How Can Ethnic Literature Adapt?

Dr. Powers' essay "Reading Ethnic Literature Now" deals with America's decreasing literacy and its affect on the study of ethnic literature. He opened my eyes to some of the lesser-known ripple effects of a culture that no longer values reading.

I don't believe that our culture's decreased interest in reading is necessarily irreversible. Although we have endangered "good" literature-- works from both the established, traditional canon and the newer ethnic canons-- decisive action on the part of both the private and the public sectors could renew the public's interest and participation in literacy.

However, assuming that those in power and everyday citizens won't take steps to protect the future of books, I think we will continue to see the growth of the television and the Internet's monopoly on the dissemination of information and aesthetic judgments. This doesn't necessarily mean that old literary classics and the seminal works of ethnic literature will completely disappear from the popular memory. I think it is very possible that some (perhaps only a few) will reappear in abbreviated adaptations or as allusions. Although these snippets might reach a wider audience than a paperback, I believe our culture's growing impatience and overwhelming materialism will ultimately reduce these masterpieces to mere shadows.

Another challenge to ethnic literature's future concerns socioeconomic class and the lack of educational opportunity. The majority of American ethnic literature flows from the "minority" experience, and, on a national level, many minorities continue to experience economic hardship. I question the likelihood that students whose minds suffer as a result of failing inner city schools and other poverty-related circumstances would be able-- or even willing-- to read James Baldwin or Toni Morrison, much less become authors themselves. I believe that many of these authors write because they want to edify their communities and shed light on ethnic identity, but, tragically, a substantial portion of their intended audiences can't receive their messages. Instead, the students who do read ethnic literature have educational and often economic privilege as members of the middle- to upper-middle classes. While I am thankful for the opportunity to read Alice Walker and Richard Rodriguez and I can see how my education has benefited from that exposure, I can't help but feel frustrated and angry for those high school students from Chicago's South Side, North Philadelphia, and East Los Angeles.