In college, one of those writers that engaged my interest and reinforced my decision to get a degree in English Literature was Walker Percy. Since his death in 1990, I’ve often worried that the level of respect for his work would dwindle (as it invariable does with some authors after their demise). That worry seems a tad needless when I run across items like this one at the New York Times‘ Reading Room blog.

The blog, where “editors at The New York Times Book Review lead discussions about classic books with a panel of authors, reviewers, scholars and journalists“, has focused upon Percy’s The Moviegoer. Thanks to the Reading Room blog (and to the folks in the blog’s comments section) for educating me even more about a writer I thought I already knew fairly well.

For those of you who question the value of the Internet, I offer this item for consideration. Whether we realize it or not, even in this day and age of preservation and historical appreciation, languages can still die. A possible case in point happened this week with the death of Marie Smith Jones. Jones, as detailed in her Wikipedia entry, was “the last surviving speaker of the Eyak language of Southcentral Alaska …”. Whether or not the language dies with her is matter of opinion. Either way, I do take solace in the fact that a guy in Georgia was able to learn about part of Alaska culture (a state I have never visited) thanks to my habit of perusing Wikipedia’s list of folks that died in 2008. The validity of Wikipedia data is not perfect, I fully admit, but the site (and the Internet in general) broadens my knowledge on a daily basis.

Finally, clearly the Monday/Wednesday/Friday posting schedule has some snags. It may behoove me to make the final leg in the three times a week occur on Saturday. Please bear with me as I learn the ropes of regular blogging. I will do my best to reward your kind indulgences and patience.

In college, one of those writers that engaged my interest and reinforced my decision to get a degree in English Literature was Walker Percy. Since his death in 1990, I’ve often worried that the level of respect for his work would dwindle (as it invariable does with some authors after their demise). That worry seems a tad needless when I run across items like this one at the New York Times‘ Reading Room blog.

The blog, where “editors at The New York Times Book Review lead discussions about classic books with a panel of authors, reviewers, scholars and journalists“, has focused upon Percy’s The Moviegoer. Thanks to the Reading Room blog (and to the folks in the blog’s comments section) for educating me even more about a writer I thought I already knew fairly well.

For those of you who question the value of the Internet, I offer this item for consideration. Whether we realize it or not, even in this day and age of preservation and historical appreciation, languages can still die. A possible case in point happened this week with the death of Marie Smith Jones. Jones, as detailed in her Wikipedia entry, was “the last surviving speaker of the Eyak language of Southcentral Alaska …”. Whether or not the language dies with her is matter of opinion. Either way, I do take solace in the fact that a guy in Georgia was able to learn about part of Alaska culture (a state I have never visited) thanks to my habit of perusing Wikipedia’s list of folks that died in 2008. The validity of Wikipedia data is not perfect, I fully admit, but the site (and the Internet in general) broadens my knowledge on a daily basis.

Finally, clearly the Monday/Wednesday/Friday posting schedule has some snags. It may behoove me to make the final leg in the three times a week occur on Saturday. Please bear with me as I learn the ropes of regular blogging. I will do my best to reward your kind indulgences and patience.