In the current issue of Granta, Jhumpa Lahiri interviews Mavis Gallant about her life as a writer, including a brief stint as a writer-in-residence in Toronto:
JL: Did you enjoy the experience?
MG: I would never do it again. I think it's a dead loss. I'm opposed to it. You can't teach writing.
JL: Given that you were there, what did you teach them?
MG: They should know their language and read. Read, read, read.
Many would disagree with Gallant's claim that writing cannot be taught, but her advice is excellent: the first step toward being a good writer is knowing one's own language. This seems like a no-brainer--after all, plenty of people are competent enough to communicate effectively in English! But I can count on the fingers of one hand the students I've had who have cared enough to really know the English language, to know it so intimately that they can take it apart and play with the pieces and put it all back together again in original and creative ways.
Where does this intimate knowledge of language come from? I don't know, but I know the symptoms when I see them: students who take linguistics classes for fun, who read stylebooks and language-related blogs, who play word games, who delight in exploring the origins of words, who employ syntax with precision and mastery born of a love for language.
The difference between a person who can use the tools of language and one who intimately knows the language is like the difference between a real artist and one who excels at paint-by-numbers, or the difference between a computer user and a computer programmer. It's a passion I don't see often, but when I do, I know that the student who possesses that passion for language is well on the way to becoming an excellent writer.
And what better way to know and love one's own language than to read?
1 comment:
Come now. The first step toward being a good writer is being born Irish . . . or having friends who are Irish.
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