a life well read: Joseph Campbell
It is safe to say that Joseph Campbell was well read. The story of his journey is almost as fascinating as the ancient myths he dedicated his life to studying. If you are looking for a hero to measure your reading life against, you will be hard pressed to find someone who surpasses Campbell.
Campbell had been fascinated by mythology since he was a child. His fascination continued during his formative years and led to a BA in English, an MA in Medieval literature and acceptance to a fellowship in Europe. Upon returning, Campbell informed his PhD advisor that he was expanding the scope of his work to include the art and ideas he had been exposed to during his time overseas. His advisor said no. So what did Campbell do? He walked away from his doctoral work and spent the next five years reading whatever his insatiable curiosity led him to. His was no leisure stroll through the shelves of the library admiring the fine bindings of someones prized collection. He spent five years dedicated to consuming the world's mythology as broadly and deeply as he could. In his memoirs he described it like this:
"I would divide the day into four four-hour periods, of which I would be reading in three of the four hour periods, and free one of them... I would get nine hours of sheer reading done a day. And this went on for five years straight."
Once he emerged he found a teaching job at a small all girls college. He never applied to another doctoral program and even at the end of his career he was never well respected in academia. But Campbell stands out as the most influential figure the study of myth and story telling had ever seen. Campbell's Hero with a Thousand Faces and The Power of Myth have influenced many of the most successful movies in the history of Hollywood. George Lucas credits Campbell's description of the hero's journey as key to the success of the Star Wars series. Not only does Campbell provide an example of extreme dedication to a life of reading, but his works will prove valuable to anyone undertaking their own journey of the written word. Upon striking out what advice would Campbell have to offer? I'm sure he would reply with one of his favorite bits of simple but profound wisdom; Follow your bliss.
Campbell had been fascinated by mythology since he was a child. His fascination continued during his formative years and led to a BA in English, an MA in Medieval literature and acceptance to a fellowship in Europe. Upon returning, Campbell informed his PhD advisor that he was expanding the scope of his work to include the art and ideas he had been exposed to during his time overseas. His advisor said no. So what did Campbell do? He walked away from his doctoral work and spent the next five years reading whatever his insatiable curiosity led him to. His was no leisure stroll through the shelves of the library admiring the fine bindings of someones prized collection. He spent five years dedicated to consuming the world's mythology as broadly and deeply as he could. In his memoirs he described it like this:
