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VOICE ONE:
Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm SteveEmber.
VOICE TWO:
And I'm Gwen Outen. This week our program examines reading in theUnited States.
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VOICE ONE:
Americans have read a lot in recent weeks about a study. It showsthat for the first time in modern history, fewer than half theadults in the country read literature.
A federal agency that gives money to the arts announced thefindings. The National Endowment for the Arts is the official artsorganization of the United States government.
The report says forty-seven percent of American adults readnovels, short stories, plays or poetry in two-thousand-two. That wasdown ten percentage points from twenty years earlier.
The study is called "Reading at Risk: A Survey of LiteraryReading in America." The Census Bureau, the agency that collectsfacts about the population, did the study.
VOICE TWO:
Researchers asked seventeen-thousand people about their reading.The people could define literature however they wanted. It could beany kind of fiction, poetry or play. It could include works likelove stories, mysteries or science fiction. The researchers comparedthe results with findings from nineteen-eighty-two andnineteen-ninety-two.
Women read more literature than men. But the research shows thatmen and women are both reading less and less.
Twenty years ago, people between the ages of eighteen andforty-four read more literature than any other age groups. But thenew study shows an increasingly sharp loss of interest in readingamong young adults. Researchers say the only people who read lessliterature in two-thousand-two were those age sixty-five and older.
VOICE ONE:
The poet Dana Gioia is chairman ofthe National Endowment for the Arts. Mister Gioia says all groups inAmerica are reading less, and not just less literature. Innineteen-ninety-two, sixty-one percent of adults read a book. Intwo-thousand-two, it was fifty-seven percent. The average number ofbooks read was eighteen. But some people read a lot more thanothers.
Among readers of literature, almost half read novels or shortstories in two-thousand-two. Twelve percent read poetry. Fourpercent read a play.
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VOICE TWO:
"Reading at Risk" notes that the book industry in the UnitedStates now sells three times as many books as it did twenty-fiveyears ago. In two-thousand the industry sold more than two thousandmillion books. Book sales are up. But the report shows that peopleare reading less for pleasure. And it says one reason is competitionfrom technology.
The report lists how Americans divide their spending on thingslike entertainment. In nineteen-ninety, they spent six percent onaudio and video recordings and on computers and software. They spentalmost as much, five-point-seven percent, on books.
By two-thousand-two, five-point-six percent went to book buying.Twenty-four percent went to electronics.
But some people do use technology to listen to recordings ofbooks or read electronic versions.
VOICE ONE:
In the words of Dana Gioia, the chairman of the NationalEndowment for the Arts: "This report documents a national crisis."
Yet there are some who say Americans should not read too muchinto the importance of the warnings. Charles McGrath is formereditor of the Book Review at The New York Times. The newspaperpublished a commentary in which Mister McGrath noted that the studydealt only with literature.
He said he regrets that the research did not include works ofnon-fiction. After all, he says, some books about facts and eventsare very important for the information they provide. For example, hesays recent books about the war in Iraq are shaping national debate.
Also, Mister McGrath noted that the report did not considermagazines, newspapers or the Internet. And this literary criticcriticized the fact that the people in the study could defineliterature any way they wished. They were told they did not have toinclude "just what literary critics might consider literature."
VOICE TWO:
While Americans are reading less literature, more are trying towrite it. "Reading at Risk" says creative writing is one of the fewliterary activities that have increased.
And editors like David Green are trying to help people get theirwork printed. For many years, he has published a small magazine ofshort stories called Green's Magazine. Mister Green says it iscostly to produce and mail four times a year. A few thousandAmericans and Canadians buy it. But he says one reason he startedthe publication was to help beginning writers. He says it has alwaysbeen difficult for new writers to find a publisher.
Today, though, writers who cannot get their work published by atraditional publishing company can place their work on the Internet.That way, people can read it online or print out a copy.
Some people who publish on the Internet are far from unknown. Thewriter Stephen King published "Riding the Bullet" online. It costonly a little money to read. But he suspended publication of hisnext online book, "The Plant." He did that because people wereprinting the book without paying.
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VOICE ONE:
"Reading at Risk" says more than ninety percent of people saidthey like television better than reading. The average Americanfamily watches television more than three hours a day. The reportsays television has reduced interest in books.
We talked to a professor who teaches literature in Maryland. Shesays many of her students do not want to read the books required inher classes. They try to read only notes and commentaries about thebooks instead. She says the problem is that college students thesedays grew up on television.
VOICE TWO:
Yet some television programs have influenced people to read. Forexample, Oprah Winfrey started a book club on her popular talk show.During the first Oprah's Book Club, she chose a current book thatshe liked. She asked people to read the book and then write to hershow with their thoughts and opinions.
Oprah's Book Club had a big effect on the publishing industry.Publishers had to print more copies of books to satisfy demand.People who wanted to borrow copies from a library sometimes foundseveral hundred others before them on the waiting list.
In two-thousand-two, Oprah Winfrey decided to drop the book clubfrom her television show. Now, however, she is again suggestingbooks. This time, she chooses classics. Her choice of "AnnaKarenina" made this Russian classic an American best seller. LeoTolstoy wrote it in the eighteen-seventies.
VOICE ONE:
Many Americans form their own book clubs. Members might befriends from work. Or they might live near each other. Most groupsread the same book at the same time. Then they meet to discuss it.Some people discuss books over the Internet.
Some book groups read only literary novels by great writers. Orthey might read the works of only one writer. Members of a book clubin the state of Georgia choose books of special interest to AfricanAmericans. Members of another Georgia book club each read differentbooks. Then they give a report to the others.
Children belong to reading clubs, too. In Illinois, for example,Mayor Richard Daley of Chicago has organized book clubs in schools.
Children's book clubs can get help from the Great BooksFoundation. This organization provides lists of books to read andalso sells collected stories. It also trains people to leaddiscussions about the books.
VOICE TWO:
The National Endowment for the Arts says the move towardelectronic media for entertainment and information is not good newsfor society. Its report, "Reading at Risk," says readers are moreactive in their communities.
The research shows that people who read literature are far morelikely than non-readers to give their time to help others. They aremore likely to support the arts. They are also more likely to attendsporting events. In other words, reading influences people's livesbeyond just the pleasure that books provide.
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VOICE ONE:
Our program was written by Jerilyn Watson and produced by CatyWeaver. I'm Steve Ember.
VOICE TWO:
And I'm Gwen Outen. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICAin VOA Special English.