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emmaemmaemmaemma 's review for:
How to Read Now
by Elaine Castillo
“Because empowerment is not the same thing as emancipation.”
How to Read Now is a series of essays with an instructional line that runs through all of them. One of the key ideas behind it is that it is important to be thoughtful about everything we read, especially the context, and the impact. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and picked up some new perspectives along the way. I think a few of my favorite passages can do the rest of the talking in this review for me though.
“‘Say it was the valiant warrior Ulysses, son of Laertes who lives in Ithaca.’ The boast is like an identity card he throws as Polyphemus’ feet. City waster, valiant warrior, man of many resources, son of, citizen of. It’s his confidence in his own context that is Odysseus’ greatest strength, his greatest privilege, and his greatest cruelty. He may be traveling, but he’s not a migrant. Man of many resources, worldly wise, skilled in diplomacy, lover of stolen wealth and sadistic gains. Odysseus always has a home to return to. Wherever he goes is civilization, to the despair of everyone else. Polyphemus is home but he’s been made foreign by Odysseus. A barbarian, a savage, someone whose entire world can be invaded, stripped for parts, then abandoned.”
“There is no space here for writing as invitation, or as a place for mutual intimacy or vulnerability.”
“Most people are not in fact all that ignorant, IE: lacking knowledge or unaware. Bad reading is not a question of people undereducated in a more equitable and progressive understanding of what it means to be a person among other people. Most people are vastly over-educated. Over-educated in white supremacy, patriarchy, and heteronormativity. — It’s not a question of bringing people out of their ignorance, but a question of bringing people out of their deliberately extensive education.”
How to Read Now is a series of essays with an instructional line that runs through all of them. One of the key ideas behind it is that it is important to be thoughtful about everything we read, especially the context, and the impact. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and picked up some new perspectives along the way. I think a few of my favorite passages can do the rest of the talking in this review for me though.
“‘Say it was the valiant warrior Ulysses, son of Laertes who lives in Ithaca.’ The boast is like an identity card he throws as Polyphemus’ feet. City waster, valiant warrior, man of many resources, son of, citizen of. It’s his confidence in his own context that is Odysseus’ greatest strength, his greatest privilege, and his greatest cruelty. He may be traveling, but he’s not a migrant. Man of many resources, worldly wise, skilled in diplomacy, lover of stolen wealth and sadistic gains. Odysseus always has a home to return to. Wherever he goes is civilization, to the despair of everyone else. Polyphemus is home but he’s been made foreign by Odysseus. A barbarian, a savage, someone whose entire world can be invaded, stripped for parts, then abandoned.”
“There is no space here for writing as invitation, or as a place for mutual intimacy or vulnerability.”
“Most people are not in fact all that ignorant, IE: lacking knowledge or unaware. Bad reading is not a question of people undereducated in a more equitable and progressive understanding of what it means to be a person among other people. Most people are vastly over-educated. Over-educated in white supremacy, patriarchy, and heteronormativity. — It’s not a question of bringing people out of their ignorance, but a question of bringing people out of their deliberately extensive education.”