[CASL-L] Classics Criteria?

[Debbie Abilock]

Hi Jarrad,

 

As a summer reading assignment my school asked kids to identify and read a
classic (no further information about how to define or find one).  It was by
far the best summer reading we did - got everything from adult books now
read by young adults to really old Newbury books.  The discussions were
fabulous.  That said, Linda's right - in fact, one definitions kids came up
with was that a classic was just an older book that was still in print.
Another, by a more jaded student, was that a classic is anything boring.

 

Best,

Debbie Abilock

NoodleTools/NoodleTeach

 

"When I start exploring some subject, I hardly know what I think.very
messy.and very uncomfortable.  I don't like all this confusion. While I am
not an artist, I do feel bound to try, as far as I'm able, to produce a work
of art as well as a piece of truth." -- From Eyes on the Street: The Life of
Jane Jacobs by Robert Kanigel; Knopf, 2016, p. 326.

 

 

 

From: CASL-L [mailto:casl-l-bounces at mylist.net] On Behalf Of Williams, Linda
Sent: Wednesday, February 15, 2017 5:41 AM
To: 'Jarrad McGlamery' <jarradmcglamery at gmail.com>; casl-l at mylist.net
Subject: Re: [CASL-L] Classics Criteria?

 

There is no hard and fast definition of "classic." I've looked at many lists
of "classics" over my years as a librarian, and they are not always the same
books. And if you look it up you'll find so many different definitions. it's
really not something you can pin down!

 

In an interview on Talk of the Nation, Sonny Mehta, Knopf editor says:

"Well, there are probably as many definitions about what makes a classic I
think as classics. Actually, I think it was Mark Twain who described it as a
book, which people praise and don't read.

But the one I feel closest to is Clifton Fadiman's. And he said when you
read a classic you do not see more in the book than you did before, you see
more in you than there was before.|

 

Here's a link to that discussion that you can read or listen to:

   http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6519562

 

There's another article at The Guardian:

   https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/oct/20/enduring-love

"So what makes a classic? It can't just be that it's old. A classic must
have something else, something that has either caused it to endure or has,
in the case of modern classics, inspired the faith that it will do so. And
while parts of any book may date, there must be something about a true
classic that remains relevant to children and adults alike across the
generations..." (read the rest online!)

 

And there's this article in The Atlantic, Italo Calvino's 14 Definitions of
What Makes a Classic by Maria Popova (of Brain Pickings):

 
https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/07/italo-calvinos-14-
definitions-of-what-makes-a-classic/259529/

 

There's lots more out there - so good luck settling on something you can
hang on to!

 

Linda

 

 



 

Linda Williams | Children's Services Consultant, Division of Library
Development |  <mailto:Linda.Williams at ct.gov> Linda.Williams at ct.gov |
Office: (860) 704-2207 

 <http://libguides.ctstatelibrary.org/dld/children>
libguides.ctstatelibrary.org/dld/children | 786 S. Main St., Middletown, CT
06457 | Phone: (860) 704-2200 | Fax : (860) 704-2228

 

 

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: CASL-L [mailto:casl-l-bounces+linda.williams=ct.gov at mylist.net] On
Behalf Of Jarrad McGlamery
Sent: Tuesday, February 14, 2017 6:58 PM
To: casl-l at mylist.net <mailto:casl-l at mylist.net> 
Subject: [CASL-L] Classics Criteria?

 

Hello!

 

I am currently completing field work in a middle school library in which I
am genrefying the fiction collection. I have a general understanding but I
am curious if anyone has specific criteria on what makes a Classic? Does
anybody know who, specifically, determines which books are considered
classics? Also, are Classics only those that are previously labeled by the
publisher as such, or do any of you decide a title is a classic on your own?
And lastly, do you find that students are ever drawn to reading Classics on
their own?

 

Thank you,

Jarrad

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