Literarily speaking

    I was listening to a literary criticism podcast about Harry Potter this evening where the panel discussed various experiences they had in grad school. One speaker told the story of her first day in her first class, when the professor wrote on the board: "What is literature?" This story lead to further discussion among the panel members about whether this is even a useful question. They concluded that a more important question is: Why is literature important? As in, what's the big deal about making up stories and reading stories, and who cares, and why we should care, and why we should care. 
    I concur.
    We could ask: what human need is being fulfilled by reading fiction, let alone writing it? We could ask: how does literature contribute to our humanity?
    Of course, J.R.R. Tolkien's thoughtful essay, On Fairy Stories, was mentioned and mined for enlightenment about this matter. Yay!
     What I know is that stories give me a background for my soul. (I'm not sure I could actually explain what that sentence really means, but it feels right. More things to think about.) They give me a place to think, to compare decisions and outcomes. Stories provide me with entertainment--of course they do--as well as escape. But also with wonder and wondering, dreams and dreaming, thoughts, ideas, comparative morality, and calls to action.
    Well, there's no way I'm going to produce any deeper thought than this at this late hour. I have just enough energy to finish the book I'm currently reading and choose the next one.

My idea of heaven:

Found at http://brokebybooks.com/