For the Love of Language

Dan Neil’s column about the value of getting an English degree (“Eat This Book,” 800 Words, April 9) was a welcome change from the usual celebrity fare. I got my English Lit sheepskin from the talented faculty at Cal State Los Angeles, and I regard it as a moving force in my life. Anyone intimately connected to the “Norton Anthology of English Literature” knows that poems can express a wealth of feelings where more prosaic language fails.

Like water through espresso beans, carefully chosen words filter through to the dregs of life, stimulating us and lifting our spirits. As English is America’s chosen language, it is a noble goal to master its capabilities and nuances by studying its skilled practitioners. I agree with the scholar Neil quotes who says English literature is an “immensely rich world . . . [of] marvels and riches.”

Laura Brown

San Gabriel

*

As long as the value of a college major is measured exclusively by its initial salary premium, English and the other liberal arts can’t make a compelling case for their existence. This is particularly so when tuition is becoming prohibitive. But education consists of more than training for immediate employment. It involves opening the mind to ideas that often do not become apparent until much later. That’s where the real payoff begins and never ends.

Walt Gardner

Los Angeles