Is the Written Word a Losing Battle?

Books, magazines and newspapers have served as a way for any community to learn about the world outside, and before cell phones and the Internet, the written word was the only way to bring the news to the people. In the early part of America's history, books were an invaluable source to learn about God, the human condition, far away countries, and far fetched realms. Writing was a booming enterprise in this mysterious new world we had discovered. Much of the land had yet to be charted and most of the westward country was filled with blushing green paradises and rolling plains that gave the imagination room to roam. There was a thousand possibilities to discover and the new country wanted to hear them all. The printing press was created in the 1440's and brought words to more people than ever before. Reading became a habitual way of life for everyone, especially in America, and writing was the means to convey this new life. Nowadays, things have changed and it raises the question, is the written word losing to faster ways to learn, imagine and entertain?

It wasn't long until the industrial revolution brought a whole new age for industry and possibility. During this time, whole tracks of farmland were scathed from the apparently limitless earth and forests were logged to support the growing population. Our towns began to creep westward as they turned into cities and states. Phone lines began shooting across the nation which slowing fazed out letter writing. What seemed to be just a few years later, the Internet began connecting the world together, giving equal information to the entire planet. Along with television, the screen seemed to replace the paper as the general way to communicate and although most young people today can type very quickly, we are talking about very different things.

The mystery left our country, and for most, the entertainment industry erupted as the center spotlight in most family's homes. It was that easy. Work became a time tabled ordeal, leaving more people with less time and motivation to pick up a good paper or favorite author, when the television is just a click away. Since 1982 the number of literary readers, both old and young adults, has declined tremendously. Also, in the past decade, the rate of decline in national readership has more than tripled. Women, who typically read more than men, are not the haven for writers so much anymore. Both male and female readers are declining rapidly. In contrast, the number of creative writers working on the market has increased by 30 percent since 1982 , but w ith readers shying away from reading, writers are finding it more difficult to get their work to the public and they're having to look elsewhere for work. This could mean any number of things to any number of people, but when less people are reading and less people are writing, less ideas and experiences are being shared, which means trouble for everyone. Reading brings a sense of presence and work that other routes to gain information or entertainment cannot. There is a patience and building toward the climax, rather it's a chapter a day or a book a week. There is a correlation with reading and charity work, donating, visiting art venues and museums. This doesn't necessarily mean readers are better people, but they are more prone to contribute to the arts, cultural movements and the impoverished. There is a joy in the discipline and learning reading provides, for both writer and critic.

Writing for me has always been a refined way to speak and communicate to myself. When that is through, and my ideas are in place, writing is also a way to share my thoughts and feelings with others. I'll sit down with some coffee and write out, or type, what's on my mind at the time. It's not about money then. It's not about anything. It's about letting whatever it is come out and possibly letting others live through that, getting the whole sense of the character and setting. Nothing is left out in a book or story. You get the whole picture. A movie can't tell you what the Charlie is thinking when he meets the eccentric Mr. Wonka. You can see the boy's expressions, and the great CGI factory, but you don't really feel it. Books, in my opinion, can pull out emotion more than any other form of expression. We are led to see ourselves and look at things from a different perspective, every time. In the theatre we are stationary in a seat, seeing the scene from one angle- the camera's eye- and restricted to a defined picture toward what the directors and producers want us to see. There isn't room for possibility in visual strata, even if the plot is pulled from a book or story. This is how it is, and that's that. This restrained medium for entertainment and information leaves out the mystery that we all lived for at one time. You can't bookmark a movie and put it down to reflect on the past chapters. Movies and television give the ideas 'all at once, or not at all'. The written word suggests and does not insist in this way. We're allowed to take our time, consider the message for clarity and truth, and decide how it comes into play in our lives.

In this technological age, it's not surprising to see the archaic written word to be largely left aside for a more thrifty way to be entertained or learn. There's nothing wrong with the mass communication television and the Internet provide, but books and other writing will always bring something else to the table. Literature may be on the brink, but the young people today are proving to be a renewed generation in regards to the written word. Reading and writing is showing to be more prevalent in younger people now, which is a very positive horizon for endangered libraries, bookstores and writers everywhere. The story is far from over.