An ode to the importance of reading novels and poetry recently came from an unexpected corner. Pope Francis, in his latest letter, made a point to write on “the value of reading novels and poems as part of one’s path to personal maturity.” Although the Pope focuses on seminaries in his letter, his message is nevertheless relevant to lay Catholics as well as students of literature from diverse faith traditions.
Francis observes that, in many seminaries (and universities!),
“literature is considered non-essential.” However, he argues, “I consider it
important that such an approach is unhealthy,” as it can lead to “serious intellectual
and spiritual impoverishment.”
Francis emphasizes the power of literature to facilitate
wellbeing and personal growth, writing that, “…In moments of weariness, anger,
disappointment, or failure, when prayer itself does not help us find inner
serenity, a good book can help us weather the storm until we find peace of
mind.” He goes on to contrast books with “audio-visual media,” and evokes the
reading experience (and the literature class experience) when he notes that “Readers
in some sense rewrite a text, enlarging its scope through their imagination,
creating a whole world by bringing into play their skills, their memory, their
dreams, and their personal history, with all its drama and symbolism.”
Francis recalls his time as a young teacher at a Jesuit
School, and relates that, although he had been tasked to assign his students El
Cid, he decided that he’d allow the students to read El Cid at home
and use class time to discuss “the authors the students liked best.” The Pope
even weighs in, to some extent, on syllabus construction (or at least on book club
selection), when he writes that “There is nothing more counterproductive than
reading something out of a sense of duty, making considerable effort simply
because others have said it is essential.”
The Pope highlights a brief definition of literature that he
likes: “listening to another person’s voice.” He goes on to describe literature’s
ability to help us overcome isolation and understand others, and even
namechecks T.S. Eliot, who “described today’s religious crisis as that of
widespread emotional incapacity.” As the Pope himself noted in a press
conference (and which he recalls in his letter), “I think that the West lacks a
bit of poetry.”
Francis describes the benefits of literature in a variety of
ways: “Literature… teaches us how to look and see, to discern and explore the
reality of individuals and situations as a mystery charged with a surplus of
meaning”; “Literature helps us to reflect on the meaning of our presence in
this world, to ‘digest’ and assimilate it”; “The wisdom born of literature
instils in the reader greater perspective, a sense of limits, the ability to
value experience over cognitive and critical thinking, and to embrace a poverty
that brings extraordinary riches.” In the end of the piece, Francis references
the “union” between “the divine Word and our human words.”
For attentive readers, whether Catholic or not, there is
plenty of food for thought in this letter!
You can read the whole piece on the Vatican’s website.
