{"id":24981,"date":"2019-11-19T14:18:00","date_gmt":"2019-11-19T22:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=24981"},"modified":"2019-11-19T14:21:49","modified_gmt":"2019-11-19T22:21:49","slug":"capturing-the-constellations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/capturing-the-constellations\/","title":{"rendered":"Capturing the Constellations"},"content":{"rendered":"

In How to Talk About Books You Haven\u2019t Read<\/em>, Paris-based professor of French literature and psychoanalyst, Pierre Bayard, has fused French satire with sheer brilliance. While the title suggests a hack\u2019s guide to reading-by-never-reading, the book is a thoughtful examination of the art of reading. Throughout its pages, Bayard reveals how unrealistic it is for the civilized learner to read the library of tomes on a given subject. No one has the time to read what\u2019s already been written, much less to stay up to speed on the vast amounts of books being published on a daily basis.<\/p>\n

That said, the author is less interested in one\u2019s ability to keep pace with the mass production of literature and far more in one\u2019s ability to be thoughtfully conversant about the subject matter of a book. “Non-reading,” according to Bayard, “is a genuine activity.\u201d (pg. 12) Different than the “absence of reading,\u201d he identifies the \u201ctrue reader\u201d as \u201cone who cares about being able to reflect on literature.\u201d (pg. 12)<\/p>\n

While much of the content of this book is common sense, where it stands apart is in its liberating invitation to establish a better relationship with reading. Rather than the consumption of knowledge, to read is to interpret. \u00a0It is to allow the content to be in conversation with what I know, what I think I know, what I agree with, what I disagree with, what I have read in the past, and what I have experienced. Bayard encourages us to identify books as \u201cmobile objects\u201d that are \u201canimated by the subjectivity of the reader.\u201d (pg. 148) He implores us to become untethered from \u201ca whole series of mostly unconscious taboos that burden our notion of books,\u201d (pg. 181) and right-size our relationship with reading.<\/p>\n

For years, I\u2019ve been drawn to constellations. I\u2019m compelled by the mythical stories told by our ancestors of adventure and passion that are captured in cosmic formations such as Scropio, Cassiopeia, Orion, and Aquila.\u00a0I so appreciate the imagery of unity in diversity and the celebration of both independence and interdependence that are expressed by each unique collection of stars in the night sky.<\/p>\n

Borrowing this celestial concept, I\u2019ve made it a priority to become surrounded by a \u201cconstellation\u201d of leaders, coaches, and mentors who accompany me throughout my lifelong pilgrimage as a human, a white male, a husband, a father, a learner, a theologian, a faith leader, an author, and a social innovator. I exist within a \u201cconstellation\u201d of peers who are committed to challenging and encouraging one another. \u00a0As a family, we interact frequently with the idea of navigating our shared life as a constellation of individuals marked by both unity<\/em>, expressed in our commitment to pursuing a mission, in relationship, and on purpose, and diversity<\/em>, expressed in our celebration of one another\u2019s uniqueness, giftedness, and independence.<\/p>\n

It should come as no surprise, therefore, that I was drawn to Bayard\u2019s idea that books make up systems that are intended to provoke, inspire, irritate, and mobilize. Each book like independent stars, when linked, form constellations of resources that grow thoughtfulness, encourage discourse, and stimulate new ideas. As his expertise is in literature rather than astronomy, Bayard understands each book as “an element in the vast ensemble\u201d he calls the \u201ccollective library\u201d and argues that we need not\u00a0know each book (star) “comprehensively in order to appreciate any one of its elements\u2026. The trick is to define the book\u2019s place in that library, which gives it meaning in the same way a word takes on meaning in relation to other words.\u201d (pg. 117) He concludes that it is more important to understand a particular book\u2019s role in our collective libraries than to meticulously understand the detailed arguments that lie within.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m impressed by the timeliness of this read in relation to our current learning location as Doctoral students. Having gained clarity on our NPO, we are now beginning to explore the vast cosmos of literature that lies in front of us. Quite literally, we\u2019re entering into a literary Planetarium in search of the stars that form the constellations of books that will inform the next two-and-a-half years and, hopefully far beyond. In his book, Bayard offers a four-category rating system for the collective library. (Bayard, 182) I want to reflect briefly on these four categories in an effort to highlight how a conversation about books that lie within each could contribute to the formation of our research constellations.<\/p>\n