home until I was 11 years old. Of course, I did watch some TV at the homes of friends. When we did get a TV, it received only one channel. When we weren’t outdoors playing, that left a lot of time for reading: Newspapers, magazines, books. National Geographic became one of my favorites. Also, Life, Boy’s Life, Time, and of course the West Central Tribune, a regional daily in Willmar, MN; I even liked Ideals.
After high school graduation I left for college in the big city with no intention of returning. My writing ambitions evolved in college and marinated for a few years as I drove a semi-truck, union scale, to pay off school loans and save up for some travel. According to my resume, my modest goal was to become a daily newspaper reporter, with the ideal of educating and informing society about news and current events. That was achieved when I was hired as a reporter – at my hometown newspaper – and soon, managing editor.
In 2002 I began to write my first novel. Most weekdays I would arise early to write before going to work. Since then I have written three more novels, and am working on a fifth. I continue to promote the Words on Paper program, and hope to use this blog to provide a narrative and resource related to that. Following are the topics that will be recorded here in coming weeks. I also plan to use the Substack platform. Please join me on the journey, and if you are so inspired please send any feedback.
Thanks! Forrest
There’s a lot of backstory to literature and words on paper
