all along the watchtower {a friend to the poor} ~~

Several of the entries similarly acknowledge the prevalence of solitary reading in our academic contexts, only to shift out attention immediately to much more exotic topics like Anglo-Saxon England. And, even while contextualizing "scripture," a number of the (old & new) essays still focus our attention on texts which are unquestionable canonical in various traditions ~ the Talmud, the Quran, the Gospel, The Tale of Gengi & so on .......

As an anonymous reader noted, "Most of these papers deal with the reading of important work ~ literature or sacred texts ~ not with reading as a daily activity, & of routine stuff ~ the newspaper, mail, reports, scholarly articles, & yes, even, for example, our reading of these very words."

We can take the point, even while demurring from the implicit judgment that these entries do not constitute "important work!"

It is doubtless true that more time is spent by more people on reading the daily newspapers than on reading the Talmud & The Tale of Gengi combed?! The issue is not whether it is inappropriate to focus on the reading of canonical texts, or reading in distant locales or long-ago times.

The danger that this outside reviewer correctly hinted at was that the focus of this particular volume might obscure other areas that demand the same kind of critical attention. Several such lacunae can be identified briefly now. The first, as just suggested, is precisely reading as generalized technology within the academic world (not just in classroom settings). A second is the current crisis in the teaching of mundane reading skills not only on Indian reservations, but in schools that badly serve million of immigrant children & children in poor neighborhoods throughout the world -
children who may never have the opportunity to learn who the Anglo-Saxons were or where Zaire is. Finally we should be aware of the important way inn which "reading" is also an unreflective, tactile, and not only cognitive response to the presence of all sorts of fragmentary, internationally conventionalized, or telegraphic texts within our everyday world: "'NOT WHAT THE MOVING RED NEON SIGN SAYS ~ but the fiery pool reflecting it in the asphalt'"! THIS image should make us much more aware that when we devote so much effort to historicizing "reading" we not only demystify that rubric; we reinforce it as well. So sleep well, dream sweet, & tell us all about it if you really want to do so. "Waiting is ..."