U.S. Adult Participation in Literary Activities

(12-month period ending Aug. 2002)

	Percent of population	Millions of people
Read any book	56.6%	117
Read literature¹	46.7	96
Read a novel or short story	45.1	93
Read poetry	12.1	25
Read a play	3.6	7
Listened to live or recorded readings of novels or books	9.3	19
Read or listened to poetry	14.3	30
Read poetry	12.1	25
Listened to live or recorded readings of poetry	5.9	12
Did personal creative writing	7.0%	14
Published	1.0	2
Unpublished	6.1	13
Took creative writing classes or lessons
In past year	1.0	2
Ever	13.3	27
Used Internet to learn about, read, or discuss topics related to literature	9.2	19

1. “Literature” includes novels, short stories, plays, and poetry but not works of nonfiction.

Source: National Endowment for the Arts, Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America, June 2004.

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