Poetry Dump 4 - Original Work; Original Speech
I, am a book. Or perhaps I should say, I am books. I am the living consciousness of literary achievements throughout the ages. My historical contexts are numerous, and wars have been fought, won, and lost over knowledge that I did or do possess. Historically, Ashurbanipal of the Assyrian Empire organized and promoted my first house, or in other words, a library. He ordered many clay tablets produced for his pet project. Sadly, when the Babylonians defeated the Assyrians, they smashed many tablets in a petty rage. Speaking of tablets, the format of my books has drastically changed throughout the eras. I started off as stone pieces with writing and pictures carved into me. Later, I became clay tablets with cuneiform scratched into my surface. Several thousand years ago, certain peoples learned how to produce paper, the most famous of which is papyrus. That papyrus was normally rolled into a scroll. The great library of Alexandria had thousands of wonderful, amazing scrolls ripe for the reading. Unfortunately, that library was also destroyed, this time due to a miscalculation of Julius Caesar. Later, after the fall of the Roman Empire, Europe mostly used specially treated animal hides sewn into a book-form similar to today’s paperbacks. During the dark ages though, incredibly few people could read. My writings and thoughts were primarily copied by dedicated monks, who also produced beautiful designs on my pages.
Eventually, in 1447, an amazing and thoughtful man named Johannes Gutenberg invented arguably the best invention the world has ever known. In my rather biased opinion, I believe that it is the best invention after writing and the wheel. The invention? The movable type printing press. That little thing allowed books to be printed much faster and to be sold much cheaper. Since then, book printing has only become faster, easier, and more reliable. In recent years, a new form of writing has appeared. My works are being electronically produced and distributed. I can now be read on a computer or a Kindle.
Today, many people can read and write, spreading the goodness and wisdom that is me even farther. Books are written on almost any subject under the sun, from cats to minerals to Greek mythology. Actually, my most popular books are not informative writings, but novels, stories that you read for fun. Those novels instill upon me an attitude that informative volumes, no matter how fascinating or well-written, simply cannot match. When those books are read, I am humor. I am sappy romance. I am horror, hope, vengeance, and sorrow. I can help people to “live and learn” without them or someone else being hurt in the process. When I am read, absorbed, and hopefully shared, people can and should think. Think on their actions, think on their reactions, and think of what they do or do not want to be. I can be a good example, and I am also good examples of what not to do. Within my pages and ages of experience, I have a wealth of authors, cultures, and points of view, simply dying to escape and to educate. When you see me, a part of me that you know and hate, think briefly on these two phrases. The first can be regarded as fairly flippant, “Know thine enemy.” The second, written by German Jew Heinrich Heine is more solemn, “Where they have burned books, they will end in burning human beings.” I am books, and I am both freedom and a gift to those worthy of possessing me.
Eventually, in 1447, an amazing and thoughtful man named Johannes Gutenberg invented arguably the best invention the world has ever known. In my rather biased opinion, I believe that it is the best invention after writing and the wheel. The invention? The movable type printing press. That little thing allowed books to be printed much faster and to be sold much cheaper. Since then, book printing has only become faster, easier, and more reliable. In recent years, a new form of writing has appeared. My works are being electronically produced and distributed. I can now be read on a computer or a Kindle.
Today, many people can read and write, spreading the goodness and wisdom that is me even farther. Books are written on almost any subject under the sun, from cats to minerals to Greek mythology. Actually, my most popular books are not informative writings, but novels, stories that you read for fun. Those novels instill upon me an attitude that informative volumes, no matter how fascinating or well-written, simply cannot match. When those books are read, I am humor. I am sappy romance. I am horror, hope, vengeance, and sorrow. I can help people to “live and learn” without them or someone else being hurt in the process. When I am read, absorbed, and hopefully shared, people can and should think. Think on their actions, think on their reactions, and think of what they do or do not want to be. I can be a good example, and I am also good examples of what not to do. Within my pages and ages of experience, I have a wealth of authors, cultures, and points of view, simply dying to escape and to educate. When you see me, a part of me that you know and hate, think briefly on these two phrases. The first can be regarded as fairly flippant, “Know thine enemy.” The second, written by German Jew Heinrich Heine is more solemn, “Where they have burned books, they will end in burning human beings.” I am books, and I am both freedom and a gift to those worthy of possessing me.