Our Voices Break Open

Y A L O L O G Y

YAL lover, librarian and Metro State professor, Adela Peskorz, asserts the study of Adolescent Literatures . . .

"is not about exploring the 'great books' that often populate curricular reading lists year after year (and as research has proven, often decade after decade), gathering more dust than fans and -- sometimes doing more harm than good in terms of cultivating a lifelong love and appreciation of reading."

"It is far more important to cultivate an avid appreciation of reading than to be restrictively selective about content. There are wonderful classics to consider, but they should be folded into the broader landscape of genres and formats available and shared through a spectrum of vibrant and active techniques."

"Art hurts. Art urges voyages - and it is easier to stay at home."

-- Gwendolyn Brooks

"The ability to read awoke inside me some long dormant craving to be mentally alive."

-- Autobiography of Malcolm X

"A single book can be a mirror for some readers and a window for others."

-- Rudine Sims Bishop and Ginny Moore Kruse

"No two persons ever read the same book."

-- Edmund Wilson