Trust in Goblins, Yawn Openly

Isaac Bashevis Singer, the celebrated one-man band of Yiddish literature, has not yet appeared as a guest star on The Muppet Show, and such folderol may, indeed, have no part in his plans. But some of his remarks last week after he accepted the Nobel Prize for Literature in Stockholm suggest that, were he to do so, he and Muppetmaster Jim Henson might have a fruitful conversation as they waited for the cameras to be set up. An excerpt:

Ladies and gentlemen, there are 500 reasons why I began to write for children, but to save time I will mention only ten of them.

>Children read books, not reviews. They do not give a hoot about the critics.

> Children don't read to find their identity.

>They don't read to free themselves of guilt, quench the thirst for rebellion or get rid of alienation.

> They have no use for psychology.

> They detest sociology.

> They don't try to understand Kafka or Finnegans Wake.

> They still believe in God, the family, angels, devils, witches, goblins, logic, clarity, punctuation and other such obsolete stuff.

> They love interesting stories, not commentary, guides or footnotes.

>When a book is boring, they yawn openly, without any shame or fear of authority.

>They don't expect their beloved writer to redeem humanity. Young as they are, they know it is not in his power. Only the adults have such childish illusions.

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