The Making Of… Neo-Literature

Within the past few decades, the mode of communication in our society has expanded significantly along with the growth of technology. Today, most Americans are fully aware of cell phones, social networking outlets, and other forms of electronic media. While some of us become hooked on the expediency of such forms, others detest the addiction that seems to come with the lazy convenience of it all. I would put myself in the first category. One of my favorite past times is cuddling up with my iPod and listening to my favorite podcasts. A decade ago, the word “podcast” hadn’t even been created. So how can one argue today that a podcast could be granted literary merit? Within cases like MuggleCast and National Public Radio’s This American Life, the argument is more than something to toy with –its completely justified.


For those readers that aren’t fully versed in the capabilities of today’s technology, a short overview of podcasting may be necessary. Anyone with computer recording and editing capabilities can create a podcast. The point is to raise discussion on any subject matter, ranging from Lost plot conspiracy theory, to restaurant reviews, to politics talk. Most podcasts are released on some sort of schedule, some being daily, others being weekly or monthly. The majority of these are available for free download off of iTunes, making them extremely accessible to the iPod carrying-set of Americans.
I was initially drawn into podcasting through MuggleCast, a podcast started in 2005 around the budding popularity of JK Rowling’s hit book series, Harry Potter. This particular show started in the middle of the fandom craze, when theory and excitement over the story was at its height. The talk show hosts theorized, debated, and joked about everything Harry Potter. I was fascinated at the idea of a group of high school-aged kids talking in such depth about my favorite book series. I never missed downloading an episode and listening to it on my walk home from school every day. I laughed along and wrote in occasionally, adding to the cyber community that gained momentum around MuggleCast. I expected to see pigs start to fly. Here were hundreds of young budding MuggleCast fans, all participating in actual literary discussion. Never before had I heard kids get so worked up over whether or not a book character would die at the end of a series, or the history behind Rowling’s language she created in her novels. It was refreshing and exciting for me to see my generation going back to the books, all thanks to the spark that was raised in part to MuggleCast.


But podcasting can be more than just an inspiration to participate in literary discussion. It can be a literary discussion in itself, as observed in discussion topics of MuggleCast like, ‘does etymology factor into Rowling’s creation of spells and people’s names?’ This seems pretty advanced for the mind of the average MuggleCast listener, whose age usually lies somewhere around 15, but the level of discussion is both engaging and educational.


But moving beyond this, some podcasts have taken this idea of incorporating traditional literary process into their entire show. Take NPR’s This American Life. On a weekly basis, TAL’s host Ira Glass examines a common theme of every day life and brings his listeners a variety of stories on that subject. In episode #109 “Notes On Camp,” Glass uses stories of current campers, as well as those adults with stories of summer camp, to bridge the gap between summer camp lovers… and everyone else. The topic sounds simple, and the expected format approach may be a campfire-style story telling that would fit in right along with the subject matter. In reality though, TAL producers reach far beyond the simplicity of that approach to bring an analytical discussion of the real phenomenon at hand here: what is with the fascination people have with summer camp? And why does it create such a close-knit connection between those involved? 
Since This American Life starts off its life as a radio show every Sunday afternoon, the production of creating the show goes beyond the relaxed atmosphere of most podcasts. Each story is carefully selected for its emotion-evoking and thought-provoking power.

Paying close mind to the subject at hand, journalists associated with TAL start on the field, interviewing those involved in the story, and recording their sides. Then, inserting the careful narration it takes to visualize the situation for the listener, a story is then born. Each addition to the show must contribute to the theme at hand, be entertaining, and deliver a bigger message. These three principles only come into harmony within the most perfect circumstances, and they must be harnessed by the NPR journalists for every weekly edition of This American Life.

One thing that remains common among all narratives told on This American Life is the height understanding between the narrator and that whom the story is about. David Himmel exists at Camp Greenwoods as the “Big Man on Campus.” Through his guitar ditties about all the boys he watches over in the cabin, and being big brother for all who are under his eye of advisement, David is looked at as the Holy Grail of all counselors. But based on his unassuming way of speaking, the listener would never guess this. It takes the admiring words of his young campers to really convey how much all the little boys want to be him. This is then perfectly synced in with the explanations of journalist Adam Davidson to create a story that encompasses the whole of the situation.
And just as writing requires planning and formatting, so does a podcast. This American Life Host Ira Glass once said that for every four stories that may be featured on one episode of This American Life, about ten to fifteen were researched by a team of developers. The journalists must travel and seek out the person with the experience worth forming a story around. Then, they must come up with an angle that will fit the theme for the week’s episode. There must also be a nice balance between first hand narration and that done by the journalist. Journalist Davidson approaches this first story in “Notes on Camp,” titled “Note One: Mr. Popular” by setting up the question, “Whats so cool about David Himmel?” It’s almost comical how different campers answer the question, in their own rambling, childlike approach. As a listener, I’m amused and eager to know the answer.

At this point, you may be asking yourself, ‘Why does all this matter?’ Well, the answer lies in my original argument. While many traditionalists may say intellectual thought cannot cross with the development of social medias today, I disagree. The process that goes into creating a podcast can deliver a conversation among listeners that matches, and even exceeds, that received from book-based literature. By harnessing a story, molding it into something conceivable by an audience, and inserting critical input, the producers behind MuggleCast and This American Life have honed in on the highest objectives of podcasting: the creation of something worthy of literary merit.

Still, those that stick by the tried and true book method of scholarly communication have often criticized this glorification of podcasting as a means of scholarly work. Birkerts says, “Everything about modern (or is it postmodern?) life carries us away from the state that is propitious for deep reading. The generations now coming up, reared on music and visual media, have reflexes and combinatory capacities that are something new in the world…. In itself it is neither good nor bad. But we have to see that it does not bode well in the long run for certain kinds of concentrated or deep reading” (148). Here, Birkerts makes a great point that the growth in technology has altered the way of thinking for present generations. Along the lines of different reflexes, Birkerts would probably agree that people that immerse themselves in current technologies have shorter attention spans. The human mind is forever feeding off of its surroundings, and technology like podcasting and social media outlets feed into our exposure.


However, I have to be in disagreement with Birkerts where he explains that a state of “deep reading” has become less prominent in a world influenced by technology beyond the book. The intellectual stimulation one receives through podcasting is one that submerges the listener into a deeper level of awareness. Through listening instead of reading, the reader is surrounded by the message. Furthermore, being able to connect the subject with a human voice adds a personal connection that draws the listener in. With podcasting, emotion behind the words on a page is present. Spoken word has the power of bringing an argument to life, something impossible with a book. This life-like capability makes “deep reading” of a podcast something inevitable and thoroughly meaningful.


The last facet of scholarly podcasting that I would like to address ties in closely to the power of spoken word. Birkerts, and other naysayers like him, fail to address the fact that the book was born directly from rhetoric. The early philosophers like Isocrates, Plato, and Aristotle had not a book, but their own voices to present and spread their word. Oratory exists as its own fine art with the basis of human improvement. With the creation of podcasting, it is transformed into something more readily available to the masses.

Since history has been proven a circular phenomenon, it is only natural for the spread of ideas to return back to spoken word. While there lies something sacred in the reading of books, it is unmatched by the improvements made to argument by podcasting. Like the rain returns from the clouds back to the earth, the circular cycle of scholarly development continues. My line of reasoning can only be improved by the direct experience of listening to a podcast, so I implore you to seek out your own discovery of this medium. Grab your iPod, and never be afraid to click, “Download.” After all, you never know what intellectual development you may reach.

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