Their Encounters With Literature Since Childhood
I will try to remember my encounters with literature, I think I should start with my childhood. What comes to mind is a library full of my dad’s medical books. He had this incredible library in the house, three of the walls of the room were covered by bookshelves that reached the ceiling. The fourth wall had many windows that made the room have a perfect natural illumination. My dad loved to read; he was addicted to ‘always learn more’. Of course, he tried to make me follow his steps and he tried to inculcate in me the same interest for books. The books were a subject of conversation at home, sometimes a gift and also part of the family.
As a child I used to play with my barbies and go out to the street to play with the other children of the neighborhood. Cuba is the perfect place for children to play freely and socialize with each other. The streets there do not have much car traffic which makes children play outside their homes quite safely. I used to go out to play every afternoon after I left school, and just at the time I was having the most fun, I would hear my dad calling my name from the deck of my house. I knew he was calling me to do my school homework and of course for my reading time.
Literature, beyond being the door to various worlds, it is a personal experience for me is presented, as a tedious obligation and forced step in the academic world. However, it is possible that this perception finds its root in the way in which literary experiences are presented to individuals, a process that gives its start in early childhood and that accompanies a person throughout life. Mine was to stop doing the things that amused me to read with my father.
Over the years that feeling of obligation to read was changing out of curiosity and desire to satisfy the curiosity I felt. My dad was so happy to see my interest in literature that he made a selection of books that he believed might be interesting for me according to my age. Since then I read without stopping. I finish a book and start with the next one right away. As I was entering the world of literature, I could see that reading involves only the reader, who takes care of it, with reluctance or emotion, but it is something that nobody can replace.
During the reading, not only the words written on the paper manifest, but the subjective experience of the individual, who will give interpretation and meaning every reading experience is personal, there will not be two equals and it is framed within the context in which it takes place. On the other hand, those who write do so when they have something to say. When they want to communicate something it is perceived, something that the writer becomes aware of and presumes that others have not noticed. People write about what they want to denounce, to bring to the present what has the risk of being forgotten because they do not want to let go. Many people assume that writing and reading is a simple action, but in reality, it is extremely complex. Because to ensure the communication of the meaning to be transmitted, there must be a series of accepted and shared rules, between the use of the language of those who express or report their impressions of a situation or fact and that of those who receive that message.
Reading has become a tool to transmit and guide others, in order to enrich the cultural, linguistic ability and reduce obstacles in the literary path. Everything around us is reading. Right now, you are reading this text and a while ago you were reading a note in the elevator, a book, a recipe or a postcard. Reading is communication. Reading is essential to be connected to the world and people. Without reading we would not have knowledge, we would not have information and it would be harder for us to imagine. Reading is essential and is something we must feed throughout our lives.
