The life of writing

Why do we read, if not to uncover beauty in its purest form, to test life and soar in its realms, or to dive into its depths of tragedies? Can the writer grant us this personal experience filled with meanings that captivate minds and hearts? Can the writer renew in us hope through literary forms? Why do we read, if not in hope that the writer will address our days and grant them glory and a dramatic hue that inspires us and enlightens us with wisdom and courage and the possibility of a meaning behind all this? To press upon our minds the deepest riddles and secrets to the point that they are enveloped in their magic and dominances in our very core? Is there anything greater than that power that, from time to time, seizes our lives and reveals us to ourselves in awe, to realize that we are trembling, amazed creatures in this world? Why does death surprise us suddenly, and love as well? We have always needed an awakening. In this small book, resembling a personal diary, the American Pulitzer Prize-winning author Annie Dillard opens the window to her personal experience with writing, through a series of philosophical reflections on the craft of writing, in a deep, honest, and penetrating literary style. Dillard's creative philosophy.