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The Twilight of Students' Radical Reading

What happened to Sylvia Plath and Allen Ginsberg?

By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff

Posted Mar 8, 2009 4:03 PM CDT

(Newser) – A few decades ago, college kids turned to radicals to satisfy their literary thirst, but on today’s campuses, “you're more likely to hear a werewolf howl than Allen Ginsberg,” writes Ron Charles in the Washington Post. Other than Barack Obama’s tomes, the bestselling books among college students these days are the Twilight series. “The only specter haunting the groves of American academe seems to be suburban contentment.”

“The entire culture has become narcotized,” says a professor. Compare that to the ‘60s, when Abbie Hoffman, Sylvia Plath, and Anais Nin were all the rage. But a writer on progressive youth politics says book choice simply isn’t a good barometer of student spirit. “People don't necessarily read their politics nowadays. They get it through YouTube and blogs and social networks.”

Fans purchase the fourth book in the Twilight series at Borders on August 1, 2008 in Chicago.
Fans purchase the fourth book in the "Twilight" series at Borders on August 1, 2008 in Chicago.   (Getty Images)
Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., signs copies of his  book The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream in this Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2006 file photo.
Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., signs copies of his book "The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream" in this Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2006 file photo.   (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 6 comments
Addyp
Mar 10, 2009 1:50 AM CDT
Just because droves of fangirls faint at the thought of some vampire doesn't mean the rest of us in college have equally dull reading lists. Specious would be an understatement.
riffran
Mar 9, 2009 5:18 AM CDT
at least they are reading....the more you read the easier it gets
Guest
Mar 9, 2009 1:16 AM CDT
College students have way too much time on their hands.

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