Writing’s Special Place in the Arts

by Craig Spence

Why do we write? What is the place of literature in today’s world?

I find myself asking these questions after having dedicated myself to careers as a journalist and author for more than fifty years. Not because I have any doubts about the value and importance of creative writing – I’m as immersed in its joys and tribulations as ever, and can’t think of a more meaningful way to leave this planet than as a frantic scribbler describing the experience of dying.

So there’s the first point. Like every art form, writing is a means of exploring, challenging, expanding upon and sharing the human experience. Many of us keep journals. Those recorded thoughts aren’t just date stamped milestones; they are moments of reflection on the importance of each and every day. They tell us where we are going by studying the tarot of where we’ve been.

We’re all authors of our own destiny, even if we don’t want to set the incriminating evidence down on paper. Creative writers go a few steps farther, imagining experience from different perspectives and through various lenses. At its best, I like to consider my stories ‘real fiction’. By reimagining events – bending, shading and distorting interactions and settings – I hope to achieve a heightened sense of feeling and meaning about my ‘real world’.

Do I have to win a BC Book Prize to verify my status as a writer? The short answer is, no. The longer answer is: Honing my skills by writing, rewriting and sharing is a process that leads to deeper, more complex understanding. I am writing by the simple act of keying letters into a computer; I become a writer when I key those letters in with readers in mind.

The Chemainus Valley Cultural Arts Society wants to encourage writers by providing supportive readers at every stage of literary development. This Valley Voices page, which the CVCAS publishes in partnership with The Cowichan Valley Voice Magazine, is one of those venues. Go to CVCAS.ca/Literature to find out more about what we’re doing to pry open the writer’s closet door.

We’ve talked from the ‘why we write’ point of view, what about the ‘place of literature in today’s world’ POV? It’s not unreasonable to ask, in a world bombarded with streaming videos, a deluge of television stations, video games, virtual realities… and so on: Why is literature so important?

Well, excuse the irony, but literature is important because we are subjected to an overwhelming barrage of information and entertainment coming at us from all over the world. We need time and space to think and feel our own thoughts, and literature provides that haven.

Reading is a uniquely imaginative activity. From words on a page, readers create a story, add their own nuances, and pause to reflect on what’s developing from scene to scene. To a greater or lesser degree, other mediums overwhelm that creative aspect, with video games and virtual reality goggles the exemplars of powerful stimuli creating uniform experiences.

Literature is also more open to diverse voices. All you need to write a story is a pencil and notebook, and all you need to tell it is a street corner and the hutzpah to get up on your soapbox. True, that opens the field to more preachers and oddballs, but it also creates channels for true genius to surprise us, without the need to curry big budget favour.

Finally – due to considerations of space, not exhaustion – writing is a mode where voices close to home can be heard. Valley Voices is all about Island writers telling their stories. Submit your story idea (no matter what stage you’re at as a writer) by going to CVCAS.ca/literature/valleyvoices/ and we’ll help you tell it. Stories don’t live in closets or drawers!