Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book provides a space for teachers and researchers to focus on the teaching of literature, which is a central component of English/literacy curricula. It then discusses commonalities and differences in literature pedagogy in nations across the world where English is the mother tongue or the medium of instruction. Alberto Manguel, in A History of Reading, offers an example from 1000 CE: 'To avoid parting with his collection of 117,000 books while traveling, the avid reader and Grand Vizier of Persia, Abdul Kassem Ismael, [had] them carried by a caravan of four hundred camels trained to walk in alphabetical order'. Literature invites US to enter multiple worlds and position ourselves among other people. The book begins with an extensive discussion of why literature matters (Cliff Hodges) and ends with a call for a radical alternative to the usual rationales for reading literature (Goodwyn).