Presents 10 specific reasons in response to a student's question "Why should we read literature?" Answers the question from 10 angles: escape, empathy, mirror, time machine, cultural heritage, language, art, "lifesaver,""reading of life," and fear of change. (NH)

Walter Dean Myers, a writer, believes that a primary cause of lack of inspiration in readers is their difficulty decoding meaning because of language and societal differences. Myers especially wants and strives to reach the uninspired readers, particularly those living in the inner city, by writing, using their language and contexts.

Presents a debate between two English teachers (in the form of a critique of a March 1997 article in this journal, a response to that critique, and a rebuttal of that response) on the classics, student choice in reading, and teaching. (SR)