Blog Response to Prompt #4

4.    Foster talks about the relationship between the reader and the writer suggesting that, “reading is an event of the imagination…a reader’s imagination is the act of one creative intelligence engaging another (the writer’s).  How does this occur?  What does this suggest about the nature and process of reading and writing?

Anytime a reader engages in a new piece of literature, a relationship is established. From the moment the book is opened, the reader and the writer have made a new connection. The writer’s creative intelligence works with that of the reader in order to create a beautiful novel. In a sense, it is like an artist creating a new masterpiece. Elaborating on this comparison, imagine that thirty people were handed Foster’s book and the same blank canvas. They were told to read the text, then create a portrait based on what they read. When the thirty readers finish their paintings, the end result is most likely going to be thirty completely different portraits from the individual readers. This is because each person who read “How to Read Literature Like a Professor” established their own relationship with Foster. In doing this, each relationship resulted in a different, unique interpretation of the book/painting, despite being given the same materials to start with. So, what Foster is suggesting is reading itself is an art, and art is interpretive. Although every reader is given the same base creativity from the writer, they establish a personal connection through their own creative intelligence and make the book their own. 

The film and theatre industries both demonstrate the concept that the connection between the reader and writer is unique and up for interpretation. The actors, for instance, interpret the work of writers for a living. They are given their script, and it is their job to make a connection with the writer’s work. They must combine the creativity of the writer with their own artistry as the reader, and somehow interpret what it is their character is supposed to be like and how the scene should be performed. As an actor in shows on occasion, I too, have had to make that creative connection with what I am reading and interpret the writer’s creative vision with my own. The actors’ combined interpretations, along with interpretations of directors and anyone else involved with a  performance or an upcoming film, show the unique connection that is made is subjective based on the creative intelligence of the reader.