Rediscovering Literature
Art, beauty, truth, the love of language, to hear unforgettable eloquence,
witness awe-inspiring visions, to feel passion, experience purpose,
to be inspired and awakened to new realities, to be delighted, surprised,
to embark on incredible odysseys, to accompany heroes on epic quests,
to dare to imagine and wonder "what if..."
These are a few of the many reasons we read and celebrate the exceptional
quality of writing known as literature.
Literature represents much of the very best of humanity's writings,
and it is not by any accident that, after bestsellers and sensationalized
books have faded from memory, literature continues to thrive and remain
intensely relevant to contemporary human conditions.
Literature's stories and texts survive the fires of time.
This is why for decades and centuries - long after their authors have
gone silent - the writings of Dante, Shakespeare, and Austen, among
so many other vital voices, will continue to captivate readers
and comment upon life.
Literature has innumerable qualities and purposes and can open doors
to unique situations and worlds which are never wholly removed from our own.
Literature introduces us to memorable characters who often have something
in common with us or people we know, and those portraits and portrayals
can speak directly to the many questions and challenges we individually
or collectively face today.
Through literature we can discover new meanings, locate and begin
to cross bridges between seemingly distant or dissimilar persons,
places, things, and thoughts.
Literature remains relevant and essential because it relates as it conveys
and carries us
beyond ourselves and our world - metaphorically
and literally - so that we might experience fresh perspectives, receive
challenges to our knowledge and sensibilities, reach new understandings,
perhaps even attain wisdom, through such things as poetry, plays, novels,
short stories, memoirs, and all the other literary forms.
Through literature we have such amazing opportunities to rediscover ourselves,
our world, a universe of thought, feeling, and insights waiting to be revealed
anew to - and
through each of us - and all because of a few well-chosen
words which can speak volumes and clearly across languages, cultures,
entire generations, and well beyond most boundaries.
In reading and interpreting literature we help to keep it alive, thriving,
pertinent, personally interpretive and interesting. In doing this, we renew
its promise, participating in it, influencing it in small or major ways,
and ultimately help to preserve it for those readers yet to follow
and recommence this most incredible journey of endless perceptions
and revelations.
To be continued - by you...
To continue reading about the wonders and benefits of literature,
consider one or more of these titles in the library system catalog:
General Literature
Poetry
Also check out our...
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