--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I got interested in the question of…" description: "\"I got interested in the question of literacy because writers are always moaning about why more people don't read books. They long for the good old days..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ef/robert-hass-3548_book_i-got-interested-in-the-question-of-lite_1619603.png" --- # I got interested in the question of literacy because… ![“I got interested in the question of literacy because writers are always moaning about why more people don't read books. They long for the good old days when people read serious novels.” quote by Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ef/robert-hass-3548_book_i-got-interested-in-the-question-of-lite_1619603.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ef/robert-hass-3548_book_i-got-interested-in-the-question-of-lite_1619603.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ef/robert-hass-3548_book_i-got-interested-in-the-question-of-lite_1619603.png) > “I got interested in the question of literacy because writers are always moaning about why more people don't read books. They long for the good old days when people read serious novels.” [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote critiques nostalgic writers who lament declining reading habits while ignoring broader literacy issues. **In simple terms:** Writers complain about low reading rates, longing for past literary culture. Key Takeaway Address modern literacy challenges, not just nostalgia. Themes literacy nostalgia reading culture media criticism Mood reflective critical Type analytical commentary When to use this quote - library programs - school curricula - public reading campaigns - author outreach - digital media literacy Key Concepts cultural criticism literary history education policy Questions to Reflect On - How can we promote reading without idealizing the past? - What role should writers play in improving literacy? A Different Perspective The quote may overlook socioeconomic barriers to reading. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Good old days](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-old-days/) [Literacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literacy/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Old days](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-days/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I got interested in the question of literacy because writers are always moaning about why more people don't read books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/i-got-interested-in-the-question-of-literacy-because-writers-are/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [ They've been screaming about the death of literacy for years, but I think TV is the Gutenberg \[printing\] press. I think TV is the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/they-ve-been-screaming-about-the-death-of-literacy-for-years-but-i/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [Everybody has a different idea of when those good old days were, but everyone is convinced that there was a time when literature really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/everybody-has-a-different-idea-of-when-those-good-old-days-were-but/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [First, people don't read novels off screens, and they don't have a tendency to shell out real money for books when they don't retain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-l-chalker/first-people-don-t-read-novels-off-screens-and-they-don-t-have-a/) [Jack L. Chalker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-l-chalker/) > [I never even had the time to read novels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mcgovern/i-never-even-had-the-time-to-read-novels/) [George McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mcgovern/) > [And if I'm guilty of having gratuitous sex, then I'm also guilty of having gratuitous violence, and gratuitous feasting, and gratuitous description of clothes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin-2/and-if-i-m-guilty-of-having-gratuitous-sex-then-i-m-also-guilty-of/) [George R. R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin-2/) > [I think you can tell when you meet someone whether they read novels. There's some hollowness if they don't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-hensher/i-think-you-can-tell-when-you-meet-someone-whether-they-read-novels/) [Philip Hensher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-hensher/) > [I don't read novels that are looking to convince me of anything. I believe that literature needs to be a machine of illusions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-chejfec/i-don-t-read-novels-that-are-looking-to-convince-me-of-anything-i/) [Sergio Chejfec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-chejfec/) > [“... we read novels because they give us the comfortable sensation of living in worlds where the notion of truth is indisputable, while the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/we-read-novels-because-they-give-us-the-comfortable-sensation-of/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [People lose it when I say this, but I'm a novelist who doesn't read novels. There are lots of good reasons for not reading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-traviss/people-lose-it-when-i-say-this-but-i-m-a-novelist-who-doesn-t-read/) [Karen Traviss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-traviss/) > [We don't read novels to have an experience like life. Heck, we're living lives, complete with all the incompleteness. We turn to fiction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-don-t-read-novels-to-have-an-experience-like-life-heck-we-re/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [I love fiction and read novels constantly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-imperioli/i-love-fiction-and-read-novels-constantly/) [Michael Imperioli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-imperioli/) > [I'd probably play games obsessively if I didn't write, although I admit I don't read novels partly because I don't enjoy it, not just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-traviss/i-d-probably-play-games-obsessively-if-i-didn-t-write-although-i/) [Karen Traviss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-traviss/) > [The sad thing is that I only ever read novels in bed and now only on the iPad, and thanks to Netflix and iTunes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hewlett/the-sad-thing-is-that-i-only-ever-read-novels-in-bed-and-now-only-on/) [David Hewlett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hewlett/) > [I read novels but I also read the Bible. And study it, you know? And the more I learn, the more excited I get.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-cash/i-read-novels-but-i-also-read-the-bible-and-study-it-you-know-and-the/) [Johnny Cash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-cash/) ## More by Robert Hass > [It's the same with this idea of a literate public, and also of a democracy in which people have access to and really read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/it-s-the-same-with-this-idea-of-a-literate-public-and-also-of-a/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [All the new thinking is about loss. In this it resembles all the old thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/all-the-new-thinking-is-about-loss-in-this-it-resembles-all-the-old/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [Poetry, when it takes sides, when it proposes solutions, isn't any smarter than anybody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/poetry-when-it-takes-sides-when-it-proposes-solutions-isn-t-any/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [When I was in college, I lost my scholarship one year. I had enough money for tuition, but not room and board. So I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/when-i-was-in-college-i-lost-my-scholarship-one-year-i-had-enough/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [As poet laureate, I was asked to be a spokesman for literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/as-poet-laureate-i-was-asked-to-be-a-spokesman-for-literature/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [After Pope, in the beginning of Romanticism, people developed the idea that imagination rather than reason was a special form of knowledge and its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/after-pope-in-the-beginning-of-romanticism-people-developed-the-idea/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [They are the kinds of things that make us a community: attachment to place, attachment to local arts traditions, the ability to read literature,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/they-are-the-kinds-of-things-that-make-us-a-community-attachment-to/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [I think that were I in the middle of an obsession to write about, say, sudden oak death in California or my grandchildren or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/i-think-that-were-i-in-the-middle-of-an-obsession-to-write-about-say/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [I suppose there's something to be said for the sheer reinforcement of our beliefs, but really I think poetry is more useful as disenchantment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/i-suppose-there-s-something-to-be-said-for-the-sheer-reinforcement-of/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [If you were making poetry out of convictions - trying to convince other people - you were in the territory of rhetoric, and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/if-you-were-making-poetry-out-of-convictions-trying-to-convince-other/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [Milton was the first person who really experimented with putting politics into sonnets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/milton-was-the-first-person-who-really-experimented-with-putting/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [When I came into the job, funding for the humanities at the federal level was being drastically cut. This was the high tide of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/when-i-came-into-the-job-funding-for-the-humanities-at-the-federal/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [One may prefer spring and summer to autumn and winter, but preference is hardly to the point. The earth turns, and we live in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/one-may-prefer-spring-and-summer-to-autumn-and-winter-but-preference/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [“ A Faint Music by Robert Hass Maybe you need to write a poem about grace. 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