Neža Maurer Škofja Loka
ALI SO KNJIGE LAHKO BOLNE? (kroki)
Ne, knjige niso bolne, ker papir ne zboli — kvečjemu splesni od zapuščenosti. Knjige padejo v nezavest.
Vsebinsko so sedanje izdaje za otroke zdrave in dokaj raznovrstne: od pravljičnih, življenjskih, do napol pustolovskih, sodobno robinzonovskih, pa spet igrivih, polnih življenjske volje in nagajivosti — do odkritih, brez vseh zadržkov, privlačnih kot zrel sadež; take dajejo mladim bralcem največ moči in spoznanj. Pesmi ne bi posebej razvrščala: še vedno so optimistične, igrive, nosijo voljo in dobro voljo tako do življenja kot do šole.
A naj se vrnem k pojmu — bolezen:
Začutila sem prvi bacil = zastraševanje. Morda je strah zamišljen kot duševno utrjevanje otrok, ki so vsled starševske ljubezni in šolskih uspehov gotovi sami vase. Toda strah, zastraševanje je lahko tudi pospešeno uničevanje osamljenih otrok šibkega značaja. Vem, otroci do neke mere uživajo v grozljivkah - a le tedaj, če tega niso že polni vsakdanji TV in radijski sporedi. Bacil bi torej bilo modro dati pod lupo — kajti strah, zastraševanje v razviti obliki pri odraslem človeku često povzroča služabništvo, dvoličnost, hinavščino, zavist in podobno.
Drugi bacil je trgovanje. Nisem ga zasledila v pisani besedi za otroke — pač pa v oblikovanosti mladinskih listov. Tudi ta usmeritev je morda za kaj dobra — porečete. V sedanjem času, ko bi vsak hotel kupovati čim ceneje in prodajati čim draže, tovrstno poučevanje ni na odmet. Seveda, če verjamemo, da bo mladi rod živel pretežno od prekupčevanja. A že zdaj v tolikih trgovinah in trgovinicah opažamo predvsem prodajalke in robo. Trgovina potrebuje tudi kupce. Določen delež ljudi torej mora v vsaki družbi služiti sredstva (denar) s produktivnim delom, z ustvarjalnostjo.
Drugih bacilov v časopisih in knjigah za mlade nisem opazila. Naselili pa so se v glavah tistih, ki o knjigah in slovenski kulturi odločajo - tako sedaj sploh ne odločajo več. To je bolezen. Najbrž neozdravljiva: komercializacija kulture.
Bomo zato knjigi svečo držali? Knjiga je nastajala ob sveči — in preživela bo. Ko se bomo zasitili avtomobilov, televizorjev, orožja — se bo prevagalo. Knjiga je sposobna čakati dolgo, dolgo.
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Summary CAN BOOKS BE ILL
At the meeting of Slovene youth writers, attended also by the librarians and editors of publishing programmes for children, the review »Otrok in knjiga« organised a symposium entitled »Can books be ill?« Five authors, who illuminated the chosen problems from various points of view, searched the answers in their papers:
Igor Saksida exposed the attitude of adults towards childhood and towards the function of the youth literature. He emphasised the deviation from the artistic harmony of a perceptive, ethic and aesthetic function resulting in a wrong / ill attitude towards childhood. His findings define the deviation possible in only two ways: in a direction of overstressing the educational function of literature, which due to unnatural infantilism does not effect infantile but childish.
Metka Kordigel was interested in the adjustment of modern, renovated school programmes, in which the youth literature plays an important role, offering a child an opportunity for an intensive personal growth. Her consideration was dedicated particularly to a teacher's relationship to literature or the tasks recognisable as a part of a long-termed goals of literature classes and literary education. She stressed their possible realisation by a spontaneous encounter with literature. She pointed out numerous possibilities of a didactic manipulation.
Dragica Haramija exposed »ill« picture books, Tilka Jamnik statistically expressed her warning that the increase of an annual literary production is mainly quantitative. There are a lot of reprints, publishings of famous books in a new translation, questionable adaptations and trivial literature, but only a few novelties of Slovene authors.
The symposium was rounded up by two writers. In an interesting way Marjan Tomšič meditated on a writer of the youth literature or of a child still living within an adult. He is convinced that the genuine youth literature can be born only from the sediments of pure infantilism.
Neža Maurer pointed out two illnesses of the modern literary production in the form of a rough outline: of intimidation and commercialisation.
Prevedla Bojana Panevski
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