Pulitzer prizes and sugar packets

What I read consists of so much more than words held together by a cover, or a famous signature at the end of a piece. I won’t deny that I’ve read Shakespeare and Cormac McCarthy; I read the award-winners and classics like anyone else who wants to sound learned. I’ve also read some of those generic bestsellers that make people dress up like vampires and witches and start entire cyber domains to hero-worship their favourite authors. We can debate about the pros and cons of every genre and style of writing, whether popular, critically acclaimed or largely unnoticed by either the masses or the experts. A lot of what I read, however, falls into none of the categories.

I remember once reading the back of a sugar packet that referred to the fact that South African women had trusted and used that brand for decades. Because obviously only women are ever in the kitchen, so it’s the women who use the sugar, the women who purchase it to sweeten up their darling husbands’ tea. I haven’t bought that brand of sugar since.

You may wonder, at this point in my ramblings, what my point is. While an epic novel may inspire my literary muse and make me think, I’m reading words everywhere I go, and all of these carry the potential to impact on me. I read billboards, ads, facebook updates and lecture notes on a daily basis. Words are everywhere, without rank and with a message. They all have an impact.

"You live and learn. At any rate, you live"

"Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind- bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space."

Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Douglas Adams is one of my heroes. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (a trilogy in four parts + 1) is one of those books that are lying in plain sight on my shelf, dog-eared with soft edges from the many times I’ve revisited its glorious pages. I won’t lie; many people don’t understand my obsession with him. I’ve eagerly shoved the book into the awaiting hands of my friends, my excitement infectious as the text passes from my fingertips, the magic crackling in the air. But it all falls flat when they start to read and I see their enthusiasm replaced by that little frown forming on their foreheads.

It’s with shock and horror, and then some more shock followed by disbelief, that I realize: he’s just too weird for them. Too weird??? Is there such a thing? It’s the randomness that I love most, the absolute absurdity of comparing life to a grapefruit and then moving on as though it’s not even debatable. Good literature isn’t just made of the classics and hard-hitting modern works. It’s about self-expression, finding a style that suits you just right.

His ingenious wit and humour make me envy him. I wish I could write like that: make people smile, laugh, or maybe just choke on their coffee. Even if nobody else gets it, I’d be writing for me.

Mission Statement

by Danelle Wessels

Let’s start off by getting the admin out of the way. My fellow bloggers and I are journalism students. We call ourselves the “Revolution Readers”, which sounds sort of like a group of bookworm superheroes who want to save the world through their obsession with words. If we were into clichés, our motto would probably be something dreadful like: “the pen is mightier than the sword”. But we’re not. So it isn’t (thank heavens for that).

The analogy of a superhero is a marvellous one. Can’t you just see us there, eager journalists-in-the-making, armed with our glistening pens and sturdy notepads, our capes billowing behind us in the wind as we strike a pose that says “bring it on!”. Ah, we’ll be revolutionaries. That’s what I dream about. Practicality is for the cowardly, the old in spirit, and the defeated. But I cherish my dreams. I love to believe in the silly ideas of inexperienced youth; they keep me going and convince me that things can change. I can make a difference, even if it’s just from my keyboard and I don’t get to wear one of those cool-looking superhero get-ups made of leather. It’s literature, dear readers, in which dreams come alive the most. Sometimes it’s so much better than reality. And the written word, in all its forms, moulds reality. It changes mindsets.

We must be aware, of course, that this makes it a dangerous weapon in the hands of our enemies. Perhaps it’s just a conspiracy theory that almost everything we read is the construction of a patriarchal, capitalist society; and if it’s not a construction of it, then it’s a conscious reaction to it. But conspiracy theories make life interesting, even if they’re formed from a bout of paranoia best suited for a mental hospital. You see, the world is just one big loony bin. Everything’s crazy and jumbled up and sometimes I look at Picasso and think that there’s a fine line between genius and lunacy, and I’m not sure that I always trust people to make that distinction. I’m not here to prescribe my opinions to anyone but to offer them as a platform for creative thought. If you agree with what I say, that’s great. But disagree with what you read and it’s even better. Challenge everything you read. Be paranoid. Don’t accept a single fact, a lone syllable into that lovely little head of yours without questioning why it’s been written, what it’s trying to say, what perspective it’s coming from. In summary, don’t give in to the Jedi mind tricks of the media. Think fresh, think innovative. Think revolutionary.

(And follow my tweets to keep up with me)