World Book Day - The Pleasure of Reading & Writing as a VI Person
World Book Day - The Pleasure of Reading & Writing as a VI Person
World Book Day is UNESCO’s celebration of the mystery, magic, heartbreak, and comfort that books can bring. Their mission is to give children and young people “a book of their own”. Cultivating a love for reading can open up a world of possibilities, enhance imagination and creativity, and even provide a sense of companionship. Reading can be an antidote to the loneliness that so many struggle with, or a dreamy escape from the everyday. So, World Book Day raises an important question, how do visually impaired people past and present enjoy and indulge in the pleasures of reading and writing?
The author of Paradise Lost, John Milton was visually impaired in the period just after the print revolution in Europe. This was a time in which the oral culture (which blind classical author Homer had enjoyed) no longer existed. Braille was, of course, not yet available so Paradise Lost was composed through memorisation and dictation.
Whilst at the time, his detractors claimed that Milton’s blindness was a punishment from God for his criticism of the King, Milton saw it differently. For Milton, his blindness was a gift. God had turned his preoccupations away from the vain world of appearances and towards the depth of his internal world. Such a change enabled him to become an epic poet who could leave his mark on history.
Perhaps there is something to Milton’s insight. Joining himself and Homer, are the equally visionary VI writers, James Joyce, Jorge Luis Borges, Helen Keller, and Oliver Sacks. Visual impairment can bring a deep sensitivity and understanding of the human condition.
But what about the act of reading? Whilst braille has helped VI people, approximately only 2% of published books are in Braille, and only 7% are in formats suited to visually impaired people. Audiobooks have done a lot to overcome this problem, but these are more helpful to adults than children.
If you’re looking after a visually impaired child or young person and want to help them develop a love for reading, then there is one important thing that you can do to encourage this – make reading a multi-sensory experience that stimulates the imagination. It’s a great idea to bring books to life by creating or finding the atmosphere, smells, or tastes that are written in a story. You could also have a bag full of objects that reflect the people or animals in the story so that it can be played out with movement and even sound effects.
There is still much to be done when it comes to accommodating visually impaired people in the world of books (a world which was created with the help of so many VI people) but with technological developments and increasing awareness, there are reasons to be very optimistic.
Explore our range of optical and electronic magnifiers and discover the best solution to help you read to your heart’s content!