My Argument for Sustainability

Sustainability is a term most often associated with the environment and ecology, used in conversations about protecting ecosystems we now know are fragile. It is a word concerned with balance and the tricky problem of not destroying something we love (like the planet, or literature) with the incredible ability of humans to screw it up. In dictionaries the word “sustain” is likened to phrases such as “to endure” or “strength or support physically and mentally.” It comes from the Latin word sustinere, which means “to hold up.” I do not think there is an aspect to literature that would not be served well with a little focus on endurance.

That's an exceprt from an essay I have up at The Millions, today, in which I think about Italo Calvino and the future of literature and books. Click over! Leave me a comment!

What would your sixth memo be?

Comments

[J]

I really hope books don't disappear into the ether...although everyone thought newspapers were going to disintegrate and they're still here...maybe it'll be a reverse thing where we all start buying stuff we can hold in our hands.

So much more relaxing that way...