Zina, thank you for this; it may be very helpful for absorbing large quantities of prose, especially in the required reading for a course. But what happens to the sound of the language when you do this? I’ve discovered, in teaching my Natural Meter Crash Course, that there are many poets who loved metrical verse in childhood but now can’t seem to hear or follow meter. They want to retrain their inner ear to hear the sound of language. Some of them had learned a speed-reading technique while in college. I tried that at one point, but didn’t like the way it “turned off” my inner ear. What do you think about this?
Centuries is in prose, so it isn’t as much of an issue here. There are passages that are poetry and I certainly slow down for that. Unfortunately that’s the compromise… all well written books should be savored. This is more of an emergency situation when something is better than nothing.
I wonder if not hearing meter is a modern phenomenon with roots we have not yet figured out? I’m not sure if it’s a speed reading thing or perhaps something else. I always had trouble with hearing meter when younger but I wasn’t a speed reader then.
Thank you for bringing this up… I will ponder this more in the morning.
Excellent and valuable advice!
Thank you so much, Naomi! ❤️🙏
Zina, thank you for this; it may be very helpful for absorbing large quantities of prose, especially in the required reading for a course. But what happens to the sound of the language when you do this? I’ve discovered, in teaching my Natural Meter Crash Course, that there are many poets who loved metrical verse in childhood but now can’t seem to hear or follow meter. They want to retrain their inner ear to hear the sound of language. Some of them had learned a speed-reading technique while in college. I tried that at one point, but didn’t like the way it “turned off” my inner ear. What do you think about this?
Centuries is in prose, so it isn’t as much of an issue here. There are passages that are poetry and I certainly slow down for that. Unfortunately that’s the compromise… all well written books should be savored. This is more of an emergency situation when something is better than nothing.
I wonder if not hearing meter is a modern phenomenon with roots we have not yet figured out? I’m not sure if it’s a speed reading thing or perhaps something else. I always had trouble with hearing meter when younger but I wasn’t a speed reader then.
Thank you for bringing this up… I will ponder this more in the morning.