Looking at Citizenship through a Literary Lens

In a 2015 conversation with novelist Marilynne Robinson, President Barack Obama asked if she was worried about people not reading novels anymore. He then went on to say, "When I think about how I understand my role as citizen—setting aside being president—and the most important set of understandings that I bring to that position of 'citizen,' the most important stuff I've learned I think I've learned from novels" ("President Obama …").

It may seem surprising that a constitutional lawyer and elected leader who exercised political power at the highest levels would credit his understanding of citizenship to works of fiction, but Obama's words invite us to broaden our understanding of what makes a good citizen.¹