This is my article published in the Spectrum on April 17, 2012
Marilynne Robinson, novelist and essayist won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her second novel Gilead. Her most recent book, When I Was a Child I Read Books, is a collection of essays to which she brings her life experience, her intelligence, and her profound religious understanding and faith. Much of her language resonated with me as I responded to her eloquent articulation and clarification of ideas.
Robinson grabbed my attention in the preface quoting Walt Whitman honoring the “radical uniqueness” of each individual; a uniqueness and complexity that we obscure by assigning ideologically based labels that simplify or categorize ourselves and others, e.g., conservative/liberal, Republican/Democrat, rich/poor and so forth. This reductionism threatens the core of our democracy as what passes for public discourse loses “the character of generosity, and the largeness of spirit that has created and supported the best of our institutions”.
At the center of this collection is her essay, When I Was a Child, in which she writes very personally of growing up in the West. Robinson learned of an individualism, devoid of ideological self-interest, that empowers each person to contribute to the diversity and wholeness of the community, a community that validates and honors its members.
In the first essay, Freedom of Thought, she encourages us to push against the limitations and constraints too often found in our religions, our education, and our economically driven society and to expand our thinking while exploring the mysteries of the sacred, the opportunities we have to love, and the beauty in our world.
Robinson cites multiple passages from the Bible unambiguously admonishing us to care for the poor with a spirit of generosity and gratitude. How do we view the poor among us? She notes that today we hear harsh judgments of the plight of poor and a growing resistance to providing help that is consistent with the message of Jesus.
Robinson writes of the essential nature of gratitude. It is “more stabilizing, more gratifying in every way, especially in dark times” and in spite of our contemporary challenges, she argues that we have much to be grateful for living in a nation blessed by God.
As I write I am aware that I may be guilty of that which Robinson argues against by simplifying the beautiful and the wondrous complexity of her work.
She writes of the importance of “imaginative love” for those other than our family in a healthy community, the role of ideology in capitalism and austerity, the fate of ideas, the understanding of human nature, the complexity of the human brain, and much more.
The scope of her essays extends well beyond what I can address in this short column. These few ideas may provide a taste or sip of the richness within this artful book.
Some books amply reward the time and thought spent reading and pondering. This is one.
George Stoddard is an Ivins resident and a member of The Spectrum & Daily News Writers Group. His email is gstoddard1@me.com
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