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"Thus the act of recognizing literature is not constrained by something in the text, nor does it issue from an independent and arbitrary will; rather, it proceeds from a collective decision as to what will count as literature, a decision that will be in force only so long as a community of readers or believers continues to abide by it."
-Fish, 11
When Melanie Hundley, on behalf of the new editors of The ALAN Review - Steven Bickmore, Melanie Hundley, and Jacqueline Bach - asked us (Anna and Sean) to write a column for their first issue of the The ALAN Review on the theme, "Young Adult Literature Gaining Stature at the High School," we responded with a resounding "Yes!" Anna's work in promoting the literary qualities of young adult literature and her seminars with middle and high school teachers on the application of a platter of critical approaches to a wide range of young adult novels, speaks to outgoing editors Jim Blasingame and Lori Goodson's assertion that young adult literature is "quality" literature (3). Likewise, Sean's work with aspiring teachers among the college juniors and seniors who take his required introductory course in young adult literature focuses on a similar attribute.
We take the stand in this column that young adult literature has already come of age in terms of its relevance to adolescents. We also believe that the time is ripe for us, and for The ALAN Review, to push for its acceptance as "Literature" by high school teachers. We have found, both in our teaching and in our personal reading, that a considerable body of young adult literature can withstand the test of close literary scrutiny. We consequently argue that the next move is to engage those who might otherwise question young adult literature's literary merit in what Peter Elbow describes as a "believing game" (1), thereby helping them become more receptive to the possibility that young adult literature is not only about subjects and themes that are relevant to adolescent readers, but that its treatment of those subjects and themes reflects a level of sophistication that invites serious interrogation on the part of readers eager for a marriage of intellectual and affective engagement (cf. Soter, Faust, and Rogers).
We support our...