Wednesday, January 23, 2008

The power of literature

"Most people dont believe that there can be such a person. You can see what a problem that must be for them. How to prevail over that which you refuse to acknowledge the existence of. Do you understand? When I came into your life your life was over. It had a beginning, a middle, and an end. This is the end. You can say that things could have turned out differently. That they could have been some other way. But what does that mean? They are not some other way. They are this way. You're asking me that I second say the world. Do you see?

Yes, she said, sobbing. I do. I truly do.

Good, he said. That's good. Then he shot her."

I know exactly how that woman felt. In some ways, I've experienced exactly what she experienced. How for the longest time I refused to believe that there was such a person. And when you do finally acknowledge it, it's the end of a life. But then you can prevail. It's a very spiritual thought when you realize it. Death and rebirth. Good and evil. It's at the heart of Christianity.

Maybe it's being an actor. Or a writer. I don't know. I don't know if others experience movies and literature and paintings the way I do. I don't care. I just know how I do, and I love it. I love a good writer who can just miraculously choose words out of the thousands of words and put them in a certain order, the right order, to elicit an emotion like I felt when I read those words. That emotion that said, yes, yes, I know.

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