And a pair of ears listened

A new book offers advice to its reader

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Picture: And a pair of ears listened.

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Slow down, young reader,
For you are still both young and old
in the ages of your reading.

Slow down at the beginning of a book;
Slow down and listen to the first page.
There is no rush.

Books don't rush; they wait.
Sometimes they wait for centuries,
Anticipating the arrival of the right reader.

So breathe slowly and deeply as you attend to the page;
Deep breathing helps deep listening;
Deep listening helps deep hearing.

Make friends with your book if you can.

Books like to be listened to with both eyes and ears.
But human ears work slower than human eyes;
And human ears need space to listen into.

Look at the page:
There are words and there is white space.
Your mind will add the pictures.

But look how much more white space there is than words.
Most of the page is space.
The space is there for long ears to listen into.

There's a lot of it.
The words are completely surrounded.

But it is not empty space.
The words vibrate quietly
And fill the space with unseen sound.

Ears must pay attention.
Close listening is needed.

What sounds are the words making today?
Listen to the space around them.
Is there a breeze?
Is there a breeze blowing gently
through the leafy woodlands
of words and whispers?
Is there bird song?
Is there a secret rustling in the undergrowth?
Sometimes there is.
And sometimes it can be heard.

How good is your earsight?
Do you know?

Quite a lot of the words on the page are invisible.
Often it is the invisible words which make the most noise.
Only ears can hear them;
Only ears which take the trouble to slow down and listen closely.

There is no rush.
Books don't rush; they wait.
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Picture: Young boy reading book.
Picture: Young girl and dog reading book.
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Hearing Things - The work of sound in literature
Angela Leighton (2018)

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