Cultural Construction

           Nicholas Howe’s quote by Brian Stock, “What was essential for a textual community, whether large or small, was simply a text, and interpreter, and a public. The text did not have to be written; oral record, memory, and reperformance sufficed,” brought to mind poet bard Terry Wooten, who I listened to at the MCTE conference last year (59). Wooten stated that he had 583 poems memorized, not to mention numerous stories. He does this in part because he has some disabilities that make it difficult to read smoothly in front of an audience.  Wooten’s ability to memorize and recite literature out loud would garner him much praise and high status in Caedmon’s or Alfred’s day.

In reference to Caedmon’s and Alfred’s day/ lifetime, both of these men lived during a time when very few people could read and write. Neither of these forms of literacy was considered pertinent to the stability of a community because they lived in an oral culture. Howe writes, “In an oral culture, to give counsel is of necessity to speak and thereby to create community” (63, 64). While others learned to read and write Caedmon found stature in his community because he could mentally rewrite and interpret text that was read out loud. Alfred was a king and could read and speak two languages but had someone else do his writing for him. I found it interesting that Caedmon did not consider learning to read and write, nor did King Alfred take up the pen. Caedmon had already stepped past the restrictive boundaries of societal norms by reconfiguring and interpreting verbal texts, and Alfred as king was intent on making sure his entire kingdom had the opportunity to listen to text. According to written records both of these men obviously were intelligent, so why not take it one step further and learn to write, and for Caedmon read as well? Maybe they were afraid they would lose their community.

We discussed in one of my classes that the basic definition of literacy is having the ability to read and write. We also discussed how they did not always go hand in hand. With that said, I still wasn’t prepared to read how one had the ability to read a text, interpret a text, but not write a text, nor feel compelled to learn to write. It is hard for me to step out of what I am now and am used to and look at a different society objectively.

I am going to digress for a moment—okay, a few moments. I am intrigued by oral tradition/oral storytelling. My father enjoys telling the history of his family. He is a storyteller. He would have fit in well with the Irish storytellers that traveled through Ireland spreading Irish history and folklore from village to village. He has no interest in writing down these stories. My sister has taken on the authorship role so we can record his history. I suggested she record his voice as well.  I like the idea of having a written and an oral version of his life.

I wonder if Caedmon and Alfred knew if they became writers along with being readers that oral storytelling would fade away.

I have initiated composing oral stories with my grandchildren. I took an idea from Susan Goldsmith Wooldridge’s book Poem Crazy. Goldsmith Wooldridge suggested that when a word intrigues you you should write it down on a scrap of paper and put it in something for safekeeping. She and her children used a fishbowl. Then when the fishbowl was full enough, she and the children would randomly pull out words and create poems.

I had my grandsons, who are seven, four, and three, give me words that they liked and/or said on a regular basis. I gave them some examples so they would understand what I meant.  I wrote down their words and stopped when we reached twelve. I dropped them in a hat a shook them up, then I had each of them pull out one word. These three words became the start of my oral story. As the story progressed the boys continued to pull out more words to add to the story. My youngest grandson got so excited he started adding to the story. That was awesome!  My oral story became our oral story. While I was having fun creating a story with my grandchildren, they were learning how to use their imaginations and develop critical thinking skills, which adds to their literacy path. My one regret—I did not record the story.  I am trying to figure out how to continue this idea via Skype because my grandsons live in Utah.

              Okay, so what does this digression have to do with tea in China? Nothing! But what I have learned from this article and the experiences with my family is that literacy has various pieces and one cannot be discounted or counted as over the other. Each component of literacy—reading, writing, speaking, interpreting, and understanding—creates a richer literate person.  As I take on the role of professor/teacher in a classroom recognizing and understanding each student’s literacy may be challenging but necessary in order to give each one of them a chance to develop his or her own literacy path.