Roles in Interpretation

I've taught Oral Interpretation of Literature for 5 years with the Yordon text. I switched from the Gura & Lee text that I found too wordy and theoretical for the community college. I like this text because it concisely explains the craft and ways to perform literary texts as an interpreter. Sections in the text that particularly connect include sensory showing, smelling, hearing or feeling sensory passages prior to reading them. Also, the criteria for what makes a "literary" text as opposed to merely "prose" is excellent, outlining qualities of universality, individuality & suggestion. The chapter on criticism in particular really stands out as an effective tool, even for those not pursing drama. No matter what field a student may pursue, the ability to give effective criticism is a real gem. The literary selections in each chapter are, for the most part, excellent. William Carlos Williams' short story "The Use of Force" provides much food for discussion. For instructors, Yordon's test bank is extremely helpful. I liked this book so much that I wrote the author a letter and received a phone call from her. She has really done an excellent job of distilling the information succinctly and clearly. Enjoy!

Judy Yordon's ROLES IN INTERPRETATION is a great text to use and read for an oral interpretation of literature class. The book is organized in a very direct, coherent, and distinctive way. The main ideas are clearly illustrated and supported and the chapters are arranged in a sequential manner. The book is divided into 10 different chapters with an appendix and a glossary. I absolutely loved the oral interpretation class I had and we used this text. The book augmented all the things our professor taught us and it was a great tool and makes for a nice reference for the future (especially if I ever do some professional storytelling or when I have to teach a high school speech class).

Chapters follow logical order; examples were excellent; and good literary selections.