'...I belong to the community of the written word in several ways. First, books have taught be most of what I know, and they have trained my attention and my imagination. Second, they gave me a sense of the possible, which is the great service - and too often, when it is ungenerous, the great disservice - a community performs for its members. Third, they embodied richness and refinement of language and the artful use of language in the service of the imagination. Fourth, they gave me and still give me courage.'
Marilynne Robinson, 'Imagination and Community' in When I Was a Child I Read Books, p.23.
