[Dr. Drib]

I currently live in Peru, but have dual residency both here and in the U.S.A. I lived for 30 years in a southern state and (before Peru) in Cincinnati for 10 years. Here is my observation about reading and literarcy, based upon my own experience (too, I'm a teacher), one not verified by any scientific studies:

1) Peru is a third-world country. Reading is a luxury, since so many millions of people are simply trying to survive from one day to the next. Reading snobbery isn't much of a concern, since so few people read here. The one's who do read are the educated (those educated in a formal schooling environment.)

2) The southern state I lived in for more than 30 years is a farm state. It's a poor state. Reading is important to some but, as mentioned, it's a state that is poor and it's a state that relies mainly upon farming as well as tourism. The farmers lead hard lives just surviving. Reading snobbery is not relegated to a genre; rather, many people in the Ozarks have no use for reading at all. They see nothing in it. (Again, I must emphasize that I'm speaking of my own experience, and am not attempting to condemn or make conclusions about a group of people.)

3) The mid-western state I lived in for 10 years (city: Cincinnati) seems to have much more literacy and a greater number of literate people. As a collector of books, it was a goldmine to live there. I found typed manuscripts [not carbons] of such writers as Robert Silverberg and William Tenn. I found collectible - and valuable - books all over the place. The place 'reeked' of literacy. Cincinnati was more sophisticated and the literacy level more pronounced - again, in my experience of having lived there for 10 years.

Here's a question I pose:

Does location play a part in reading snobbery?

My answer is 'Yes,' at least in my experience.

Perhaps your experience verifies this, as well? Or perhaps not for you?




Don