ON PAPER WINGS
The Book – Class 7 – Main Lesson
The Librarian replaced the book, the novel Rolf Boldrewood’s Robbery Under Arms, in the shelf; took a last look around the room, turned off the lights – and hurried off home.
“It’s funny isn’t it.” Mused Noel to no-one in particular “how books represent in people’s minds both ends of the excitement spectrum? One perceptions embodied by the stereotype of a fussy Librarian, where books are enjoyed by only bookworms and other helminth-like types – ‘Jeez, all she wants to do is read books all day!’ you hear so often.
The other perception is that books are like wings; ones you strap on and soar, in flights of fancy, off into distant worlds of imagination and adventure.” There was a murmur of agreement from sone of the shelves. A book on Finance couldn’t quite see the ‘flights of fancy’ point.
“So you’ve just been returned eh? (A week late I note!) – where did you go? Who borrowed you?”
Novel was hoping some book would ask “Oh I’ve had a great time; I was taken out by a Class 7 teacher in a Steiner School, to be used as the set text in a Language main lesson called The Book…? Or something equally imaginative!
I hear her cogitating over the principles underlying this, one of the last Language mains in primary school. Language – as we all well know! – is the Ego stream of the 4 main lesson streams, that which cultivates self-consciousness most of all. ‘The Book’ is the 3rd strand of Language, that of ‘Reading’ – naturally enough!
Reading calls on the ‘thinking’ faculties of the 3 soul forces embraced within this ego principle. Here the goal (seemingly impossible to achieve with competition from T.V., videos and computer games!) is to cultivate a love of reading – of literature in the broadest sense. But more than this, to nurture I the child’s soul, Liberacy.”
Another murmur of approval from the gloom greeted this; Classic Novel, in her learned accent, felt enjoying to add “If only more teachers were concerned with liberacy than mere literacy, children would love reading so much more. Liberacy is of course the skill of discrimination in reading – or intelligent reading. I suppose we can blame their training – or lack of it! Oh nearly everyone can read, but if one’s literacy is limited to the form guide, or cheap romance novels…”
“Why do they always pick on us cheap romance novels when finding examples of sub-standard literature!!?” complained Swills and Swoon from her bottom shelf.
“I’m sorry, it’s just that you’re so…um, ‘formula-driven’; a factor which prevents true originality to triumph. I mean you’re not even allowed by the publisher to have a hero with a beard, due to his market research indicating that our starry-eyed readership don’t like beards.
I’m sorry Robbery Under Arms, tell us more about the fascinating Class 7 lesson that you seem to have been the linchpin of.”
“Thank you Classical; well this ego-thinking factor is added to, as part of the initial lesson-preparation meditation, by that of Aries, with its Sense of Word – naturally Aries is, in the 12-fold Subject Zodiac, the sign which inspires Language. The body region of Aries is the skull – the Ram ‘horns’ exemplify this. But more particularly it is the frontal lobe area – self-consciousness again, see!
Now in the – again 12-fold – exposition of the Ego, that called by Rudolf Steiner the 12 Philosophical Viewpoints, we find that of Idealism lives in the arena of Aries Not surprising really, when you think how that great Aries civilization, the Greco-Roman, incarnated the highest – conscious – ideals, up to that time, into human evolution.
But the teacher went even further, and singled out a kind of quintessential ‘idealist’ to learn more of this wonderful element of human nature. To do this, she came forward in time to the Age of Reason, the 18thCentury, where great literary idealists, like Voltaire, colored an entire culture with the ringing cry of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity.
He confirmed Rudolf Steiner’s description of the idealist as a harmonious blend of Intuition, Inspiration and imagination, centered as they are in the will, feeling and thought zones (abdomen, chest, and head respectively). However idealism calls primarily on Imagination, a head-centered faculty – one of clear consciousness. One has to be able to imagine the – non-existent! – substance of one’s ideals. True ideals are non-realized reality, not mere fantasy.
“What’s wrong with fantasy!?” whined Swills and Swoon “That’s what my readers are looking for – a cheap escape!”
Robbery Under Arms allowed a few minutes for other books to offer a rejoinder, but only Finance did. “Imagination and fantasy, it’s all the same waffle to me; I’m only interested in facts – Facts! But I can see that with this heady Imagination, we have returned to the same realm of ego-thinking-skull!
It’s funny, this is even further compounded by our hallowed Patron Saint of Writers, St. John, and of books in particular, St. Dominique. Any occultist worth his royalties knows that the Johanine/Dominican Mysteries are those of the head.”
This occult reference seemed to wake up a book on Astrology, way up high on the ‘Esoteric’ shelves. “It was in me somewhere – Chapter 7 I think – that Class 7 is the ‘Capricorn Year’ in the Educational Zodiac, starting in Cancer with Class 1 and moving through the signs, year by year clockwise. The ‘Quality’ ascribed to Capricorn by Rudolf Steiner is ‘Putting Thought into the World’ – ‘thinking’ again yes!? This ‘reading’ 3-week main lesson sure is cranium-focused!
You know what? (for the benefit of those who haven’t read me yet – like Cheap Romance Novel!) that the Greek interpretation of Capricorn is Pan, an embodiment in no small degree of Imagination. PANic can be imagination in excess! This goat imagery is continued in the ageless symbol of Capricorn, the goat horn of Cornucopia – ‘horn of plenty’.
The fruits of the horn are the illimitable scale and variety of imaginations; a high human faculty – the highest according to Albert Einstein, whose E=MC2 was one of his finest ‘fruits’.
So this Imagination factor is that which inspires the Mission of The Novel in the world. Oh I know humanity, or some of it at least, needs unimaginative tomes like old finance there; but those works which carry evolution forward – into The New Age of Abraham of the 3rd Millennium – are the ones that are nourished by the Horn of Imagination.
After all Rudolf Steiner – hmmm, not many of his books in my section? Some kind of conspiracy of censorship perhaps?! – said that the faculty mankind has to develop in the present period is ‘Imaginative Cognition; – image thoughts. These will gradually replace science-based Aristotelian Logic n the center-ring of human consciousness.
What a lofty mission we books have eh? Therefore one can determine fairly simply, by applying liberacy skills, which books serve this unfolding flower of Imaginative Cognition, and which don’t (What about this small offering? Ed.) ‘Is there an imaginative element in the work?’ one may ask. Or is it merely a turgid, if well-penned, exposition of some kind, say on the teaching of ‘The Novel’! – or is it plagiaristic? – or locked in the stocks of pedantry!?
Robbery Under Arms couldn’t remember if the teacher had made these last points conscious to the class or not; but he did recall how he had mused over that spirit-based aphorism that ‘a book finds its author’. This is to assume that the book – a spiritual being of a kind – existed before it was written! And so it did’ all books are given to humankind by the divine world in one form or another.
Legend is consistent in this; just consider The Old Testament, dumped in Moses’ arms, by God, in the form of two stone tablets! Or the Koran, whispered in the ear of an itinerant camel salesman!
“Naturally books of a higher spiritual content are dispensed by higher divinities; while books of subject matter inimical to humankinds’ progress – like those of Satanic worship for instance – are bestowed by dark spirits indeed! If a book has a metaphysical reality, then it also has a karma. The actual printed book is this literary being’s physical body; while its life story is etheric in nature.
Some book titles have a very long life – or biography – such as Old Testament up there. (zzzzzzz) Hmmm, others are more short-lived being important in creating social change, or whatever. These may date quickly, but their influence lives on; such a book is Germaine Greer’s The Female Eunuch. Of course there is every shade between. The cultural influence of a book is its astral manifestation.
To discuss this print-biography-influence aspect of a book or books is very enlightening for children. It even highlights the past, present and future characteristics of different books – indicating their mission in human culture. Books even have character, just like people; this is the ego, a moral imperative. Character, in a spiritual sense at least, is always an ego factor; which the individual develops after 21, when the Self begins its long journey of emancipation right through adult life.
When a particular book’s task on earth is complete, it tends to die a natural death – usually into obscurity (the karmic task of the book you’re reading now is apparently not such – or you wouldn’t be reading it!). Alas some die before their time, especially where a book’s karma is tampered with; such as when it is banned, or made into a ‘digest’.
This is like a person who has had an essential body part removed; it is incomplete, unable to express the holistic vision of its author – or indeed of its Guardian Angel (all karmic beings have their own angelos). This is why second-hand shops are littered (to use the appropriate verb) with – usually well-bond – digests of one kind or another. Sensitive readers can’t wait to rid themselves of these literary cripples.”
“Tell us about some of the practical aspect of the lesson.’ Said one of the many How To books down the end “What did the children actually do?”
“Oh it was fun; firstly the teacher would read – or get the children to read – part of one of my chapter every day; and discuss the rest if there wasn’t time to read. This maintained a flow of content through the 3 weeks, one based on my particular ‘character’ of 19th Century Australian bushrangers, horses, goldfield…and exciting mosaic of adventure, history, geography and romance. She also drew up the distinction very early between the 3 realms of literature – fact, fiction and other (‘faction’?).
“Some of the ‘fact’ categories were:” continued Robbery as O.T. snored on “travel; expose; biography; nature; social; how-to (Yea!); history; art’ and yes, even you Finance! Fiction also divides into many and varied areas, such as: science fiction; detective (they love Sherlock Holmes at this age); adventure; classic; historical; animal; humor.
The teacher also spent some time on the ‘elements’ of the book, like title (this can make or break a publication); frontis; copyright; chapters; dust jacket; spine printing; illustrations, including photography and maps; dates. Ah, dates; those budding antiquarians were so interested to learn that books are a tangible part of history, the collective diary of mankind if you like. They’re like tombstones (‘A library is thought in cold storage’ – H. Samuel); each one preserving a cameo of a time and place – when there is sufficient publishing into. Printed in the front.
The Old Testament – sorry to speak to you O.T. … oh, he’s still asleep anyway… is living history. The teacher presented a most interesting exercise with Old Testament; she asked the children to write his biography – in the 1st Person. This began with his arrival on Mount Sinai, through the wanderings in the desert, snug now (on scrolls) in the Ark of the Covenant; growing in size; to the Diaspora.
Then there was the rather uneasy wedding with his younger associate, New Testament – right up to his first appearance as a hand-written codex (a paged book); through the clumsy old Gutenberg press; on into the steam-driven – but fast- – mechanical presses of the 19th Century; and into a multitude of translations.”
Robbery Under Arms paused here, as he realized that the canny teacher had used this long tale – this imaginative biography – to present a picture of the evolution of the book through the ages. Of course she had to indulge in a few discursions to bring things in like Babylonian clay tablets; copper and papyrus scrolls; Chinese wood or bamboo silk-strung volumes – and others.
He also recalled the visit of the class to the celebrated author; how the children loved this contact point with the outer world – and their intelligent questions confirmed it. This could equally have been a book publisher; illustrator; editor; or printer of books even.
They also visited a bookshop; and were given an interesting talk on marketing and other aspects of book retailing by the proud, if loquacious, owner.
One of these aspects, again with an historical emphasis, was the role of the bookplate. In fact the class designed and printed, on the school photocopier, their personalized bookplates a homework assignment. Some of them were beautifully illustrated, with decorative motifs rendered in fine mapping pen technique.
“I had a 13-year-old borrowed me the other day;” it was Shackleton’s Argonauts who interrupted R.A.U.’s ruminations. “and I’m an ‘adult’ book. I hope the teacher realized that she had to cater for readership levels throughout the class from quite immature to…well, adult! Many liberate children skip those books written for the teen-transition years, moving straight into adult literature.”
“Yes, reading recommendations were given at the child’s level; or just beyond it really. This encourages a striving in the soul for that which is just out of reach. The class also made their own book; a limited publication of 100 copies comprising 50 pages. Both these figures officially define what a ‘book’ is.
It was called the Class 7 Anthology of Short Stories; each child contributed a story (some were very short indeed!). As well they learnt about printing, binding and promotion. They also had a ‘Book Hospital; where damaged books, both from home and the school library, were given new life. Some had their dust jackets re-drawn and plasticized; other, pages repaired – and so on.
It was gently indicated that writing a book, particularly one’s autobiography, is powerful therapy; and of how this Spirit of Literature (a Being of light called Logios in Greece; he who is part of the Pleroma, ‘The fulfilled’) can enchant or curse, depending on the content or intent. The American Indians saw these little black ‘character’ you’re looking at now as mini-demons.
That was true as far as it went, but the content which the ‘demons’ express can be of a high spirituality indeed, casting a ‘spell’ (spelling!), or charm on the reader. This has the potential of whisking him/her away on the paper wings of Imagination. Gosh, hasn’t the night flown?! It’s almost 9am…shh, here comes the Librarian now – and look, there’s a happy group of children filing in – 13-year-olds I’d say.
Look, they’re going to have a little talk by our Librarian; I hope she gives the one on the development of the Scriptoria during the so-called Dark Ages. This great literary period is in accord, incidentally, with the epoch-recapitulating development of Class 7 children, they…”
“Will you pipe down! I want to sleep!” It was Finance of course; not only is he short on Imagination, he has no sense of history either!
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