Letters

Street lit is cool, but what ever happened to the classics?

Street lit might appear to be controversial (“Street Fight,” July 2008, pp. 27–30), but it is no more controversial than the literature of the Beat Generation was in the fifties. One only has to see how the poetry of Allen Ginsberg or the stories by Jack Kerouac were received to understand literary controversy. Now they, and other works from that era, are considered classics.

However, as a teacher of history in a community college, I watch with despair as recent high school graduates display absolutely no knowledge of or familiarity with the great literary canon of the Western world. I realize that it is no longer de rigueur to teach the writings of dead white men (or even the few dead white women for that matter), but there is a whole generation of students who have intentionally not been exposed to this literature.

Let's correct this glaring omission. Teach them the literature of the past while exposing them to the Ginsbergs and Kerouacs of the future!

I am shocked, appalled, annoyed, sad, surprised... do I make my point?! I was reading with great interest the article on the “hot spots” in Orange County (“The OC,” June 2008, pp. 52–59), but closed the magazine and put it down when I read the following words the author chose to describe South Coast Plaza: “...you can relax and ogle those rich white people with questionable moral standards.” I'd imagine that South Coast Plaza has a strong case for a lawsuit against Ms. Hardstark as well as SLJ, but I'm no attorney, it's just my opinion. I've always trusted the info in my monthly SLJ, but I have to say I question your editor for allowing this portion of the article to be published. Ms. Hardstark shares her unwanted values, she sounds like a bigot and racist, and I have no tolerance for the rhetoric she uses. I'm certain I'm not the only person writing to you about the slanderous statement she wrote.

I'm expecting to read a public apology to your readers in the next issue. SLJ was on the top of my periodical reading stack, but in the future I will be placing it at the bottom.

The June issue contained a review (p. 164) for two books in Rosen's “Martial Arts” series, The Judo Handbook and The Tae Kwon Do Handbook. This series does indeed have excellent pictures and very detailed information. It does belong in libraries—of martial arts instructors. These books contain information that could be very dangerous in the hands of inexperienced students. For example, The Judo Handbook contains information on chokes. In judo most of the chokes are classified as blood chokes (chokes that restrict the blood flow to the brain instead of obstructing the airway). This type of choke can render someone unconscious in fewer than ten seconds and kill someone in under a minute.

As someone who holds belt rank in Tae Kwon Do, judo, and Kyuki Do, I would recommend passing on this series and substituting books from Tuttle publications. These books, while technically written for adults, are much more suited for beginners and therefore are a better choice for any young adult collection.

Amber McCrea is correct that the books do offer information on techniques that could be dangerous for students who are not enrolled in martial arts classes. I would not recommend them for casual readers or beginners, but only as supplements for students already studying martial arts.

All of the books in the series that I have reviewed thus far stress very clearly that the techniques are not to be tried without guidance from an instructor. Because of this, many libraries may not wish to carry them; but in libraries like my own, where we have many patrons who study at martial arts schools in the area, most of which do not have libraries, these books are useful supplements for students.

Despite my own martial arts training (I have received belts in Tae Kwon Do, Ishinryu, and Kempo, though I currently only study the last), I would not feel comfortable trying any of those techniques beyond the strength-training exercises without in-person instruction, which is what the books themselves suggest.

There are libraries for whom these books will be a good fit; others may well want to follow McCrea's advice and pass on them in favor of books designed specifically for beginners and browsers.

Correction: The June 2008 reference review of Encyclopedia of Disasters: Environmental Catastrophes and Human Tragedies listed Agnes M. Gunn as the author. The author is Angus M. Gunn.