A few days ago, author James Salter passed away. I hadn't read any of his works before reading of his death - but I'm excited to start now. He had a lengthy interview with the Paris Review in which he explains the ultimate impulse to write. I think it's worth sharing:
"To write? Because all this is going to vanish. The only thing left will be the prose and poems, the books, what is written down. Man was very fortunate to have invented the book. Without it the past would completely vanish, and we would be left with nothing, we would be naked on earth."