Popular Literacy and the Roots of the New Writing

Abstract

The place of writing in the curriculum has recently increased in importance under a series of new approaches based on a processing model of how writers write. An overlooked aspect of these new programs in the schools is the degree to which they parallel aspects of an earlier, popular literacy. In a brief recounting of incidents in the history of literacy with a focus on Renaissance Europe, 17th- and 18th-century England, and the 20th-century United States, three historical elements are brought to light which now play a strong part in the new programs. In these programs literacy (a) is sociable, (b) has its roots in nonstandardized language, and (c) places a premium on performance and publication. Insofar as the new writing takes up these aspects of popular literacy, there is reason to feel that it will work to some degree in meeting the current literacy crisis. However, the traditions of popular literacy have both political and social ramifications which warrant our attention. Popular literacy in the past has been entangled in the sensational and subversive and has not always been well received. This history raises questions as to what can be expected and what is desired of this new thrust in writing. The advocates of the new writing programs need to confront the potential of this increased voice, this latest form of popular literacy, which they have begun to encourage.