• Aprill Brandon •
• Originally published January 23, 2009 at 1:50 a.m., updated January 23, 2009 at 1:50 a.m.

Author and poetry critic Marjorie Perloff will be the first to say that reading literature does not make you a better person. She will also say, however, that the study of literature is still very vital for any person.

"When I say literature doesn't make you a better person, that doesn't mean it doesn't enrich your life. And while studying it won't make students behave better or lead them to the 'truth,' literature does help us make connections about human progress," Perloff said. "It brings students closer to life and it makes life endlessly fascinating."

Perloff was the first speaker of the spring reading series of the American Book Review. On Thursday, she discussed the reasons why it's important to teach literature in front of a full house at the University of Houston-Victoria.

"This discipline can and must teach students but it's not easy or instinctive. It takes time, just like any other field of study, just like it takes time to learn calculus," she said.

Perloff added that there is no definitive theory of literature when it comes to deciding what constitutes great, or even good, literature. In fact, she said, she is constantly at odds with friends and colleagues when discussing literature.

As an example, Perloff discussed the merits of President Barack Obama's memoir "Dreams from my Father," at times reading aloud from the book.

"His memoir shows a candidate that is unknown and untested is likely to become the next president. If anyone has read the book, they would not underestimate him," she said. "Those who did not read the book, or at least read it critically, would claim that he was inexperienced and had a sense of elitism. But a close reading of the book shows that those two things were definitely not his weaknesses. To read 'Dreams' is to realize this was a guy who wouldn't be swift-boated."

Perhaps one of the most redeeming qualities about the study of literature is that it opens up worlds that are not your own world, she added.

• NEXT SPEAKER

  Michael Martone will be the next speaker for the American Book Review reading series on Feb. 19.

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