Yann Martel
Comments (6) I had the great pleasure of hearing Yann Martel speak the other evening. He was talking about his new book, Beatrice and Virgil, at Malaprop’s Bookstore in Asheville, NC. Martel is a significantly famous author for our town. We do get some big names through now and then but usually those folks speak at one of the local auditoriums. Malaprop’s does a fantastic job of inviting important writers to our area. Yann Martel was no exception.
There were many things that struck me from the evening. Martel was eloquent, poised, gracious, funny, and quick witted. He used no notes during the talk and was really impressive in his delivery. Perhaps the most noteworthy were his responses to the questions from the audience towards the end of the night. He fielded some tough ones.
When speaking of his art and what makes a work endure he shared, “The book is only one half the thing, it depends on what the reader takes out of it.” This was one of the simpler comments of the evening but it resonated for me because of how much it felt like teaching. Often, no matter what I do, I can’t seem to reach, teach, instruct, guide, or move a student, at least not in an obvious way. I keep reinventing my craft and trying new strategies but the bottom line remains connected to this fact: the student is “half the thing.” I was amazed by the simplicity and honesty of the statement. Sometimes, no matter what we do, our craft can derail because of our audience.
That doesn’t leave the teacher off the hook, not by any means. We are one half of that whole learning experience and the import of that also resonated. It is even more important that we bring everything we have to the table so that our charges have the best possible chance of meeting us where they will learn.
When asked about what books he has coming next, Martel spoke of a book about teaching. Yes, teaching. He said, “Teaching involves a living, essential dynamic.” He asked, “How do you keep it from not becoming dogma? How do you keep it alive?” His respect for the craft and his awareness of the need for teachers and willing students was tangible. His next animal allegory will probably have as the main characters “a chimpanzee, the primate resembling a human the most, and a rhinoceros, an animal with a tremendous symbolic echo.” This book is important he reminded us as he asked, “how do we keep that wisdom alive?”
Education is forging some rough waters right now, and many of the changes that will evolve are necessary. One thing, however, will never change. We need to keep bringing our fifty percent to the table – one hundred percent of the time. The wisdom depends on it.
Inspiration
Themocracy