This essay from
Irina Dumitrescu reminds me that body and brain/mind are of course linked, so sometimes the physical state influences the ability to read. Dumitrescu discovers, as an undergrad, interesting ways to break through into comprehension of "difficult" texts. She speaks of how Wordsworth came to her through pacing (walking), while Milton was a bit more of a challenge, requiring a hot bath. What she doesn't discuss is that her breakthrough moments seem to have occurred when she was no longer reading for class, but for herself. Interesting also is how as a scholar she sees the profession as draining the lifeblood from her reading. This essay offered online by the Longreads website is excerpted from the book
How We Read: Tales, Fury, Nothing, Sound.
Graphic: The Death of Marat by Jacques-Louis David
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