I've been sick

Another extended break. Not from the reading, but from the blogging.

My essay for today was "A Defense of Penny Dreadfuls" by G.K. Chesterton. Chesterton defends the romances that the lower class read. They may not be good art, but they are not meant to be. And they convey a more solid core of morality than the higher reading of the educated. I like where he says, "Literature and fiction are two entirely different things. Literature is a luxury; fiction is a necessity." Wow. Interesting to read this after seeing what a high value Jefferson placed on fiction as well, though for different reasons. I also recently read O. Henry's story "Schools and schools." Also worth recommending. I think that as popular as this piece was, it would probably qualify as art to Chesterton. As Chesterton also says, "A work of art can hardly be too short for its climax is its merit. A story can never be too long, for its conclusion is merely to be deplored, like the last halfpenny or the last pipelight." How true. Few would want to continue reading about O. Henry's characters. That is not their point. Very different when it comes to Robin Hood. To find something in-between, I think you would have to talk about Sherlock Holmes. We are always happy to begin reading another case. We hardly care about the case. It is Holmes and Watson we're reading for. Though from the outside, the stories appear to exist for the plot. My poem for tonight is "The Red Wheelbarrow" by William Carlos Williams. It's in the collection "Break, Blow, Burn" by Camille Paglia. She has commentary on the poem. I don't. Perhaps because I am a chicken. (Hey! Do read the poem before you imagine you know what that means here.)