Summary Of Dan Gioia's Essay Why Literature Matters

In Dan Gioia’s essay “Why Literature Matters” he exposes the dangerous connection between America’s lacking literacy rates and decreasing job performance, creativity and understanding of political and societal issues. Gioia exhibits concern for the impact decreasing literacy skills will have on the business world. He argues that even employers “complained that local schools inadequately taught reading comprehension.” This solidifies Gioia’s concern to the reader,as the reader now knows that the businesses directly impacted by lacking literacy also see and recognize the issue Gioia also sets forth an argument for democracy and intelligent political discourse. He worries that due to decreased literacy, the population suffers a lack