Golden Lines

So, in this book, Dr. Cyndi Giorgis, and Dr. Nancy Johnson describe "when literature and literacy intersect" or in other words how to use quality literature to create good readers and writers, and it also addresses promoting inquiry. One of the authors is the professor I worked for last year when overseeing the manuscript review process for the Journal of Children's Literature. So, I actually had a hand in choosing some of the literature that is referenced in the new edition of The Wonder of it All.

So, in the book, the authors discuss a belief given by very well known Louise Rosenblatt that meaning is created through the interaction between reader and text. They suggest "teaching readers how to attend to the language, the format, the ideas, and even the phrasing and word choice an author uses." They suggest teaching students how to choose "golden lines" and emphasize it as a way to attend to author's craft. Some suggestions are given for choosing golden lines, and I'll include them here:

Select a passage, phrase, or sentence that:

• is very descriptive (helps you see, smell, feel, taste, hear something in the book/story)
• sounds poetic
• connects with your life
• connects with another book
• makes you wonder
• makes you laugh
• makes you sad or upset
• makes you stop and think
• is your favorite part

Don't forget to include the page number at the end of your selected passage (put it in parentheses)

Now, in saying all the above I would like to contend that we are hit with golden lines frequently in our lives, but we often don't slow down to really ponder them and absorb them.

And here's the golden line given to me by my good friend Loree awhile ago (I've been meaning to blog about this for awhile)... "Las Vegas is full of white trash Mormons."*

Now I don't want to be offensive, but this line is "golden" to me in many ways. For one thing, about a year to a year and a 1/2 into living in Vegas I was expressing to my good friend Elise (who is from middle of nowhere Nevada -- near Carson City) my complete confusion as to the people I was interacting with here in Vegas. And she says to me "Meredith, what did you expect? You moved to Nevada! Nevada is full of white trash!" So, Loree's line connected with something somebody else had said to me, it made me laugh, made me wonder, made me sad, made me stop and think, is descriptive, and it connects with my life.

I love golden lines. I love people who expose me to golden lines on a regular basis whether it be in print or oral language.

*Disclaimer: We ALL know that some Las Vegans are not white trash. Let's not speak in absolutes.