NEW YORK -- A new government study finds adult Americans are reading fewer novels and short stories, but showed a big jump in poetry and increases in attendance at arts festivals, concerts and plays.
The National Endowment for the Arts published its report Wednesday. According to the NEA, the percentage of adults reading fiction dropped from 45.2 per cent in 2012 to 41.8 per cent last year. Meanwhile, poetry reading surged from 6.7 per cent to 11.7 per cent.
"U.S. Trends in Arts Attendance and Literary Reading: 2002-2017" also showed a reverse of yearslong declines in going to performing arts events, whether jazz concerts, stage musicals, or dance and ballet. But attendance levels in most categories remain below those from 2002.
