Oct 5, 2006

I believe meaning is a spectrum, ranging from things with inherent meaning at one end, to the other end with things that only have the meaning that we give them. I think this spectrum is always changing. What we give meaning to changes moment by moment, and what has inherent meaning changes glacially slow, or perhaps not at all. As human beings, we are too changeable to see very far towards the inherent-meaning end of the spectrum; but we also crave stability, so living at the completely-mutable end is too uncomfortable for us, and feels like madness.

The range of possible meanings, for the countless number of things that every human being has ever perceived, is as close to infinite as most of us can comprehend. But why do some symbolisms, some labels, some interpretations stick, and others don’t? I have always loved to ponder why things may have happened, what they could possibly cause to happen. And I’m fascinated with hearing why people believe what they do. Do they just accept what meanings and explanations they’re told? Or is there another factor?

Literature isn’t just the “who, what, when, where, and how”, of course. And it’s not necessarily just the why, in terms of psychological motivation, societal influence, or upbringing. If those were the only variables human beings faced, we’d probably have it all under control, for better or worse. But there’s something else in us, some wayward thing that constantly surprises us. That’s what I’m interested in as a writer.

Stories have to mean something to matter. They have to have a point and a purpose, if only to please us with their language. But the best stories get us close to realizing something that we can’t quite put our finger on. They may not quite express the inexpressible, but they show us the direction where it lies.

I can’t say what the highest goals for a writer should be. They’ll be different depending on what meaning the writer ascribes to their work. But just as all art is religious art, in that it is an expression of what the artist believes in and finds significant; so storytelling is just about what the storyteller finds important, and a demonstration and exploration of the meanings it has. And writers are simply storytellers who feel their stories are important enough to share.

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