Today, we encountered our first set of readings–readings that are intended to get us to think about broader questions about literary value, about the pleasures and purposes of reading, about how our work in the English classroom can matter to the world in essential ways that drive deeper than concerns about job-market viability and bankable skills (we’ll get to those later in the semester). For now, we linger on the question of value.

In your Reflective Engagement for today, reflect on some specific ideas in the readings for today that struck you as unique, distinct, or clarifying in some ways. Note a few quotes here, and offer some thoughts. Second, try to connect some of the insights from the reading today with some powerful reading experiences of your own that made the powers of literature and poetry come to life for you.